Title IX under attack

Jennifer Knight

Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2003 | 9:05 a.m.

REBEL TIMELINE

When women's sports programs were added at UNLV:

UNLV's InFini Robinson isn't nearly old enough to remember the creation of Title IX, but the landmark 1972 measure played a big role in shaping her academic and athletic career.

Robinson, a 21-year-old junior guard for the Lady Rebels, is one of thousands of so-called "Title IX babies" who have benefited from the legislation that mandated equal opportunity for men and women in education.

Now, for the first time in three decades, Title IX is under review by federal officials. A blue-ribbon commission appointed by the Bush administration has been re-examining the law and is expected to make its recommendations regarding possible changes to Title IX following discussions today and Thursday in Washington, D.C.

Supporters of the proposed changes believe colleges and high schools should have more flexibility on the guideline that states a school's athletic program must mirror the gender makeup of its overall student body.

Title IX backers -- such as Robinson -- maintain the law should be left as it is.

"I say, don't mess with Title IX at all," said Robinson, a transfer from the University of Michigan who was a Street & Smith's High School All-American.

"I'm a firm believer in it. If it wasn't for Title IX, there wouldn't be a women's basketball team."

Officials from women's organizations agree, warning that significant changes to Title IX could mean devastating consequences for women's sports on the high school and college levels.

But others -- including some UNLV administrators -- say that some adjustments to Title IX would be welcome. In fact, if changes in the law are not made, UNLV could be forced to come up with additional money to start a new women's sports program -- or else drop an existing men's program, officials said.

At issue is the wording at the heart of Title IX, which states that institutions can be in compliance with the measure by qualifying under any one of three guidelines:

Many schools opt for the first term, which has come to be known as the "proportionality" rule, because it is the most quantifiable -- if 51 percent of a student body is female, for instance, then 51 percent of the athletes must be female.

While meeting this demand makes it easy for schools to prove they are in compliance with Title IX, it has also drawn criticism from people and groups who see it as an unfair quota system.

Those critics point out that hundreds of men's collegiate sports teams have been eliminated since the inception of Title IX. According to one study, 171 collegiate wrestling programs got the ax between 1972 and 1999. (While Title IX applies to all publicly funded institutions, it has generated the most controversy in the realm of college sports.)

One proposal of the Bush administration panel, called the U.S. Commission on Athletic Opportunity, is to grant schools more "wiggle room" under the guideline.

Specifically, institutions would get 7 percentage points worth of "wiggle room." So if 51 percent of the student body was female, then as few as 44 percent of the athletes could be female and the school would remain in compliance with Title IX.

"Because I am an administrator trying to balance the budget, having some wiggle room would be helpful," said Lisa Kelleher, UNLV's associate athletic director.

UNLV has not had to cut any of its sports programs, although it has had trouble fully complying with some of Title IX's guidelines.

As of June, female athletes at UNLV received 75 percent of the number of scholarships that men did. Ideally, that figure should be 100 percent.

UNLV has not been cited because it is working in a satisfactory manner toward reaching full compliance, school officials said.

"It is true that we are not 100 percent in compliance," said Andy Grossman, director of media relations for UNLV athletics. "As the law states, we have to be making progress toward the goal of 100 percent and we are doing that."

UNLV's female student enrollment is expected to jump from 51 percent to 56 percent of the school's population next year. That means, depending on what the Bush administration panel says this week, that UNLV could have to add another women's sports program or risk cutting a men's program.

"Cutting programs is not something that UNLV is philosophically aligned with so more than likely we would have to come up with the money (for a new women's program)," Kelleher said.

Another program could cost up to $300,000 a year, Kelleher said. UNLV has already received $3 million worth of scholarship aid from the state during the last two bienniums. And Gov. Kenny Guinn's administration is desperately seeking ways to save, rather than expend, funds during the state's ongoing budget crunch.

"It's almost like if the demand was there (for the sport) then people should consider it," Kelleher said. "But that's not always the case. Maybe that should be (another) recommendation: that there (must be sufficient) interest before a program is started."

Deborah Yow, athletic director for the University of Maryland, was the commission member who made the "wiggle room" suggestion. She felt it was a good compromise for a law that she calls, at least in part, illogical.

"If we carry the law out in this logical fashion, that means that people in the band should follow the same guidelines," Yow said. "The engineering school should. So should elementary education and all other programs. Why stop at athletics? People think this is ridiculous."

Eric LeSher, president of a group called Iowans Against Quotas, agreed.

"The way Title IX has been implemented, it has hurt men's sports programs," he said. "I think a temporary moratorium on the use of proportionality in Title IX would make sense. Even with that, I have very little doubt that opportunities for women in sports would continue to increase."

Hard-line Title IX loyalists who oppose any changes point out that the measure has helped millions of women get involved in sports.

At UNLV, the number of women's teams has risen from seven to 10 since 1996.

"Before Title IX, girls were encouraged to be cheerleaders, not soccer, basketball or hockey players," said Jacqueline Woods, executive director of the American Association of University Women. "Efforts to weaken Title IX must be viewed as nothing less than attempts to roll back the clock."

Christine Grant, former president of the National Association of College Women Athletic Administrators, argues that there could be a loss of $78 million to $139 million a year in scholarships for women if the law is changed.

"Such proposals would permanently deny women equal access to play sports and permanently deny them equal access to a free education," Grant said.