By Massiel Ladron De Guevara
Staff Writer
The National Wrestling Coaches Association took Title IX to the mat earlier this year and lost.
Claiming the current interpretation of Title IX discriminates against men and has caused the elimination of hundreds of men’s sports, the NWCA filed a lawsuit against the Department of Education late last year, which prompted the Bush administration to create the Commission on Opportunity in Athletics to examine the claim.
Enacted in 1972, Title IX passed as an amendment to the 1964 Civil Rights Act, which prohibits sex discrimination in educational programs and activities at institutions that receive federal funding.
The NWCA alleged 170 men’s wrestling, swimming and gymnastics programs have been eliminated by colleges and universities over the last 20 years because of Title IX requirements. Proponents of Title IX attest the regulations have allowed women’s participation in sports at the college level to more than double in the last 20 years, from about 74,000 in 1982 to more than 150,000 in 2001.
After months of debate and close examination of arguments presented by both sides, the advisory commission finished its work in late January, providing key recommendations to minimize the loss of men’s sports without urging the Bush administration to make a fundamental overhaul in the way it interprets Title IX.
If implemented, the recommendations will allow schools to refrain from counting walk-ons to sports teams as part of the percentage to be counted toward the proportionality between different sexes.
Since far more male than female non-scholarship students walk onto college programs, this would reduce the need for schools to put lids on the size of men’s rosters. Counting each team as having a set number of openings, regardless of how many students are on the squad was also recommended.
For example, if basketball teams are deemed to represent 20 slots, men’s and women’s teams would be considered inherently equal for Title IX purposes, regardless if the women’s team had 15 players and the men’s 25. Finally, the commission recommended allowing institutions to use surveys as a way of demonstrating compliance with the law. It is the commission’s belief that surveying students will find where interest in sports among men and women are and thus could be used to justify directing a reduced share of athletic resources to women.
Title IX was intended to increase opportunities for women on athletic fields by requiring colleges to give men and women equal opportunity to participate in sports and provide athletic opportunities for men and women that are substantially proportionate to their enrollment. For example, if a school is 60 percent female, then close to 60 percent of its athletic opportunities must be for women.
With a higher female than male enrollment, Pepperdine has lost its share of men’s sports, but has also had significant progress in women’s participation in competitive and intramural sports. Maintaining a close watch on the debates of the Commission on Opportunity in Athletics, Pepperdine Director of Athletics Dr. John Watson said Title IX will continue to be a topic of discussion to ensure equality.
“Over the years we have had some issues on compliance that has caused us to lose some men’s sports such as swimming in the ‘80s,” Watson said. “But we have also had women’s sports escalate to national competition arenas, giving women an excellent opportunity to compete in sports.”
Claiming that Title IX has fulfilled and encouraged its mission at Pepperdine, Watson says he is happy to say women’s sports have been a top priority and although some ceilings on the number of men who can participate in sports have been placed, the opportunities for women to partake in Pepperdine sports outweighs the losses.
“Title IX has hampered opportunities for young men to participate in some sports and has caused some levels of disadvantages for them,” Watson said. “I think it’s unfortunate, but I also think it would be unfortunate if women’s sports were diminished at Pepperdine.”
UCLA Director of Athletics Betsy Stephenson assures Watson’s opinion is not limited to a mid-sized school like Pepperdine. Dropping numerous men’s sports in the 1990s, Stephenson claims UCLA athletics has dealt with similar caps and regulations as Pepperdine but maintains that Title IX has helped more than it has harmed sports.
“The equal opportunity Title IX has generated for women has helped (UCLA) stand by our philosophy of providing equal opportunity for men and women in all aspects of college,” Stephenson said. “I don’t think reinterpretation of the title would be a good alternative for women or men.”
Watson maintains Title IX is instrumental to Pepperdine’s athletic program.
“We will continue to allow men and women to have walk-ons,” Watson said. “We will also continue to ensure that equality in sports continues regardless of what recommendations are enacted.”
March 27, 2003