I disagree strongly.
Cheering in the big stadiums (UW has a big stadium, FWIW) is where the vast majority of their visibility is. That is where they are in front of tens of thousands of people and representing the school.
How many people will see them at a football or basketball game vs. any cheer competitions? You know there are marching band competitions too, right? But most people see them at football games.
The male cheerleaders are there to make the females look good (i.e., lift them, catch them, etc).