Secretary of Education’s Commission On
Opportunity in Athletics. The committee had a discussion with Ted
Leland, co-chair of the Secretary of Education’s Commission on Opportunity in
Athletics, regarding the work of the commission. The Committee on Women’s Athletics developed the following
statement regarding Title IX: “The
NCAA Committee on Women’s Athletics strongly supports equal access and
opportunity for men and women in intercollegiate athletics. Title IX was enacted in 1972 to provide
equal opportunity for the under-represented gender. The committee strongly supports Title IX as written. The committee suggests the following
five actions are needed to strengthen Title IX:
·
More education at all levels about the law;
· Consistent
interpretation of the law by the Office of Civil Rights’ regional offices;
· Stronger
enforcement of the law;
·
Greater understanding of the flexibility of prong three of the
three-part test; and
·
Greater awareness and understanding that each prong of the
three-part test stands alone as a viable compliance tool.
The committee recognizes that the passionate pleas of those who may have lost opportunities are loud and strong and often overshadow those who have never had opportunities. The committee agrees with the NCAA Executive Committee that member institutions have dropped men’s sports for various reasons such as a program priorities, finances, infractions, safety, lack of conference opportunities, lack of facilities, insurance costs and other reasons. The single most important message stated by the Executive Committee is “don’t blame Title IX for institutional decisions.”
In addition, the committee endorses the document, “Title IX Athletics Policies, Issues and Data for Education Decision Makers” produced by the National Coalition for Women and Girls in Education (NCWGE). The committee requested that this document be provided to each of the three divisional Management Council members during the October meeting. In addition, the committee will discuss its statement of Title IX support and endorsement of the NCWGE document with the Executive Committee Subcommittee on Gender and Diversity in October.