Gender equity has created an intriguing
set of circumstances in the
world of college athletics.
On the one hand, Title IX, the federal
law which forbids sex discrimination in
educational institutions receiving federal
funds, has opended the window of opportunity for scores
of female athletes.
The NCAA women’s basketball tournament offers
ample proof. The Women’s Final has attracted a
average of almost 50,000 fans over the past two years.
And there are other examples. Soccer has blossomed
as a premier women’s sport in
America. Colleges and universities
are a major part of the feeder
system that produced players for
the 1996 Olympic gold-medal
winning U.S. soccer team.
Women’s gymnastics and swimming
are also on the rise as
collegiate sports which feature
top-caliber competition and
widespread fan support.
But there is a down side. While
there are now more women sports
programs on the collegiate scene,
critics say that in general, women
have benefitted at the expense of
men’s sports.
It’s All About Proportionality
In order for schools to comply
with Title IX, schools have to
provide opportunities for female
athletes that are in line with the
percentage of females on that
campus. Put another way, if a
school’s student body is 55 percent
women, 55 percent of its total
athletic offerings must be geared
toward women. The law doesn’t
mandate that schools treat men’s
and women’s sports identically, but
it does say that the benefits for
both should be comparable.
Few
schools have yet met this text,
according to recent surveys [see BI
the Numbers, pg. 27], but pressure
to comply may increase after a
landmark Title IX case against
Brown University works its was;
through the Supreme Court.
For many schools, adhering to
Title IX means cutting men’s sports
to provide funding for
women. In amny instances, schools have had to eliminate
some men’s spot’s or reduce — sometimes dramatically — the
number of scholarships and coaches in those
sports.
“If you increase opportunities for one group, I’m not
so sure that you don’t wind up denying another group,”
says Alex wood, head football coach
at James Madison University and vice-president
of the Black coaches Association.
“And because there’s only so
much money available to operate a
college sports program, somebody
will inevitably get the short end of
the stick.”
Football has become a main
target for Title IX advocates because it
eats up a large chunk of the athletic
budget. The sport is expensive because
of the large roster sizes (80-100
players), equipment, and recruiting
costs.
