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The U.S. Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights has stepped in and resulted in all schools in the GLIAC changing the times their basketball games start.
(the Great Lakes Conference includes the schools below)
Unlike Bradley and a lot of D-I's, they always hold their women's and men's games back to back...
but that's mostly to HELP boost the attendance at women's games,
as virtually NOBODY would show up if they held the women's games separately on some other night, save for a few schools.
BUT -- the tendency was to generaly have the women's games first, followed by the men's games....
and the main reason was to avoid the mass exodus of fans just as the women were taking the court.
BUT -- alas -- someone filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights -- and here's the result....
Does anyone else feel like I do, that had the men's games been played first...someone STILL would have griped, and this would have happened anyway?
Is there anything so minor that people don't whine about it??
"The GLIAC, in response to a complaint filed by the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights (OCR),
has flip-flopped the start times for its women's and men's basketball games for the upcoming season.
That means that the men, who have traditionally played shortly after the women's game, will play first..
The basketball schedule will revert back to women-first and men-second for the 2011-12 season, then continue rotating back-and-forth annually.
....the move was made at the request of the OCR.
... people felt we were not treating women's basketball the same as the men by having them play first all of the time.
Curtis noted. "Every women's coach was fine with playing first, and every men's coach liked playing second.
" ... If you had polled the coaches, it would have been unanimous -- both women's and men's (coaches) -- to keep it the same," he added.
SVSU men's coach Frankie Smith said..he is frustrated by the fact that a party outside of the league could cause such a radical change.
"It's disappointing that none of this was initiated by anybody within the GLIAC and by none of the coaches," Smith said.
"It's disappointing that someone who has no direct relation with the men's or women's programs (could have this sort of influence)."
..... many fans will depart after the men's games, leaving the women to play in front of half-full gyms."
Ashland
Ferris State
Univ. of Findlay
Gannon
Grand Valley State
Hillsdale College
Lake Superior State
Mercyhurst
Michigan Tech
Northern Michigan
Northwood
Oakland
Saginaw Valley State
Wayne State (Mich.)
(the Great Lakes Conference includes the schools below)
Unlike Bradley and a lot of D-I's, they always hold their women's and men's games back to back...
but that's mostly to HELP boost the attendance at women's games,
as virtually NOBODY would show up if they held the women's games separately on some other night, save for a few schools.
BUT -- the tendency was to generaly have the women's games first, followed by the men's games....
and the main reason was to avoid the mass exodus of fans just as the women were taking the court.
BUT -- alas -- someone filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights -- and here's the result....
Does anyone else feel like I do, that had the men's games been played first...someone STILL would have griped, and this would have happened anyway?
Is there anything so minor that people don't whine about it??
"The GLIAC, in response to a complaint filed by the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights (OCR),
has flip-flopped the start times for its women's and men's basketball games for the upcoming season.
That means that the men, who have traditionally played shortly after the women's game, will play first..
The basketball schedule will revert back to women-first and men-second for the 2011-12 season, then continue rotating back-and-forth annually.
....the move was made at the request of the OCR.
... people felt we were not treating women's basketball the same as the men by having them play first all of the time.
Curtis noted. "Every women's coach was fine with playing first, and every men's coach liked playing second.
" ... If you had polled the coaches, it would have been unanimous -- both women's and men's (coaches) -- to keep it the same," he added.
SVSU men's coach Frankie Smith said..he is frustrated by the fact that a party outside of the league could cause such a radical change.
"It's disappointing that none of this was initiated by anybody within the GLIAC and by none of the coaches," Smith said.
"It's disappointing that someone who has no direct relation with the men's or women's programs (could have this sort of influence)."
..... many fans will depart after the men's games, leaving the women to play in front of half-full gyms."
Ashland
Ferris State
Univ. of Findlay
Gannon
Grand Valley State
Hillsdale College
Lake Superior State
Mercyhurst
Michigan Tech
Northern Michigan
Northwood
Oakland
Saginaw Valley State
Wayne State (Mich.)
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