By Lindsey Besecker
Assistant Sports Editor
Some support it, some are against it. No matter what, Title IX affects every university in regards to gender equality, especially when it comes to athletics.
The U.S. Department of Education finished a year-long review of the law in July, confirming points it had previously laid out while looking at newer emphasis areas.
The U.S. Department of Education sent out a three-page letter after the review in July, emphasizing that the main concern for schools is beng proportional. It also pointed out that schools could show that, historically, they have expanded programs for an underrepresented gender, and they could also show that students’ interests and abilities are already fulfilled.
Title IX, enacted in 1972, states that “no person in the U.S. shall, on the basis of sex be excluded from participation in, or denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any discrimination under any educational program or activity receiving federal aid.”
Officials at Pepperdine said that Title IX holds importance in the school’s athletics department.
“I would like to think that we would have promoted the opportunity for women to participate in (Pepperdine sports) anyway,” said Dr. John Watson, Pepperdine’s athletic director. He said Title IX just pushed Pepperdine to provide the opportunity.
“I think it is essential to do everything we can to not only comply with the law, but more importantly, comply with the intent of the law,” Watson said.
Watson said the intent of the law is “to provide women with comparable opportunities in intercollegiate athletics, and I believe we are doing that.”
The law was meant to create equal opportunities for men and women on the playing field and in the classroom. Ceilings on scholarships and number of team members have affected schools most as a result of the law. Since Pepperdine is a non-football school, it has not been affected as much as schools with football programs.
While some Pepperdine athletes may not realize how much Title IX has affected athletics, some athletes realize how it can shape the school’s programs.
“I think that (Title IX) … still has a long way to go, but it has given women a lot of opportunities,” senior women’s basketball guard Shandrika Lee said. “If you’re given an opportunity, the sky’s the limit.
“I just hope that our school continues to strive to make things equal,” she said.
Some action has been taken to make sure that equality has been maintained. Watson said Pepperdine eliminated its men’s swimming team in the 1980s – the “only negative decision” the school has had to make.
More recently, the addition of men’s sports to Pepperdine have started to be impacted by Title IX.
“There is a great push for a men’s soccer program, one we wish we could do,” Watson said.
He said that in order to have the men’s soccer team, one or two women’s sports – such as a women’s water polo team – would also have to be added to stay in compliance with the law. On top of that, it would cost the school an additional $450,000 to $500,000 for each sport. Adequate coaching and scholarships would also be needed – meaning more time to find those qualifications.
Pepperdine Associate Athletic Director Roxanne Levenson said the department is trying to add a women’s water polo team. However, she said there are not enough funds yet for the team.
“I think that (Title IX) has helped our women’s sporting opportunities,” Levenson said. “We have increased school funding in many of our women’s sports.”
Even with all of the benefits that come from the law, there can be drawbacks, as women’s volleyball Head Coach Nina Matthies pointed out.
Matthies said she was a direct recipient of Title IX benefits for women when she was playing volleyball at UCLA. Matthies said she may not have ended up coaching if she had not been able to play in college off of the scholarship that Title IX granted her.
“For me, it effected my life … it enabled me to go to college,” Matthies said. “If we didn’t have Title IX, I truly believe women’s sports would not be even close to where they are (now).”
On the flip side, Matthies has two sons who play water polo and did not receive full scholarships. While women’s teams receive more funding, some male athletes such as her sons may not get the full funding that they may deserve.
“There (are) positives and there’s negatives,” Matthies said. “I’m pretty much in the middle on both sides.”
Under Title IX, men’s and women’s teams have different scholarship amounts. Watson said each men’s teams receive 4.5 full scholarships while 12 are given to women’s teams. Despite those figures, Pepperdine manages to attract athletes who wish to play on its teams.
“It’s amazing, when you consider those factors, how well our teams are doing,” Watson said.
Proportionality is one of the main concerns with the law, and Watson said Pepperdine teams are right on track with overall enrollment. He said Pepperdine’s overall enrollment is leaning toward 55 percent women to 45 percent men, and the athletics are 56 percent women and 44 percent men.
On a national level, Title IX has received challenges from athletics supporters in the past few years, but it has been upheld and continues to act as a guideline for equality in school athletics.
This past year, the National Wrestling Coaches Association claimed that Title IX caused the elimination of hundreds of men’s sports – mainly wrestling, swimming and gymnastics – but the association lost the lawsuit it filed against the Department of Education.
On the other hand, proponents of the law say that women are given opportunities to play sports that were not available to them before. The number of women participating in sports almost doubled between 1972 and 2001. With all of these changes, Watson said Pepperdine sports are still excelling, no matter which gender plays on the team.
“It’s very important to us that we comply,” Levenson said. “It’s something that we continually work on.”
September 11, 2003