New Study of Gender Symmetric Teams Reveals Significant Disparity in Athletic Opportunities at Division I Level

New Study of Gender Symmetric Teams Reveals Significant Disparity
in Athletic Opportunities at Division I Level

37 Years After Passage of Title IX, the College Sports Council
Calls on NCAA to Equalize Scholarship Limits

WASHINGTON, D.C. – June 23, 2009 – The preliminary findings of a study of NCAA participation and scholarship data conducted by the College Sports Council (CSC) shows that in gender symmetrical sports, which have teams for both male and female athletes, women are accorded far more opportunities to compete and earn scholarships at NCAA Division 1 schools, the highest level of intercollegiate athletics.

“After nearly four decades after the passage of Title IX, it’s time to erase all institutional gender discrimination, and that includes bias against boys,” said CSC Chairman Eric Pearson. “Current NCAA policies cultivate the disparity between male and female scholarship opportunities. In sports where there are symmetric teams the scholarship limits should be the same. The CSC calls on the NCAA to equalize scholarship limits in all sports which have teams for both male and female athletes.”

Later this Summer, the CSC will release a comprehensive study on athletic opportunity in NCAA Division I in “gender symmetric” sports where both men and women compete. Preliminary findings of this study include:

• At the NCAA Division I level, there are far more women’s teams (2,653) than men’s teams (2,097), denying thousands of male athletes the opportunity to compete.

• Overall in “gender symmetric” sports, there are far more scholarships available for women (32,656) than for men (20,206).

• By far, the most difficult athletic scholarship to obtain at the Division I level is in men’s volleyball, where there are 489 high school athletes for every full NCAA scholarship.

For the charts related to the study, click here.

Research Note: The underlying data from this study was obtained from the NCAA ("1981-82-2006-07 NCAA Sports Sponsorship and Participation Rate Report" and "2006-07 NCAA Division I Manual") and the National Federation of State High School Associations using the 2006-07 academic year as a common baseline. The figure for maximum number of scholarships available was obtained by multiplying the number of Division I teams in which both men and women compete ("gender symmetric") by the scholarship limits set out by the NCAA in the 2006-07 Division I Manual.

Please note, not all NCAA institutions fully fund their programs to the NCAA scholarship limit, so this number is a theoretical maximum. For example, Ivy League institutions do not award athletic scholarships, though most athletes at those institutions do receive some form of financial aid. The final chart, "The Long Odds Against Athletic Scholarships," was calculated by dividing the number of high school participants by the maximum number of scholarships available.

The College Sports Council is a national coalition of coaches, parents, athletes and alumni.

Additional Background: www.collegesportscouncil.org

The Crisis of the Disappearing Educated Male

That's the title of an article by Janice Shaw Crouse that appeared in the The American Thinker last week. Here's the passage that caught my eye:

Some experts claim that the imbalance begins in the public schools, where recess and physical education are being cut. More active boys are at a disadvantage, they say, when there is no outlet for their energy and restlessness. In addition, Title IX programs have hurt men's athletics with the less profitable men's sports being cut (over 400 men's collegiate athletic teams have been cut since Title IX went into effect) in order to fund women's programs. According to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), "for every new women's athletic slot created between 1992 and 1997, 3.6 male athletes were dropped."

Something to think about, as we endure yet another Spring of further cuts.

Judge Rules Against Quinnipiac; Women's Volleyball Reinstated, But Men's Indoor Track Eliminated

From the Associated Press:

Quinnipiac University reinstated its volleyball team Tuesday and dropped men's indoor track in response to an injunction issued last week in a gender equity lawsuit against the school.

The announcement came four days after U.S. Judge Stefan Underhill prevented the school from carrying out plans to eliminate the women's volleyball program, a move announced in March as part of budget cuts that also saw the elimination of men's outdoor track and golf.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Connecticut brought the lawsuit on behalf of the volleyball team and its coach, who argued that Quinnipiac isn't in compliance with the Title IX federal law mandating equal opportunities for female athletes.

Underhill found that the team is likely to win that argument, and also prohibited the university from eliminating any other women's teams or athletic participation opportunities until the lawsuit is decided.

University spokeswoman Lynn Bushnell declined to comment on the reason for eliminating the indoor track team, though school officials acknowledged during the court hearing that many of the athletes on that team also run cross country and outdoor track.

Andrew Schneider, executive director of the ACLU of Connecticut, said testimony at trial showed the budget cuts being sought by the school could be made without eliminating any teams.

"Therefore, today's decision to cut the men's indoor track team to keep the women's volleyball team is a false choice that unnecessarily pits men athletes against women athletes," he said.

Really? And why is that? Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Roger I. Abrams, professor of law at Northeastern University, writing this past weekend in the Huffington Post:

Unless college women suddenly decide that they no longer wish to pursue college athletics, schools will have to save money by cutting only men's teams or finding some other means to balance their budgets.

Wonder where we've heard that before?

WIU Completes Model Survey

It was last October when we first told you about how Western Illinois University (WIU) signed an agreement with the Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights to resolve a Title IX complaint that alleged the school wasn't providing enough athletic opportunities for women.

As part of the agreement, WIU conducted a model survey to asses the level of interest in sports the school wasn't currently offering. The results are below:

In an effort to explore how well the current 10 men's and 10 women's NCAA Division I intercollegiate athletics program at Western is meeting the competitive athletic interest of WIU students, all undergraduate were invited to participate in an online survey regarding their interest in competing, level of athletic ability, and willingness to commit the time and energy required to be a successful Division I student-athlete. In addition to potential intercollegiate athletic expansion, the survey results may also lead to greater intramural and competitive club team sports. Of 10,743 undergraduate students invited to participate, 831 (8%) responded to the survey. (Contact Intercollegiate Athletics for more information.)

• Among survey respondents, 8% were current Western student-athletes, 12% were members of a Club Sport team, and 23% were currently participating in intramurals, while 70% said they were interested in participating in some sort of athletic program at Western.

• The survey considered the 19 men's and 20 women's current NCAA Division I sports, 7 NCAA considered emerging women's sports, as well as additional non-gender specific considerations to gain a fuller grasp of WIU student interest in athletic participation at any level. Students who indicated interest in participating in a currently offered WIU NCAA Division I sport were encourage to contact that sport's head coach.

• For the 18 sports that Western does not offer for either sex, in addition to Men's Volleyball, the sports with the greatest NCAA Division I expansion interest were:
  
  • Bowling - 39 students - 11 women and 28 men, however, the NCAA only sanctions Women's Bowling, and as an emerging sport
  • Men's Volleyball - 38 men
  • Wrestling - 41 students - 6 women and 35 men, however, the NCAA only sanctions Men's Wrestling
  • Ice Hockey - 34 students, 5 women and 29 men, with the NCAA sanctioning both Men's and Women's Ice Hockey
  • Lacrosse - 34 students, 4 women and 30 men, with the NCAA, with the NCAA sanctioning both Men's and Women's
  • Rifle - 33 students, 3 women and 30 men, with the NCAA sanctioning Rifle as a mixed Men's and Women's team sport

• Western's Department of Intercollegiate Athletics, along with Campus Recreation and University Administrators will be reviewing the complete survey analysis to determine where the greatest potential for adding NCAA Division I, Club Sports, and/or Intramural Sports lies when combining student interest and ability, along with the potential for the regional competition necessary for the more competitive interests.

Very interesting. More to come.

The Truth About the High School Information Collection Act

Thanks again to our friend Allison Kasic, who has taken a closer look at the High School Information Collection Act and shared her thoughts about it over at Town Hall:

The bill is modeled on the Equity in Athletics Disclosure Act, which requires colleges to report similar information about their athletic programs to the federal government. By providing the government this information, policymakers can assess if schools are complying with laws such as Title IX. Supporters of such proposals argue that this encourages greater equity between the genders. That all sounds good until you look at how Title IX is enforced and how greater “equity” is often achieved.

While most people think of Title IX of merely requiring schools to ensure that women have the opportunity to participate in athletics, proportionality has long been at the center of Title IX enforcement at the collegiate level. Developed in 1979 as part of a three-prong test of Title IX compliance, proportionality sets up a rigid quota for schools where the gender ratio of athletes must match the gender ratio of the overall student body. For example, if 56% of the student body is female, then 56% of the school’s athletes must also be female. The other two options for demonstrating compliance laid out in the three prong-test lack clear-cut measures and therefore schools hoping to avoid potential Title IX-based lawsuits view them as short-term holding patterns until proportionality can be met.

Proportionality’s one-size-fits-all system leaves schools with few options: to make the numbers match up they usually have to decide between adding more women’s programs or cutting men’s programs. Unfortunately, schools often go down the later path. As a result, men’s program numbers are down across the board, while certain men’s programs are on the verge of extinction. Men’s gymnastics, for example, only has nineteen varsity programs left in the entire country.

As many of our readers already know, we've been pointing out how fear of Title IX has lead to high school officials around the country to make some curious decisions -- including denying a request from a boys high school basketball booster club to charge admission to their games. If the Act gets passed into law, I'd fully expect many more ridiculous decisions like that one.

For more, click here, while it seems as if the state of Pennsylvania looks like it wants to follow suit.

Calling Out the New York Times on Title IX and Cutting Men's Athletics

Exactly two weeks ago, the New York Times ran an article about recent across the board cuts in college athletic programs. Of course, that story neglected to mention how strict proportionality and Title IX are forcing schools to concentrate their cuts in men's athletic programs.

Our friend Allison Kasic sat down at her keyboard and wrote this letter to the editor in response:

To the Sports Editor:

When colleges consider budget cuts, male athletes will always bear the brunt of those cuts because of Title IX’s demands. Title IX’s proportionality requirement mandates that the gender breakdown of athletes mirror the gender breakdown of the general student population.

Most colleges struggle to meet that demand and are left with the option of adding more women’s sports or cutting men’s teams. Combine that framework with the economic downturn, and it’s no surprise that colleges are cutting men’s teams in droves. If costs were the only consideration, there would be no reason for universities to disproportionately cut men’s teams.

People deserve to know the full story about Title IX’s impact on collegiate athletics so they can encourage lawmakers to rethink enforcement measures to ensure that they are fair to both sexes.

Allison Kasic
Washington

The writer is a director at the Independent Women’s Forum, a research and educational institution.

Thanks to Allison for helping to fight the good fight.

The Next Big NCAA Joke: Sand Volleyball

Thanks to Doug Robinson of the Deseret News for calling out the NCAA on this decision:

Congratulations to the NCAA for making beach volleyball an official collegiate sport — for women.

Just what we need: another sport that is not sponsored by high schools and is played largely by people who have access to, oh, I don't know, a beach.

By the way, the new sport is being called "sand volleyball," because, as the NCAA explains it, not all schools have a beach.

Did you already figure out why they added the sport? Here's a hint: Title IX.

This is a transparent move to inflate the number of female athletes on college athletic rosters; apparently, the addition of those silly NCAA-sponsored crew teams didn't do the trick. Or didn't you wonder why sand/beach volleyball is being offered, as proudly explained by the NCAA, FOR WOMEN ONLY.

Next stop: Women's hop scotch and jump roping teams.

While Robinson is a little more heated with the rhetoric than the CSC might be, his point still stands: creating a new sport for women but not for men -- remember, men compete in beach volleyball at the Summer Olympics -- it's nothing but a transparent attempt to goose female participation, and another golden opportunity for a scholarship that men won't ever have.

I wonder what Karch Kiraly thinks about this decision.

Decision Expected in Quinnipiac Title IX Case

We'll be keeping an eye on this story today:

A federal judge is expected to rule this week whether Quinnipiac University will be allowed to eliminate its volleyball team.

Coach Robin Sparks and some team members are asking for an injunction that would keep the team intact until their gender equity lawsuit against the school can be heard.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Connecticut brought the lawsuit on behalf of the team and its coach, who say Quinnipiac isn't in compliance with Title IX laws.

Why is this story important? As one blogger observed, while the women's volleyball team was cut, so were men's golf and track, while cheerleading was added for women.

In other words, when the budget axe falls on athletic departments, men are just expected to fall in line, while women are often eagerly embraced by the legal system. Stay tuned.

Never Say an Unkind Word About Title IX

In today's edition of the New York Times, the nation's paper of record has finally taken note of what we've been warning about for a while -- budget cuts forcing the elimination of athletic teams.

But though the story by Ken Belson mentions Title IX, he doesn't mention its pernicious effect during an era of cost-cutting. Like it or not, thanks to the proportionality prong, we know for a fact that the vast majority of athletes getting shown the door are men.

Not that the Times would bother to mention that, would they?

Girls Soccer Players Against Title IX

Maybe that headline might be a bit of an oversimplification, but it's hard to come to any other conclusion after reading an article that appeared this weekend in Five Boro Sports about how a lawsuit filed by the New York Civil Liberties Union on behalf of just three Soccer players is going to force the entire city to switch their season from Spring to Fall -- a switch that's going to create all sorts of problems when it comes to fields and scheduling.

As it turns out, though the NYCLU trumpeted its suit as a victory for girls, a reporter who actually spent some time talking to those same Soccer players discovered that there was absolutely no support for the switch:

One of the big topics of conversation at the 16th annual Queens Kiwanis Cup girls’ soccer tournament Saturday afternoon was that it would be the final one ever. Because the PSAL girls’ soccer season will be moving from the spring to the fall starting in September, there will not be enough time or field space to hold the event.

In response to the unpopular switch, which became official when the Department of Education signed a deal with the New York Civil Liberties Union in January, players at the Kiwanis Cup wore black armbands.

“It’s an honor of something dying,” said Forest Hills coach Bob Sprance, whose school hosted the tourney. “The spring season is dying.”

Why is that happening? In short, there simply aren't enough fields to accomodate everyone in the Fall:

Fearing litigation, the DOE signed a deal with the NYCLU and the switch will take effect for the 2009 fall season. There seem to be more people against it than for it, though. Sprance, with the help of other coaches, has distributed surveys to many girls’ and boys’ soccer players across the city and he says he has 2,000 of them at his home that are against the change.

God forbid anyone ask these kids or their parents what they actually want. Instead, a small knot of activists get to dictate terms to 1,600 other players.

“I don’t think it’s fair,” Newtown senior Kathy Cano said. “We’re the players. Why shouldn’t we get a say?”

Added Forest Hills junior Dalila La Commare: “We don’t have enough field space, we don’t have enough referees. We’re missing a lot of things.”

Sprance announced Saturday that he’s organizing a protest for May 20 at City Hall. He’s asking for girls’ soccer, boys’ soccer and football players to come out and wear their uniforms. Football will also be affected, because girls’ soccer will probably have to be played on weekends due to the lack of space.