NCAA COMMITTEE ON WOMEN'S ATHLETICS (CWA)
1. NONLEGISLATIVE
ACTION ITEMS.
DIVISION I ONLY – Review of
Division I Financial Aid Equivalency and Head-Count Sport Distinctions.
a. Recommendation. That the NCAA Division I Management
Council initiate a review of Division I
financial aid legislation to determine if current women’s sports’ head-count
and equivalency designations are appropriate. Additionally, the committee or its representative(s)
requests inclusion in any such review.
b. Rationale. The determination of whether a women’s
sport is designated as a head-count or equivalency sport for financial aid
purposes was made many years ago.
Since that time, the intercollegiate athletics landscape has changed
significantly, including a major growth in women’s sports. For example, at the time head-count and
equivalency sports were identified, women’s soccer did not enjoy the level of
participation or competition it does today. Given these changes, the committee recommends that the
Management Council direct a review that would examine the appropriateness of
the designation of each equivalency and head-count sport (e.g., Are the current
designations appropriate? Should
some changes occur in terms of each women’s sport’s head count verses
equivalency designation?). The
committee recommends that any such review include committee on women’s
athletics involvement.
c. Budget Impact. Minimal (e.g., administrative and/or
related committee expenses).
2. INFORMATIONAL ITEMS.
a. Future Committee
Openings. The committee reviewed
its roster of committee term appointments. It noted that four members’ terms expire next year and
discussed the importance of maintaining a diverse membership by gender,
position, division and ethnicity.
It was agreed that the committee would actively encourage the nomination
of a diverse group of potential committee members.
b. Subcommittee
Assignments. The committee
appointed its three new members to the CWA subcommittees as follows: Carlyle Carter, outreach subcommittee; Tanya
Rush, Gender Equity and Women’s Advocacy Subcommittee; and Darlene Bailey,
Strategic Planning and Budget Subcommittee. Additionally, Marcia Saneholtz was identified as the new
chair for the committee’s outreach subcommittee.
c. NCAA National Office
Gender-Equity Plan. The committee received an update on the
NCAA national office gender-equity plan from the national office senior woman
administrator. Progress is being
made on the plan, and it is anticipated it will be available for review during
the committee’s October meeting.
The committee also reviewed the NCAA national office gender-equity
survey executive summary. It was
noted that this executive summary has been distributed to the national office
staff.
d.
NCAA National
Office Staffing Statistics. The committee reviewed national office
staffing statistics sorted by administrative level, gender and ethnicity. The committee noted its disappointment
that little progress, if any, has been made at the vice-presidential level
relative to the hiring of women and minorities. In particular, the committee noted that the move to
Indianapolis provided a greater than usual number of openings at this level,
but that these openings did not result in improved diversity at the
vice-presidential level. It was
also noted that the national office has made progress in diversifying the staff
by gender and ethnicity at the director level.
e.
Domestic-Partner Benefits
for National Office Employees. The committee was informed
that the national office will provide same-sex domestic-partner benefits as
part of its employee benefits program effective with the annual benefit
enrollment process late this fall.
f. Strategic Planning
Initiatives. The committee
discussed its priorities for the coming year as part of its strategic planning
efforts. The committee identified
the support of and education about Title IX as its priority item for the coming
year and the need to develop and mentor female coaches as an area of focus over
the next several years.
g. Title IX Seminar. The committee
discussed the 2002 Title IX seminar conducted in Washington, D.C. in May and
reviewed attendance statistics. It
was agreed that the Title IX seminar should continue to be conducted in the
future and that it should rotate around the country geographically in order to
provide participants from various regions the opportunity to attend. Also, issues such as homophobia should
continue to be part of the program.
The committee discussed the possibility of changing the name of the
seminar so that it reflects a broader scope of topics covered in addition to
Title IX (e.g., sexual orientation).
The committee discussed the possibility of changing the name of the
seminar to better reflect the range of programming (e.g., “Title IX and equity
in athletics”).
h. Department of Education Blue
Ribbon Commission to Study Title IX. The committee reviewed the formation of
the Department of Education’s Blue Ribbon Commission to Study Title IX. The committee discussed various ways to
interact with the commission and agreed to draft a letter to Secretary Roderick
Paige outlining its interest and willingness to participate in this review of
Title IX. [Click
here for additional information on this item.]
i.
List of Conference Senior
Woman Administrators (SWA). The committee
reviewed the list of conference office senior woman administrators and agreed
to forward the list to the National Association of Collegiate Women Athletics
Administrators as a reference source for potential candidates for its institute
for athletics executives. The
committee also agreed to forward the list to the Divisions II and III
nominating committees as potential appointees to various governance
appointments.
j.
Institutional Responses to
Gender-Equity Plan Request. There
were 180 responses to the committee’s request to Division I institutions’ chief
executive officers regarding institutions’ willingness to share their
gender-equity plans. The committee
requested that staff make available on the NCAA Web site the contact person for
institutions that indicated a willingness to share their plans. In addition, it was suggested that the
Web site link be provided in The NCAA News and Divisions II and III
newsletters.
k.
Response to NCAA Minority
Opportunities and Interests Committee’s (MOIC) Report to the Committee. The committee reviewed the MOIC’s
January minutes. MOIC’s efforts
related to diversifying coaching ranks was noted and applauded.
l.
SWA Brochure. The committee received a copy of the
recently finalized NCAA SWA brochure.
The brochure will be distributed to member institutions by
mid-September.
m.
Mixed-Sport
Sponsorships/Championships.
The committee discussed issues surrounding mixed-sports sponsorship and
consideration of participation opportunities for females. Particularly, the committee noted the
application of current legislation and championships policies to the sports of
rifle and Nordic skiing. The staff
was asked to provide additional information and statistics related to mixed
sports so the committee can review this item during its October meeting.
n.
Woman of the Year (WOTY)
Dinner. Staff
provided an update on preparation for the NCAA WOTY dinner. It was noted that the dinner will be
held Saturday, November 2, in Indianapolis. The change from its traditional Sunday date to Saturday was
prompted by continued requests from participants to move to a Saturday format
to provide greater opportunity for participants’ family members to attend. Additionally, the committee recommended
revisions to the 2003 nomination form to better assist the committee in
identifying a diverse group of nominees.
o.
Definition of Sport. The committee amended its definition of
“sport” as follows: “For the
purpose of reviewing emerging sports for women
proposals, a sport shall be defined as an institutional activity involving
physical exertion with the primary purpose of competition versus other
teams or individuals within a collegiate competition structure. Furthermore, sport includes regularly
scheduled team and/or individual, head-to-head competition (at least five)
within a defined competitive season(s); and standardized rules
with
rating/scoring systems ratified by official regulatory agencies and governing
bodies.” These changes are
intended to clarify the intent of the definition in response to periodic
confusion in the membership and among outside organizations. The committee intends to use this
revised definition when reviewing future requests for women’s sports to be
granted emerging-sports status.
p.
Emerging Sports. The committee reviewed an
update on the status of judo and wrestling.
q.
Vice-Chair Selected. Lynda Calkins was identified as the
vice-chair of the committee and will become the chair September 1, 2003, when
the current chair’s term expires.
r.
Report Approved. The committee approved the report from its January
2002 meeting.
s.
Future Meeting
Dates. The committee’s
future meeting dates are as follows:
October 15-16; January 27-28, 2003; July 14-16, 2003; September 29-30,
2003; and January 26-27, 2004.
t.
DIVISION I ONLY – Response to Committee on Athletics Certification (CAC) Regarding
Non-NCAA Sponsored Sports. The committee reviewed a request from the CAC for input
relative to institutions’ requests to include non-NCAA sports in their
gender-equity plans (e.g., synchronized skating, cheerleading). The CWA suggests that the CAC consider
accepting sports that have NCAA championships, are on the list of emerging
sports or meet the definition of sport. (See item R). In addition, there may be exceptions for women’s sports that
are included in a written agreement with the Office of Civil Rights.
u.
DIVISION I ONLY – Request from SWAs of the CCA Regarding Women’s Soccer Scholarships. The committee reviewed a letter to the CWA
chair from the SWAs of the CCA requesting support for increasing women’s soccer
scholarship limits. The committee
is reluctant to recommend a change in limits in one sport without undergoing a
comprehensive review of all sports scholarship limits simultaneously. It was also noted that the
identification of head-count and equivalency sports is potentially outdated,
and this report contains a request for the Division I Management Council to
initiate a review of that issue.
v. DIVISION
I ONLY - Big Ten Conference Statement on Title IX and Gender Equity. The committee reviewed the
Big Ten Conference statement on Title IX and gender equity. The committee applauds the Big Ten
Council of Presidents/Chancellors on its commitment to gender equity and Title
IX.
w. DIVISION I ONLY - Student-Athlete Special Assistance Fund. The committee discussed the
perception among some student-athletes and athletics personnel that male
student-athletes receive financial assistance from the NCAA student-athlete
Special Assistance Fund more readily and frequently than female
student-athletes. The committee
requested that some of its own members seek information about this issue for
review during the committee’s October meeting. In an effort to educate student-athletes about the fund, the
committee encourages the NCAA Division I Student-Athlete Advisory Committee to
include information about the fund on its Web site and to provide education to
its members on the fund’s purpose and guidelines.
x. DIVISIONS II AND III ONLY – Review of Institutional Self-Study Guide (ISSG) and
Compliance Blueprint Programs. The committee determined that the
Division II compliance blueprint program was not intended to evaluate an
institution’s gender-equity progress.
However, the committee continues its work to identify ways that the
Division II and III ISSG element on gender equity can be strengthened. The committee intends to forward to the
two respective Management Councils a recommendation on this issue in a future
report.
Committee Chair:
Marilyn McNeil, Monmouth University, Northeast Conference
Staff Liaisons:
Julie Cromer, Membership Services; Diane Dickman, Membership Services;
Rosie Stallman, Education Services.