Leveled Playing Field?

June 24, 2002 -- Thirty years after the federal government forced colleges to give women athletes equal opportunities to those offered to men, a new cry of unfair treatment is rising. This time, it's the men who say they're being treated unfairly.

"We are in the gym everyday, six days a week up to four hours a day every day, blood sweat and tears," said Jeffrey Krok, a freshman gymnast at the University of Massachusetts.

Krok's gymnastics team — along with six other University of Massachusetts sports teams — are being eliminated because of budget cuts. Male athletes try not to point fingers in blame, but some attribute the loss of the teams on Title IX — the law designed to provide equal opportunities for athletes who are women.

Since becoming law in 1972, Title IX has led to the creation of more than 350 college teams for women's sports. During that same period, however, more than 400 men's teams have been eliminated.

The explosion of women's sports helped pave the way for professional leagues and a new generation of female superstars. "I look at my life and just how much sports has enhanced it and the opportunities I have been given because of Title IX," said women's soccer star Mia Hamm.

Maintaining a Balance

Under current government regulations, the best way schools can comply with Title IX and avoid costly lawsuits is to make sure the percentage of male and female athletes is roughly equal to the percentage of male and female students on campus.

"We kept Title IX in mind all along because we had to make sure our numbers were absolutely correct," said Bill Strickland, interim athletic director for U-Mass. "We had a Title IX consultant come in and make sure that we were OK."

But maintaining that balance is difficult, because no matter how many women's programs are added, young men still go out for sports in larger numbers. So, schools often find that the easiest way to achieve gender balance is to cut men's programs — usually low-profile sports such as wrestling, track or gymnastics. Twenty years ago, for example, 130 men's gymnastics programs existed on college campuses. Today, there are fewer than 35.

"It seems kind of trivial that they would just cut us based on numbers," said Krok.

Advocates of Title IX say school could provide opportunities for women without hurting men — if they were willing to trim the lavish budgets in high-profile sports.But U-Mass' Strickland said that schools are generally reluctant to scale back spending on sports that generate revenue and prestige.

"It's part of the 'keeping up with the Jones' mentality," Strickland said. "I don't think that anybody wants to be the first one to say 'well, I am going to hold the line here' when you know that your competition is not holding the line. It's very important to the universities. It is very important to the alumni that these high profile, very visible sports remain competitive."

Roy Johnson, coach of the U-Mass men's gymnastics team, said schools have created a two-tiered system that pits high-profile sports teams such as basketball, football and hockey against everybody else. Johnson, whose job was eliminated along with his team, said the annual budget for his nationally ranked team is $140,000.

Meanwhile, high-profile sports on campus are posting large deficits. Men's football ran a deficit of more than $2 million, men's ice hockey, $993,662 and men's basketball, $490,513, according to a report in the Boston Herald.

"It's really a battle of participation versus the arms race," Johnson said. "Do you need to continue to build facilities compared to making sure that there is plenty of opportunities for people in any sport."

Schools Spending Money Generously?

And to make sure high-profile sports like football, basketball and hockey remain competitive, schools spend generously on coaches salaries, training budgets and travel. There are many cases where colleges pay for an entire football team — players, coaches and trainers — to stay overnight in a local hotel before a home game.

Donna Lopiano, executive director of the Women's Sports Foundation, said that kind of free spending undercuts funding for all other sports.

"There is nothing to keep a university from saying 'well, I'll just give every sport a smaller piece of the pie,' but they are choosing not to do that," said Lopiano. "They are choosing to treat a few men like King, and a few women's teams, too."

U-Mass senior Ben Jacobs, a standout on the parallel bars, missed making the All-American Collegiate Team this year by mere hundredths of a point. Jacobs said he does not want special treatment; he just wants one more shot at a title.

"I would have liked to have been All-American. I was really close this year and I think that I could do it if I had one more year," said Jacobs.

Will There Be Changes?

The National Wrestling Coaches association filed a lawsuit against the federal government on behalf of a coalition of men's sports. The group says the law intended to level the playing field for women has instead created widespread discrimination against men.

The Bush administration filed a motion to dismiss the suit but there are indications that the government still may consider making changes in the law or amending the way the law is enforced.

Jessica Gavora, author of Tilting the Playing Field, a book that is highly critical of Title IX, is a close adviser to Attorney General John Ashcroft. Secretary of Education Rod Paige has publicly stated his concerns about Title IX as it is currently enforced.

President Bush — an avid sports fan — has expressed strong support for Title IX. But during the 2000 campaign the president also said he does not support a system of quotas that pits one group against another.