The Cal State Long Beach cheer team was stripped of its national title after it was discovered that one of the competing members was not a student.

The student in question graduated in December, and the university is currently investigating the eligibility of another member, said CSULB's Communications Coordinator Christina Esparza. The university suspects the cheer team was fully aware of the violations.

"We're educators, and if we expect our students to be held to ethical standards, we have to do the same ourselves," Esparza said.

The university immediately notified the NCAA and fired coach Eric Anderson, who had lead Long Beach's cheer team for 10 years and has won more than 30 national titles in his career.

"He has the last say," Esparza said of Anderson's leadership. "We can't really penalize our students who are guided under him."

Long Beach students say they're proud of the university's reaction to the cheer team's violation.

"As long as the university isn't for it, or didn't try to cover anything up, it's OK," said student Stephen Delgatto.

The cheer team won the National Cheerleaders Association title for its division in Daytona Beach last weekend.