Frank Deford takes on Title IX . . . .

Interesting number that jumped out at me in Deford's piece - 58 percent of college students nowadays are women.

However, one statistic that was missing was the number of female participants in NCAA athletics and the number of male participants. The number of participants in each sport goes toward determining Title IX compliance at each institution, not the number of sports offered by an institiution.

Also, Deford's propositions regarding how to "level the field" were unrealistic.

 

All I know is, it's no one's fault, the least of them members of a men's soccer, track or swimming team that gets axed, that there is no female sport similar to football.

 

Haven;t read the piece yet, but isn;t football not figured in when taking Title IX into consideration at schools?

 

Football is certainly counted, which is why more than a few universities have women's teams (but not men's) in sports like crew and equestrian, and why there are so many more women's volleyball and soccer teams than men's teams.

 

I'm going to make the point again. And I could be wrong (for college level): Football is a co-ed sport. Both men and women can play it.

At least that is the case at the school my dad is the AD at. With football counting toward both both boys and girls (as well as baseball), the girls have one more sport available to them than the boys. (9-8). And of course, boys can't play softball while girls can play baseball if they choose.

It's been said on this thread and I agree, anytime we try to make things equal by taking away from one side instead of adding to the other is a problem. Much like the industry that most of you work in. Publishers try to make the bottom line not by trying to increase revenue but rather by slashing spending.

I don't like deford's agrument, but he's on to something.

 

How many ballet dancers are given athletic scholarships as opposed to academic scholarships? Are they full rides or partials? Does the average ballet dancer who a recipient of a scholarship like a football player have the same grades and scores upon admittance? better? worse? Are admittance exceptions made for ballet dancers at the same rate and total as football players? What is the graduation rate of ballet dancers on scholarships v. football players.? Is there an academic discipline where 90% of those involved in the program on scholarship? Are 90% of the engineering majors, economics majors, art history majors, language majors, journalism majors or chemistry majors on full academic scholarships?

 

Or, on a school-by-school basis, they could remove any sport that pays for itself through TV money or gate receipts. That's mostly just football and/or basketball. (EDIT: And would include some womens' sports at certain schools.)

 

First thing I'll take issue with:

This is not the case. Acceptance to Juilliard or the Berklee School of Music is to a musician what being accepted to Oklahoma for football is to an athlete. Both music schools offer full scholarships. Berklee offers more than a million dollars in four-year awards each year.

Almost every other university's music department offers merit-based partial scholarships, mostly through endowments. Those who endow scholarships are akin to athletic boosters. Musicians who receive partial scholarships are no different from the cross-country or soccer athletes who receive $500 in book money each semester as a "scholarship".

At Notre Dame, all music majors receive a "remission of expenses fees" for private and studio lessons. This would be akin to the meals and equipment athletes are provided as part of team expenses.

I'll be back to pick apart the rest.

 

And what does any of that have to do with the central question?
If you're going to talk strictly about the fact these guys are on scholarship, remember that the revenue they collectively generate goes well beyond the collective costs of their scholarships. At Ohio State, a home football game generates more than $4 million before we're even talking about broadcast rights.
To put 85 players on scholarship at an average cost of $25,000 costs a little more than half that. So the scholarship issue is an obfuscation.
What difference does it make if dancers pay to take Ballet 202? Does that make what they do any more intellectually demanding than football practice at 3?

 

Football is not an academic pursuit, dance is. You cannot get a degree in Football Studies, you can get a degree in dance.

 

This statement is incomplete. Title IX compliance has three "prongs":
1. providing athletic opportunities proportionate to student enrollment (what Deford is talking about)
2. demonstrate a continued effort to increase opportunities for the underrepresented gender
3. demonstrate full accommodation of the interest and ability of underrepresented gender

If females are 60 percent of a school's enrollment it is not mandated they have 60 percent of that school's athletic opportunities, as Defort interprets it. If a school shows it is making efforts to accommodate athletic interest among females, that's good enough. If a school shows it has met athletic interest (i.e. no need to have a crew team at a school where there is no interest in crew), that's good enough.

These prongs have been weakened by interpretation of the Bush Administration, but they still exist. There is more than one way to be in compliance with Title IX.

 

One aspect of Title IX that's often overlooked is "proportionality" -- the example Deford uses -- is one of three measuring sticks that can be used for compliance. Any school can choose any of the three. Why everyone chooses "proportionality" is a mystery to me.


The Three (from www.american.edu)
Substantially proportionate athletic opportunities for male and female athletes;
A history and continuing practice of expanding opportunities for the under-represented sex;
Full and effective accommodation of the interests and abilities of the under-represented sex. Schools do not necessarily need to offer identical sports, yet they do need to provide an equal opportunity for females to play in sports of interest.