Towson Baseball Situation Makes ESPN Radio Show

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From: **********************************
Date: Wed, Mar 13, 2013 at 9:57 AM
Subject: Re: It’s A Sad Day To Be A Towson Tiger (Baseball will be cut for 2013)
To: **************************************


Jeff, 

Not being a Towson fan per say, I would not normally be inclined to address this issue, but a part of the story warrants comment. 

 

"Compliance with Title IX" is listed as one of the rationale for cutting baseball.  This is most certainly not the case.  Title IX has been vilified and used as an excuse for cutting men's athletics teams across the country, when in reality the cuts were made to eliminate 'non-revenue generating' sports in order to increase spending on Football or Men's Basketball (in most cases).   What people fail to realize is that Title IX compliance can be reaches in any one of three ways:

 

1. Proportionality (% of female athletes equal to the % of the student body)

2. Meeting the needs/desires of female at the institution

3. History of improvement in the under-represented gender

 

Number 1 - "Proportionality" is what most people THINK is the only measure by which an institution can comply, and the methods institutions use to cut male sports.  This measure means that if an institution's general student body is made up of for instance 55% females and 45% males, this institution would have to have an athletic department with 55% female athletes and 45% male athletes (ie. "proportional").  This is an impossibility in institutions which sponsor football - there is not 'corresponding' female sport to match the number of participants. Men's Basketball is 'matched' by Women's Basketball, Men's Soccer by Women's Soccer, etc., but in most schools the sole "female only" sport is Volleyball.  And of course Volleyball has a squad size which is much smaller than Football.  This is also the reason that at the DI level you will see institutions with scholarship structures such as 12 scholarships for Women's Tennis / 8 scholarships for Men's tennis etc. 

 

It is my contention that baseball did not have to be cut at Towson - at least not from a purely Title IX perspective....they could assess and meet the desires of females on campus who want to play a sport not offered, or they could demonstrate that they are making continual progress towards meeting Title IX over time (ie. hiring female coaches to coach female teams, increasing roster sizes in female sports, adding sports such as Women's Golf - which is a trend nationally, etc.), but Title IX will be held to blame for this move - and that is not right. 

 

I teach Title IX in my "Sports Governance and Policy" class from a purely legislative perspective, but more importantly revisit the issue in my "Sports Ethics" class in which we discuss cases exactly like the Towson case.  It is unethical for Towson to blame Title IX - and exploit the wide-spread ignorance of the legislation - for the elimination of male sport, when in reality the cuts are made for monetary reasons. 

 

Sorry of the length of this email.  I am passionate about sport and opportunities for all in sport, and this is a big issue in my field. 

 

****************

TCW...you have a PM or Dialog waiting for you

That would be a negative ... I see nothing in my dialog.  

MILBY AND TCW are the same person. 

DAD43 ... sorry .. but I got your PM and have replied to you.

Isn't that a violation of site rules? It is on most websites..

DAD43 ... You have the contact info that you were seeking within the PM DIALOG.

Hope it helps.

You're welcome!