The legacy of Title IX

[Da Coach]

I believe we will keep seeing more of these kinds of cuts, as state schools see funding cuts from the state, and athletic budgets feel the pinch.

University of Rhode Island cutting men's swimming, men's tennis and field hockey--

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncaa/news/story?id=3347137&campaign=rss&source=NCAAHeadlines

[tornado]

They are not the only ones....
Idaho State is dropping another mens sport, so now they have 6 mens sports and 9 womens sports, but Title IX demands equality and football uses so many scholarships that a lot of other mens sports gotta go!

http://www.cstv.com/sports/m-golf/stories/041508aao.html

[SFP]

Cocch why is this a Title IX legacy? These programs probably cost the school money regardless of Title IX. The only sports that drive positive revenue are basketball and for the large programs football. Giving women the same access to sports has been very positive and it will be a matter of time before one of their sports start generating revenue for their schools (volleyball or even basketball perhaps). If you are talking about elimination of some men's program as a legacy let's also bring out the positive.

[BUBraves2006]

Please don't take this as a sexist remark, but I don't see any women's sports (across the board) ever becoming consistent generators of revenue. I think the concept behind Title IX is great. The fact remains that until women (as a large group, not individually) start caring about sports more than other perfectly relevant topics (entertainment, the arts, etc.), women's sports aren't going to draw well. Men aren't going to start attending women's events because there is a general perception that the quality of women's sports is subpar to men's. That might be grossly incorrect and possibly sexist, but it's just the way it is and I don't see anything changing anytime soon. That's the biased society we live in today.

I think Title IX's "spirit of the law" is great, but the "letter of the law" might possibly be hurting schools. At least, I think that is what DC was getting at?

[tornado]

Pete...because most D-I schools do football, and they love doing football because it is a big fan draw and makes $$ for the schools.
But TITLE IX requires they have roughly the same proportion of students on scholarship Male vs. Female as there is in the student population.
Thus....if they have 60-80 males on FB scholarships, they have to either think up a WHOLE BUNCH more womens sports or they have to axe mens sports.

It is NOT about funding, it is about being required/FORCED to comply with title IX, therefore mens sports (and thus mens' opportunities to play college sports or get scholarships) MUST GO!

[Da Coach]

Cocch why is this a Title IX legacy? These programs probably cost the school money regardless of Title IX. The only sports that drive positive revenue are basketball and for the large programs football. Giving women the same access to sports has been very positive and it will be a matter of time before one of their sports start generating revenue for their schools (volleyball or even basketball perhaps). If you are talking about elimination of some men's program as a legacy let's also bring out the positive.

If you don't think title IX has played a significant part in this, I wish you could talk to any D1 athletic director about it. Privately they will tell you it is a major, though not the only reason.

[AE Braves Fan]

...Men aren't going to start attending women's events because there is a general perception that the quality of women's sports is subpar to men's. That might be grossly incorrect and possibly sexist, but it's just the way it is and I don't see anything changing anytime soon. That's the biased society we live in today.

The quality of women's sports is absolutely subpar to men's. The Mid State 6 boys champs would easily defeat the WNBA champs every year. No bias here, just a fact.

[amckillip]

The quality of women's sports is absolutely subpar to men's. The Mid State 6 boys champs would easily defeat the WNBA champs every year. No bias here, just a fact.

I would agree that mens sports are better than womens, but this is tantamount to saying BU should be playing in the Galesburg sectional. Just dumb and uneducated.

[Scouter]

The Mid State 6 boys champs would easily defeat the WNBA champs every year. No bias here, just a fact.

Wow. Just ... wow.

[Dallas Brave]

The quality of women's sports is absolutely subpar to men's. The Mid State 6 boys champs would easily defeat the WNBA champs every year. No bias here, just a fact.

I'd love to take that bet ... could a game be arranged?

[SFP]

The quality of women's sports is absolutely subpar to men's. The Mid State 6 boys champs would easily defeat the WNBA champs every year. No bias here, just a fact.

How about them taking on the women's NCAA Champ? Now that would be a decent game. Have you been to a WNBA game AE? I'd like to hear JL's opinion on this!

[AE Braves Fan]

You can count the number of players that can dunk in the WNBA on one hand. And when I say dunk, I mean the lamest one-handed barely get the ball over the rim dunk.

The athleticism of the MS6 champs would be too much to handle. But I'm sure the WNBA 'stars' could put on a lovely free throw shooting display.

There's a reason why no one goes to the women's games even when encouraged with free admission and 10 cent hotdogs...

[MacabreMob]

AE - you are very wrong.

edit: Too bad this conversation has gone down the toilet. Maybe we can take it back to more of an intellectual level.

[Da Coach]

No, you wouldn't go to a women's game if you are hoping to see dunks.
It is a different game. It is possible to learn to appreciate the women's game, as I have in the last few years. It will never draw fans like the men's game does, and will never achieve the same level of athleticism. But there will always be a place for some women's athletics.

I am just against what Title IX does.

Colleges are forced to create women's sports like badminton and other silly sports, and award scholarships to women who have never played the sport before, just to reach compliance with the tenets of Title IX. At the same time they give full athletic scholarships for artificial sports like badminton, they are eliminating popular men's sports like soccer (Illinois, Illinois State, and many large football schools do not have soccer), swimming, and wrestling. No wonder US athletes are losing ground to international athletes in many sports.

[AE Braves Fan]

Since I'm clearly offending many, this will be my final post in this thread. If I ever have a daughter who wants to play basketball, I will support her in every way I can.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x28sPqh8_Wg