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10/23/02JOHN NOLEN
Women's wrestling has become a varsity sport at Pacific University.
But new coach Scott Miller finds himself frowning at the first roster.
The Forest Grove school was so successful adding women's wrestling three years ago -- Jill Remiticado won three national championships -- that four team members were called away last summer to the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo.
No other college had more than three selected to the 18-member USA Wrestling resident training camp.
Here's the downside: If sophomores Tela O'Donnell and Kaci Lyle and seniors Sally Roberts and Katie Kunimoto return to Pacific, Miller said, it will not be until after the 2004 Athens Olympics.
"I've got mixed feelings on this," Miller said. "First, it's a great opportunity for those women.
"On the other hand, this is not an Olympic year. And I have a real hard time, not with the seniors (USA Wrestling) took, but the sophomores. That bothers me.
"Also, they take four of your best girls, who are tough to replace. We're in a situation where we're trying to get it going at the college level. Well, forget college level, we're just trying to get it going, period. It's tough, especially when in our program we go from eight women to four."
Remiticado, coming off an injury, is back this week. Two other returnees, Kristin Fujioka (107) and Desiree Lockhart (121), combined to win one of six matches last weekend at the Sunkist Kids/ASU International tournament in Tempe, Ariz. The fourth returnee is Igdi Levine (107) of Corvallis.
Meanwhile, O'Donnell, a national champion last season at 133 pounds, won the 121-pound title in Tempe. Lyle took third in her weight class, and Roberts was fourth.
Miller has three high school all-Americans among four freshmen: Jennifer Miyahara (128) from Honolulu, Salome Gipson (133) from Kissimmee, Fla., and Justina Lewis (145) from Ewa, Hawaii. Lewis has been ill, however, and will redshirt this season. The fourth freshman is Melissa Deiman (114) of Ninilchik, Alaska.
Remiticado, Pacific's first woman wrestler in 1999, is tough at 121. But she is not a shoo-in for a fourth national title.
"You think there's no pressure on the coach to help her get that fourth national title?" Miller said. "There's serious pressure, let me tell you." Football: It's hardly news when Linfield has another winning season.
But the fact remains that the Wildcats have had better-than-.500 seasons the past 47 years, the collegiate record for consecutive winning seasons for all levels of football.
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Public offers both sides of Title IX issue, with strong wrestling voice shared with commission
10/23/2002
Gary Abbott/USA Wrestling
The final three hours of the Commission on Opportunity in Athletics meeting in Colorado Springs, Colo. today provided public testimony concerning this important social issue.
As in the first two commission hearings in Atlanta and Chicago, those who chose to step up and address the commission included athletic administrators, coaches, parents and athletes, both men and women, all with their own perspective on this important federal law. A total of 35 citizens gave their opinion to the commission about the law and its enforcement.
In most cases, the testimony could be separated into two camps: those involved in sports experiences where men lost athletic opportunity due to the enforcement of the law, and those who benefited from women’s athletic opportunities and did not want to see any changes in the law’s interpretation.
Not all of the testimony fit these catagories, adding some spice to an afternoon of discussion that seemed to indicate that consensus on this issue will not be easy for this 15-member panel.
Perhaps the most compelling and courageous testimony was provided by Sara Levin, who implored the commission not to penalize men because fewer women participate in sports. On four occasions Levin said, “Equal Opportunity does not mean Equal Participation.”
“Proportionality only forces institutions to protect their revenue generating sports and cut non-revenue men’s programs,” said Levin. “The tables have turned and now it is men that need protection. I beg you, stop the current enforcement of Title IX.”
Levin works as the Manager of Marketing and Promotions for USA Wrestling.
Another member of the Olympic family, communications professional Kathleen Flynn, explained her challenges in starting a club crew team at her alma mater Florida State. There was no varsity team in her chosen sport. She also noted that men’s wrestling teams may have to be dropped to club status. She said that her opinion may not make her popular with some of her peers.
“Now men will have to do what women have had to do,” said Flynn. “That may happen. I think that is fair. I want Title IX to remain as it is written.”
Some of the most interesting testimony came from parents of athletes, in many cases, mothers. Not all of the mothers agree on what is going on and what is the best course for the commission to recommend.
Beverly Brandon, the mother of a walk-on swimmer at the Univ. of Nebraska who had his team cut from under him, said that she represented 400 families, including many involved with swimming at Nebraska and at other universities. She said her son was living his dream, a student and athlete at a major university, until the program was dropped. “The consensus is that our sons and their friends have been denied opportunities,” said Brandon.
Brandon noted that she knew of a donor who was ready to write a check for $250,000 to save the team, but the university would not take it. She also noted that the university denied the opportunity for a proposed $1 million fundraising campaign.
“My son lost opportunity,” said Brandon. “I loved the movie Rudy. Brandon was at the bottom of the base of the pyramid. You need a base for the pyramid to stand.”
Brandon closed her remarks by asking the commission to eliminate the gender quota aspect of the law. “I came 1,000 miles for 21st Century reform. Let our sons play,” she said.
Ann Oatman Gardner, the mother of two female athletes, urged the commission to be champions for women athletics.
“My fears have been confirmed,” said Oatman Gardner. “We have not overcome bias. I ask you to remain the champions for women. Look elsewhere for remedy, at least for another generation or two.”
One of the most interesting testimonies came from Air Force wrestling coach Wayne Baughman, who suggested that there may be a biological reason that men had a higher interest in athletics than women. Baughman noted that the level of testosterone influenced the level of aggression and competitiveness in people. He also called women’s athletics to task for repeating the same mistakes and poor judgement in they way they run their programs as the men have made for many years.
Rhonda Blandford-Green, who works as a Title IX administrator for the CHSAA, the Colorado state high school association, took a shot at the testimony of Baughman and Levin with jokes at the beginning of her testimony. She went on to request that the commission not consider any changes to Title IX.
“Any variation to current law can and will result in decreased opportunities for the under-represented gender,” said Blandford-Green, who was a star athlete at the Univ. of Nebraska. “I am a Husker. I am not naive enough to think those opportunities would have been there for me without Title IX.”
The positive benefits of sports for girls was best explained by Shaoria Taylor, a high school sophomore and outstanding athlete from Denver who considered sports a major impact on her life.
“For me, sports are a stress reliever. They allow me to be the best that I can be,” said Taylor. “Don’t drop the ball. Don’t drop Title IX.”
A number of key sports leaders from swimming, such as USA Swimming National Teams Director Dennis Pursley and College Swim Coaches Association Executive Director Bob Boettner, asked the commission to eliminate the proportionality quota.
The wrestling community was well represented, as has been the case at every Title IX Commission Town Hall to date. At least 10 of those who testified were from the wrestling community.
Besides Levin, two other USA Wrestling professionals, Coaches Education Manager Ted Witulski and National Teams Director Mitch Hull, provided testimony. Due to the fact that the order of testimony was based on when the people sent in notification to the commission via email, Witulski and Hull spoke back-to-back early in the session.
Witulski concentrated on the severe loss of coaches that is occuring and will be the ultimate result of continued elimination of college sports programs. He told his personal story of how his single mother raised a family of seven by getting her kids involved in sports. He noted that it was his coaches that kept him involved in positive activities and gave him guidance though the challenges of a disadvantaged childhood.
“The tough love of a coach helped me,” said Witulski. “Without the coaches, I could have been one of the kids that got into trouble and fell through the cracks.”
Hull provided the commission with six recommendations, including a one-year notification period before a college team could be dropped, as well as the elimination of roster management. He also said that if the commission did not recommend any changes to Title IX enforcement, that they should go after the grassroots programs and see how it is received by the general community.
“If you choose not to listen to the recommendation, then I ask for the complete opposite,” said Hull. “Go after high schools and middle schools with full force. The change that you refused to make will happen when the grass roots of America experience and understand the quota method of enforcement of Title IX.”
Among the wrestling athletes who testified were Kevin Bracken, a 2000 Olympian, and Dave Surofchek, who was a National Team athlete and USOTC resident athlete. Both testified about the loss of the wrestling programs at their colleges, Bracken at Illinois State and Surofchek at Ferris State.
Bracken first read his testimony, then dramatically spoke from the heart without preparation about the meaning of wrestling to his life.
“I went to college to wrestle. If I didn’t, I wouldn’t have fallen in love with academics,” said Bracken. “Wrestling opened up a whole new world for me, a new life in academics.”
He explained how wrestling played an important role in helping him deal with his serious challenges with dyslexia and asthma. He noted, however, that dealing with these two serious physical conditions “does not compare with the torment I went through when they dropped our wrestling team.”
Doug Moses, head coach at the defunct Univ. of Southern Colorado varsity wrestling program, explained how his team was eliminated due to Title IX considerations. He noted that the fundraising efforts of the citizens of Pueblo, Colo. were refused by the university due to Title IX reasons. “Money is not an issue, the quota system is,” said Moses. “Let’s create opportunity for young people, not destroy it.”
Many of the women testifying to the commission warned that a change in Title IX might set back the momentum for women athletes and return the days of reduced opportunity for women in sports.
Diane Wendt, a college sports administrator, said, “Any departure from current policy will have a damaging and chilling effect.”
Jessie Banks, a professor at the Univ. of Southern Colorado who had limited opportunities to play basketball many years ago said, “I know that without Title IX, girls and women today would not be playing in sports.”
The session ended with an important leader in wrestling leaving the commission with an important message. Jack Maughan, the head wrestling coach at the University of Northern Colorado and the president of the National Wrestling Coaches Association drew the last spot to speak to the commission.
“I want to make it very clear. Wrestling coaches are not against Title IX; we are against the quota,” said Maughan.
He also noted that he is the men’s and women’s golf coach at UNC, and sees first-hand how many more men try out for his teams than women. In golf, the men have no scholarships and the women have three, and the women’s budget is much higher. However, more than three times as many men try out than women in golf, and he has to cut most of the men from the team. He also noted that he has to axe 20 wrestlers this year to make his roster cap for the that team.
“I am the grim reaper at UNC,” said Maughan. “I will cut 62 men’s opportunities this year, because of the situation with the quota.”
The commission completes its work on Wednesday with a working session, where commissioners discuss among themselves the work at hand. The public may attend, but may not speak or interact with the commissioners. TheMat.com will provide coverage at this session, as well.
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Thirty years after Title IX, White House scrutinizes act
Alex Friedman, The Dartmouth Senior Staff 10/23/02
Thirty years after its creation, Title IX is back on the political agenda -- and up for possible revision.
Title IX, the 1972 law that prohibits sex discrimination in any educational program that receives federal assistance, is being formally re-evaluated by the Commission on Opportunity in Athletics, a committee created by the Bush administration's secretary of education.
An expression of the often-widespread resistance to Title IX, especially in conservative circles, the commission has until Jan. 2003 to decide if, and exactly how, to amend the watershed legislation.
The commission is made up of 15 members appointed by the secretary of education and is comprised mainly of advocates for women's sports. Cynthia Cooper, head coach of the Phoenix Mercury basketball team, and Ted Leland, athletic director of Stanford University and formerly the athletic director at Dartmouth, are serving as the co-chairs.
Title IX was signed into law by President Richard Nixon in June of 1972. Originally it was seen as "temporary" legislation that would be superseded by the Equal Rights Amendment. But the ERA was never ratified, and Title IX has played a much greater role in American education than was originally anticipated.
Over the years, Title IX has encountered various waves of opposition and support.
In the 1970s some lawmakers tried, but failed, to overturn the legislation.
Still, Title IX was hardly relevant until several years after its passage.
In 1979, the Department of Education interpreted the legislation in a new way by creating a section known as the "three-part test" -- in effect making Title IX enforceable. That new enforcement code made Title IX what it is today.
During the Reagan years, Title IX was very much weakened by a Supreme Court ruling that separated athletics from Title IX. But three years later, athletics were reincorporated into the statute under the Civil Rights Restoration Act.
In the early 1990s, the Department of Education published the Title IX Investigation Manual and the Equity in Athletics Disclosure Act, which states that any coeducational institution of higher learning that receives any federal aid and has an intercollegiate athletics program is required to disclose certain information concerning their athletics program.
As a result, the Clinton years saw Title IX be put to the test, with legal challenges appearing from many sides. But Title IX was upheld by the courts, making the Bush commission the new policy laboratory for what will become of the legislation.
The major question now is whether the political balance and lobbying muscle is on the side of the opponents or proponents of Title IX.
One vocal opponent, a Washington lobbying group called the Independent Women's Forum, has been pumping out anti-Title IX pamphlets and issued a 35-page report to D.C. policymakers that says Title IX detracts from men's athletic programs.
Proponents of maintaining Title IX in its current form argue that the legislation has not yet accomplished its full goal, and that reversal of some parts of the bill would amount to a step back in time.
For example, the debate has recently resumed in California, where an independent evaluator has been hired to investigate if men and women actually have the same opportunity to participate in California school-sponsored athletics. In California, 58.7 percent of competitive athletes remain male, although the majority of students are women.
Both opponents and proponents agree that the law's impact has been profound. One major result of this law has been the near accomplishment of gender equity in college sports -- mostly through equal funding -- and another has been the elimination of different admissions standards for men and women in higher education, graduate and vocational schools.
In 1972, only one in 27 high school girls played a sport. According to the Women's Sports Foundation, in 2001 one in every 2.5 girls played.
But Title IX supporters say much more progress needs to be made.
"The intent of the law has not been fully reached," women's studies Professor Mary Turco said. "We still don't have equal opportunity and we certainly need the law to address some of the problems that persist in American education."
Some Washington players agree with that assessment.
"NCAA research shows that of every three new dollars going into college athletic programs over the last five years, two go to men's sports and only one to women's sports," said Donna Lopiano, executive director of the Women's Sports Foundation.
Those adamant that Title IX be reworked complain that vital men's sports programs are being eliminated from schools on unfair grounds. They say men's Olympic sports -- namely swimming, gymnastics, and wrestling -- face elimination because it is impossible to add women's sports programs while maintaining the men's sports at the current level.
One notable example of women's sports suffering even with Title IX is a case called Cohen v. Brown University in the 1990s. Brown was found to be discriminatory after Amy Cohen, a female gymnast at Brown, demanded that women's sports funding not be cut. The ruling required that funds remain at existing levels, and the ruling was hailed by feminists.
Between now and January of 2003, the Bush commission is left to sort through the gender politics that surround Title IX.
Donna DeVarona, a member of the commission, supports the continuation of Title IX and said that she has been pleased with the review process so far.
"I've seen the door open to virtually millions of women because of this law," she said. "I was interested in this exercise because I feel strongly that we have to continue to protect and promote our Olympic sports in our educational institutions."
Other members include Bob Bowlsby, director of men's athletics at the University of Iowa; Julie Foudy, president of the Women's Sports Foundation and Captain of the U.S. National Women's Soccer Team; Mike Silve, commissioner of Conference USA; and Donna De Varona, chair of the U.S. Olympic Committee Government Relations Committee, two time Olympic gold medal winner in swimming and co-founder of the Women's Sports Foundation.
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Wrestling coaches ask: Does Title IX hurt men?
by Sabrina Peric, The Dartmouth Staff 10/23/02
In January of 2002, the National Wrestling Coaches Association filed a complaint against the U.S. Department of Justice in hopes of eliminating gender quotas from the controversial Title IX regulations.
The NWCA claimed that Title IX is responsible for the gradual disappearance of lower-profile men's sports across the country, including wrestling, because schools are cutting men's programs to comply with Title IX.
"The impetus for [the complaint] has come, in fact, from the wholesale elimination of what we call the traditional men's Olympic sports, not just wrestling," executive director of the NWCA Mike Moyer said. "We've lost over 90 track programs in the last decade."
On the 30th anniversary of Title IX, athletic administrators are trying to figure out not only what the civil rights amendment means for women, but also what it means for men. And one major question often dominates in the public debate: does Title IX hurt men's athletics?
The answer depends on who you ask.
Supporters of the 1972 legislation say that men's programs themselves are to blame for the gradual disappearance of such sports as wrestling, arguing that expensive men's football and basketball programs drain money from lower profile teams. Detractors blame the way Title IX has been enforced.
In its current form, Title IX requires compliance to one of three prongs in the resolution. The first prong demands that the percentage of female athletes at a school be equivalent to the percentage of female students in general.
The second prong holds that a school demonstrates a history of improving gender equity.
The third prong holds that a school can comply by accommodating all the athletic interests and needs of its students.
Institutions can comply with Title IX by meeting any one of these standards. However, the majority of the debate over Title IX, is over the proportionality rule.
It is this rule that has been cited as the cause of the demise of certain men's sports, all in an attempt to win at a numbers game.
"That's precisely the problem with Title IX, that proportionality is the test of compliance," Jessica Gavora, a critic of the legislation and a senior analyst at the Department of Justice, said. "It's a good law that has been hijacked by a pernicious concept: that a numerical formula should be used to substitute interest and abilities."
In the spring of 2001, Marquette University cut its intercollegiate wrestling program, even though the program was completely funded by outside sources. "This example makes it obvious that [the team] was cut for quota and not for funding reasons," Moyer said. "Their percentage rate didn't meet their enrollment rate."
In that same year, Bucknell cut its wrestling team as well as their men's crew program.
"There has to be serious questions asked as to whether Title IX is the real cause of [the wrestlers'] problems," Dru Hancock, a Big 12 associate commissioner and member of the board of directors for the National Association of Women's Athletic Administrators said.
Hancock pointed out that the bigger problem for men's sports on college campuses is other men's sports. "If you look at the allocation of dollars on campuses, it favors the men two-to-one in terms of dollars spent."
The majority of funds on campuses across the country are dedicated to two primary teams: men's football and basketball. Not only do these two sports draw funding away from other sports, but with average football rosters in the NCAA reaching 94 last year, they also greatly skew the proportionality game in Title IX.
"If we were to go back now to all those institutions and tell them that you don't have to comply with the [proportionality] prong, it doesn't mean that the wrestling programs would get picked up again," Hancock explained. "Clearly you can get more headlines by labeling Title IX as the problem."
"Title IX was never intended to cut men's sports," Hancock emphasized, "but to provide opportunities for women."
Some opponents are more critical of how Title IX has been interpreted and enforced over the 30 years since its passage than they are of the original legislation itself.
"Title IX has never been amended and should not be amended," Gavora said. "What needs to be changed is the regulation about its implementation. That's where the proportionality test comes from…and it needs to be thrown out."
These Title IX opponents say the situation for low profile men's teams will only get worse as women continue to comprise an ever-greater proportion of students in higher education. Female enrollment is projected to reach 58.3 percent by 2010, according to numbers provided by the National Center for Education Statistics.
"But you start to look at student populations and realize that rising female enrollment comes from women that are older, not traditional students," Gavora said. "They do not want to play lacrosse and this notion, that because they are present on campus means they should be athletes, is flawed."
Gavora strongly favors more emphasis on the third prong of Title IX, dealing with interest.
"Schools can establish interest in athletics among both current and prospective students and then they should be obligated under law to reasonably accommodate that interest," Gavora said.
Moyer, however, argued that "no one has been able to find a tool that everyone can agree with to measure interest."
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More Title IX Enforcement Seen Needed
By KATHERINE VOGT
Associated Press Writer 10/23/02
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) - Members of a special commission of the U.S. secretary of education said Wednesday that more needs to be done to enforce compliance with a federal law requiring gender equity in school sports.
While no formal recommendation was made, some members of Education Secretary Rod Paige's Commission on Opportunity in Athletics noted that many colleges and universities do not comply with the requirements of Title IX, limiting the impact of the landmark law.
"Enforcement is a huge concern. In 30 years, no one has ever lost their funding and there are many schools that are not in compliance," said commission co-chair Cynthia Cooper, a former WNBA all-star and ex-coach of the Phoenix Mercury.
The 1972 law requires schools that receive federal money to provide equal athletic opportunities for men and women. Since it took effect, the number of girls playing varsity high school sports has grown sharply, as have budgets for women's athletic programs.
The 15-member commission, formed in June, is charged with looking for ways to improve Title IX. On Wednesday, the panel closed a two-day public hearing at Cheyenne Mountain Resort, the third of four meetings held across the nation. Commissioners will submit recommendations to Paige by Jan. 31.
"I would hope that we would make a recommendation that there be a mandate to be much more serious about enforcement," said commissioner Graham Spanier, president of Penn State.
Cooper, who heads the commission along with Stanford athletics director Ted Leland, said enforcing compliance with Title IX raises a wealth of sticky issues.
"There's definitely a consensus that more needs to be done to enforce Title IX. The flip side is if you enforce it more diligently, you go back to other problems like proportionality," she said.
Proportionality is a guideline used to measure compliance with Title IX by comparing the number of male and female athletes with the percentage of male and female students on campus.
In testimony Tuesday before the commission, some speakers said that the standard has forced schools to drop popular men's athletic programs to find room for female programs that garner little interest.
Other speakers said Title IX has been used as a scapegoat when men's programs are dropped because of financial woes or waning interest.
On Wednesday, Spanier said he believes programs are often cut as a result of several factors.
"It's almost never about finances alone or Title IX alone," he said.
Other commissioners urged vigilance in looking beyond statistics and enrollment ratios in gauging Title IX's impact 30 years after its creation.
"My concern is that you can comply with a test perfectly and not have improved anything," said commissioner Lisa Graham Keegan, chief executive officer of the Education Leaders Council.
"You can be fair and terrible. It's hard to be fair and excellent."
The commission's next meeting will be held Nov. 20-21 in San Diego.
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Colorado Springs Title IX Town Hall Meeting Shows Support For Change
10/23/2002
John Fuller/TheMat.com
Top leaders within the U.S. Olympic movement along with Athletics Directors from major colleges and universities voiced their opinions on Title IX to a commission at the Title IX Town Hall Meeting on Tuesday morning at the Cheyenne Mountain Resort in Colorado Springs, Colo.
Established by Secretary of Education Rod Paige on June 27, the Commission’s mission is to collect information, analyze issues, and obtain broad public input directed at improving the application of current Federal standards for measuring equal opportunity for men and women and boys and girls to participate in athletics under Title IX. The Commission must report its findings, in a written report to Secretary Paige by January 31, 2003, as to whether those standards should be revised and, if so, how; also, to recommend other steps that might be taken to improve the effectiveness of Title IX and to maintain and build upon the extraordinary progress that resulted from its progress 30 years ago.
After the Commission’s co-chairpersons, former WNBA Houston Comets star Cynthia Cooper and Stanford University Director of Athletics Ted Leland, opened the meeting with introductory remarks, three panels of invited speakers presented remarks.
Panel 1 included Marty Mankamyer, President of the USOC, Gary Abbott, Director of Special Projects for USA Wrestling, Carol Zaleski, former President and Executive Director of USA Swimming, and Bob Colarossi, President of USA Gymnastics.
Panel 2 included Charles “Rick” Taylor, Athletics Director at Northwestern Univ., Col. Billy Walker, Athletics Administrator at the Air Force Academy, Peggy Bradley-Doppes, Athletics Director at the Univ. of North Carolina at Wilmington, and Rondo Felberg, former Athletics Director and President of Brigham Young Univ.
Panel 3 included Brian Snow, General Counsel at Colorado State Univ., George Schur, General Counsel at Northern Illinois Univ., Bob Chichester, Athletics Director at California State-Irvine, and Josephine Potuto, Professor of Law at the Univ. of Nebraska.
Each panel member was allowed ten minutes to speak before the panel was addressed questions by the committee.
Although all panels were pro Title IX, it was evident and overwhelming that most of the panel members agreed that some kind of change needed to be to the way in which Title IX is enforced at colleges and universities.
Following is a recap of each panel’s discussion:
PANEL 1
Mankamyer began the panel discussion by voicing her support of Title IX, but also voicing her concerns over how the enforcement of the law has affected Olympic sports at the college level.
Abbott then wowed the audience, committee and his fellow panel members with his speech. Abbott began by stating that one of his proudest moments was in Sep., 2000 when women’s wrestling was added to the Olympic program. He then spoke about a new kind of discrimination that has begun to plague college athletics - discrimination against men. He continued by stating the football is not to blame for the loss of so many men’s college programs, but if the current trend continues, entire sports could be wiped out. Wrestling is growing at all levels except for in college. Abbott proposed to the committee to abolish the proportionality quota. “We will not return to the stone age. Soccer dads and wrestling moms will not allow it. One gender does not care more about their sports than the others,” Abbott said at his conclusion.
Zaleski reiterated the points of Abbott, while also stating that she has a personal interest in opportunities for both sexes. Her greatest concern is for Olympic programs, and the loss of men’s programs at the collegiate level is a large threat to the USOC’s efforts to build Olympic champions. Zaleski backed up Abbott’s statement that the number of male athletes has actually decreased in the past 20 years, contradicting the statistics released by the NCAA. Zaleski was also able to show that interest in swimming has not decreased. 73 NCAA Division I schools have dropped swimming in the past 20 years, yet age-group participation has grown from 60,000 to over 80,000 in that same time period. She feels that the U.S. Department of Education needs to find a better way to measure athletic interest, such as looking at past participation or using questionnaires. “Under no circumstance should Title IX be allowed to eliminate programs for males or females,” Zaleski added.
Colarossi strengthened his argument to change Title IX right away by stating that he was a walk-on athlete in college, but with the way in which Title IX is enforced right now, he would have a tough time learning the lessons in which he learned from athletics since rosters are capped. He stated that Title IX has been a great mandate and that nobody can argue its benefits, but that the supply does not currently meet the demand. He used the statistics that from 1980-2000, hundreds of men’s and women’s gymnastics programs were dropped, while participation nearly doubled during the same time period. The number of athletes being reduced also means that the number of coaches who can make a difference in someone’s life will also be reduced. He offered the following solutions to help save Olympic sports at the collegiate level: a) look at participation numbers in intramural and age-group programs; b) look at the possibility of excluding football players from the total of male athletes counting against proportionality, yet their revenue would still be dispersed evenly among the other sports; c) legislation to provide advance notice to the possible elimination of a sport; d) Title IX education programs.
PANEL 2
Taylor continued the flood of support for change of Title IX in his speech, saying that he supports Title IX as it is written, but he does not support its applications. He felt that the basis for determining what sports are on a campus should not include the using the same percentage of males and females on a college campus. Taylor cited many ways to study interest levels: magazine subscriptions, intramural participants and television demographics. “More men watch women’s sports than women,” Taylor stated. He asked the committee to tell him how to tell a man that is paying money to go to his school that he is not allowed to try out for an athletic team. “It is philosophically impossible to defend preventing men from trying out for a team,” Taylor said.
Walker stated some of the same points as Taylor, adding that collegiate-level athletics should not be considered an entry-level sporting concept. This was an obvious remark to some of the schools who have added sports that are not offered at the high school level, such as crew, synchronized swimming or equestrian.
Bradley-Doppes started her statement by saying that Title IX is a federal law. “It is fair and should be enforced.” Bradley-Doppes added that during her tenure in the Univ. of Michigan Athletics Department, the school was able to avoid dropping men’s gymnastics through careful financial planning, while at the same time adding three women’s sports and two more men’s sports. She used a survey over 5 years old that showed 79% of the population was in support of Title IX and that those same people were in favor of dropping a men’s program if it meant advancement for women. “There is much fat that can be trimmed from any athletics department,” Bradley-Doppes stated. She felt that there needed to be more education at all levels about Title IX and that there should also be stronger enforcement of the law. Bradley-Doppes proposed a tiering system where certain sports would be offered a certain level of scholarships but full university support, or cutting scholarships from other sports to help relieve the financial burden on the Athletics Department.
Felberg spoke mainly of his previous experience at BYU, when, as the Athletics Director and President, he had planned to add women’s sports. During a time when money was tight, he was instructed to drop men’s wrestling. Felberg also felt that there needed to be a change in the way in which the law can be interpreted and the way in which it should be enforced, pleading with the committee to look at the damage that proportionality has caused to male athletics.
PANEL 3
Snow led off the final panel discussion by stating that there seems to be no logical reason for enrollment at a school to have anything to do with athletics. He felt that schools that cap rosters and set goals for women’s numbers are only avoiding Title IX. “I am a firm believer in Title IX and I don’t like goals that can be used as an excuse,” he said. He felt that the ultimate test for a college or university should be a test of discrimination, and if those schools are shown to have discriminated against sexes or genders, then they should be held completely accountable.
Schur challenged Snow by saying that “just because (Title IX) has been effective does not mean that it is without problem.” He feels that Title IX is meant to be applied to many curricular activities, but that it seemingly only exists in sports. “A college or university cannot possibly be all things to all students,” Schur stated.
Chichester felt that Title IX had directly assisted in creating athletic opportunities for women, but that the Office of Civil Rights enforcement of the law is flawed. He asked for them to address the reality that the current financial stature of colleges and universities does not allow them to be completely in compliance with Title IX and proportionality.
Potuto stated that all schools are experiencing issues financially. She also explored the problem with tiering sports is that there would still be discrimination involved the way that the current system is set up. Potuto also explored the possibility of proportionality being a moving target. She stated that one day men may become more prominent in colleges and universities, and that could possibly mean the dropping of women’s sports to become Title IX compliant, which would create a mess across the board. She also discredited schools that add emerging women’s sports (synchronized swimming, water polo, equestrian and crew) as discriminatory towards minorities and under-privileged children since those sports consistently cost a lot of money to be involved in. “Don’t think that cutting scholarships is an appropriate solution,” Potuto said. “There should actually be some pressure on the NCAA to add scholarships in certain sports.”