Staff Editorial: A blown opportunity

Over the past two days, the Commission on Opportunity in Athletics met in Washington to discuss long-overdue modifications to the Title IX gender equity law. The 14-member panel was supposed to create a series of recommendations to maintain the intent of the 1972 law and eliminate its unintended side effects. Unfortunately, the commission failed in its efforts, only offering several minor changes to a law that remains crucial in higher education but is in desperate need of repair. When Title IX was first created over 30 years ago, it was a necessary measure to open doors for women in collegiate athletics. The law was modified in 1979, and a three-pronged system of compliance was introduced to ease the burden on schools. Today, thanks in no small part to regulations imposed by the law, women's college sports have moved into the national spotlight, and five times the number of girls now participate in college sports than was the case in 1972. But although it is well-intentioned, the law has had unfortunate consequences. The law's funding regulations and strict ratio system -- each school's male to female athlete ratio must be in proportion to its population, regardless of student interest -- has contributed to recent detrimental cutbacks in other sports. While improving opportunities for women is of tremendous importance, doing it at the expense of other men's sports like wrestling and swimming is too detrimental a side effect to be ignored. This week, the commission blew a golden opportunity to find a way to maintain the basic structure of Title IX and eliminate the unintended consequences. They came up one vote short of recommending that the Secretary of Education alter the ratio requirements, a measure that would likely have gone a long way to alleviating the burden of proportionality currently placed on colleges. There must be a place for Title IX in higher education for the benefits it has provided and continues to provide. However, the commission, the NCAA and the federal government must work together to ensure that further cutbacks in male sports are not necessary to achieve equality. College sports have come a long way since 1971, and if they are to continue to grow, Title IX must be modified.

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