The issue of gender equity in collegiate athletics has created an ideological division that rivals affirmative action. While some may argue that Title IX has given women access to scholarship opportunities that they’ve never had before and that we’ve achieved gender equity, others will say that this is not true. While the focus of the study is on the loss of the University of Toledo’s men’s wrestling team under Title IX’s gender equity provision, the work will also examine this question. Is Title IX to blame for the elimination of men’s wrestling at the University of Toledo?
This is one of the University of Toledo's best men's wrestlers, Gregory M. Wojciechowski. He was known as 'The Great Wojo' by his many fans. Because of Title IX, the University of Toledo Men's Wrestling Program had to be eliminated to make space for women's sports. Equal opportunity, whether we wish to accept it or not, often comes at the expense of tradition, public image, and, in the case of the University of Toledo, its men’s wrestling team
In 1994, the University of Toledo had to discontinue its men’s wrestling program, despite a rich history of athletic success and local support. Why did this event happen? Could it have been prevented? This study endeavors to answer these questions. We should first establish a firm definition of Title IX.
Enacted on June 23, 1972, Title IX, say Carpenter and Acosta (2005), grew against a backdrop of changing social awareness about discrimination.
Unlike Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas (1954), which has the infamous ‘with all deliberate speed’ phrase indicating, according to Ducat and Chase (1992), citing Justice Black, that there would be a delayed process of outlawing segregation, Title IX provided a six-year compliance period for schools. Postsecondary schools, say Carpenter and Acosta (2005) had a mandatory compliance date of 1978. Given its direct language, Title IX at first glance appears to be the solution to the gender equity problem, particularly in collegiate athletics.
This study is far too brief to answer this question with a simple yes or no. However, it can offer two sides of the gender equity argument. Lane and Sewell, in the 1997 Toledo Blade article entitled, ‘Giving Women an Equal Shot,’ interview JoAnn Maher, director of athletics in Toledo Public Schools from 1982 to 1986. Maher says, “Title IX is a great idea, but the government did not give any seed money to the programs. It was just thrown on the schools” (p. 1), suggesting that Title IX needed an economic plan for gender equity. Suggs (2005) writes that the total number of male athletes increased by about 2,700 between 2002-3 and 2003-4, and the number of men’s teams either increased or remained steady across all divisions, according to data gathered from the U.S. Department of Education. This is startling considering that from 2003-4, says Suggs, of the 494,000 athletes who competed in college sports, 41% were female while women represented 55% of full-time undergraduates at American colleges. The National Wrestling Coaches Association, The Committee to Save Bucknell Wrestling et al., see Title IX as a legal means to cut men’s collegiate athletic programs in general and men’s collegiate wrestling programs in particular.
As a result, these men’s collegiate athletic organizations have challenged Title IX in a series of federal lawsuits. Kiernan (2004) says the groups charged that the Education Department was “effectively mandating the very discrimination that Title IX prohibits, all to meet a regulatory test that Congress did not authorize” (p. 1).
In a Chronicle of Higher Education article dated January 14, 2005, entitled ‘In Lawsuit, Advocates of Men’s Sports Accuse U.S. Agency of Anti-Male Bias, Suggs states that in 2002, a study of NCAA data found that at Division I institutions, the average number of men’s teams declined from 0.2 in 1981-82 to 9.0 in 2000-1, while women’s eams increased from an average of 7.3 to 9.8. (p. 1).
According to these statistics, Title IX appears to be working. However, Suggs (2005) notes that in the lawsuit, the College Sports Council, the plaintiff in the case, neglected to include in their 2001 report data on high-school or junior-college athletes that Congress had requested. Suggs (2005) further notes that the council is also suing the Education Department over a Title IX guideline known as the “Three Part Test.” This states that colleges must have the same percentage of women as varsity athletes and as undergraduate students; have a “history and continuing practice” of expanding opportunities for women; or be able to prove that they are fully and effectively accommodating the interests and abilities of women on campus. Collegiate athletics, particularly men’s athletics, have evolved into large sources of university revenue, particularly football and basketball. Since other men’s sports, such as track and field, wrestling, swimming, and gymnastics, are not sources of revenue for their respective colleges and universities, these sports are often the ones that colleges generally discontinue. The Issue of Title IX compliance is usually a secondary consideration.
In a Toledo Blade article entitled, ‘Balancing Act to Fix-Football Costs Are Crippling,’ Windhorst (2002) noted that Ohio State University’s men’s football team netted more than 16 million dollars in 2000-01, while the state’s other schools showed $23 million deficits in their combined athletic budget.
The University of Toledo’s men’s wrestling team was a collegiate athletic success story. Many of its wrestlers, Joe Scalzo, Harry Lanzi, Dick Wilson, Dick Torio, and Greg Wojociechowski, are collegiate wrestling legends, according to the Toledo Blade (2002) in an Opinion Editorial entitled ‘Time to Revisit Title IX.’
In the same article, The Blade (2002) says that increasing women’s opportunities, as worthwhile as that is, should not occur at the expense of opportunities for males. The Lady Rocket basketball program has been a big success story at UT and in the Mid-American Conference over the last several years, but a wrestling program that achieved equal or greater glory was allowed to die.
The author wondered if Title IX compliance was really the reason for the University of Toledo’s decision to discontinue its men’s wrestling program. This led him to the campus’s athletic department, where he interviewed Mr. Michael Karabin, Senior Associate Athletic Director.
Karabin has been employed at the university for 26 years and vividly recalls the decision to discontinue the University of Toledo’s men’s wrestling team. In a taped interview on April 16, 2005, Karabin stated, “Wrestling was a sport that was a sport that targeted back in those days as a sport that was to be eliminated across the country. If you look across the country today, there aren’t too many wrestling programs” (Interview, 2006). Karabin wasn’t surprised at the University of Toledo’s decision. Because the National Collegiate Athletic Association.
Karabin wasn’t surprised at the University of Toledo’s decision. Because the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is the largest governing body in American collegiate sports, it is that body that enforces Title IX compliance across the country. When asked if the NCAA offered an option that would allow the University of Toledo to keep its men’s wrestling program intact, Wyche (2005) notes that there was one local business that offered to contribute to help to sustain the men’s wrestling program at the university, but there was the problem of creating additional opportunities for women.
Karabin continued, "So with that, we analyzed that (even though) the individual was willing to donate $100,000 one time which would have been fine for one year, but even if he wanted to donate that amount annually, it still wouldn't--by the tine you equated what we had as far as opportunities and what we had to get to comply with Title IX, it was more than the financial commitment. It was participant opportunities for women (Interview, 2006). So the real problem wasn't Title IX, the real problem was that the University of Toledo simply couldn't afford to comply with Title IX.
The next subject in the interview was the subject of women’s participation as athletes or as coaches. Karabin confirms that gender equity was the key issue at the University of Toledo. He further mentions that eliminating some men’s sports was the only effective means that the university had to achieve gender equity in collegiate athletics. He added, 'It's strictly athletes. We needed to create more opportunities for women to be in compliance with Title IX. Just recently, we eliminated additional men's sports to be in compliance. Right now, we are one of the few institutions in the country that is in compliance with Title IX as far as gender equity, what we spend per athlete, and so on. So we feel that we've achieved the requirements of Title IX as far as equal opportunities for both men and women.' (Interview, 2006).
The author asked Karabin if it would be possible to reinstate the men’s wrestling program at a later date. This, of course, was not a possibility. Karabin says that there hasn't ever been an issue with us as far as reinstating wrestling. There have been some people in the community who have broached the subject with us, just in conversation, but it would be more than if we just added wrestling back to the program. We couldn't do that from a financial side. We would have to add another sport that has a similar number of participants on the women's side, which doubles the amount of money that would be needed to bring back a sport like wrestling. We've had other people come to us who have suggested other sports to be offered here. Hockey is a sport that I hear mentioned by people annually as a sport that we should add. Hockey is an extremely expensive sport to institute. You're talking about probably one million dollars per year in equipment, scholarships, travel, and it doesn't even include the facility, which we don't have. Then we would have to obviously have women's hockey added as well, which right there we're at a two-million-dollar budget, but the sport of wrestling, since that is what you're focusing on, has not even been considered for reinstatement. (Interview, 2006).
Given this description of the problem at the University of Toledo, it would appear as if Title IX is the problem. There are, however, two ways that colleges and universities can save their non-revenue-producing athletic programs.
The first is through endowments. Tom Reed, staff writer for the Akron Beacon, in a July 2002 article entitled, ‘Cutting a Future Path—The Impact of Title IX Hits Home,’ writes that the answer to saving non-revenue collegiate sports in the future is endowment, endowments, endowments. Reed (2002), quoting University of Akron golf coach Steve Parker, reveals, “Part of a coach’s responsibility nowadays is fundraising. If a program is endowed, it can’t be touched.” The University of Akron’s golf program has another ally, Jim McCready, an Akron businessman and former University of Akron golfer. He established the McCready Challenge, which funds scholarships for Akron golfers. According to Reed (2002), the McCready family has pledged $250,000 over the next five years, provided that matching funds of $50,000 annually are raised. The second way is for universities to seek political assistance. “Non-revenue male and female sports might also get an assist from an unlikely source-the government. Politicians from Minnesota and Iowa are trying to enact legislation that would help subsidize them,” says Reed (2002). Some colleges are looking to add, not eliminate, athletic programs in an effort to attract students and carry limited scholarships, Reed (2002) writes. Reed (2002) lists three ways in which universities can comply with Title IX. They can demonstrate that the percentage of female athletes is consistent with the number of female undergraduates. They can show a steady increase in athletic opportunities. Finally, they can prove that it is meeting the athletic interests and abilities of female students.
Reed (2002), citing Neena Chaudhry, senior counsel for the NWLC, writes, “Athletic departments do not have to comply with all three-it’s a very liberal, flexible law.” Reed (2002), citing Neena Chaudhry, concludes, “The bottom line is universities have to learn how to cut the fat without cutting sports. It isn’t the law that’s the problem.”
The author learned one thing about the Title IX issue. He learned that Title IX reveals the financial health of most collegiate athletic departments. While it’s true that football and basketball remain the most popular collegiate sports and account for 72% of men’s athletic operating budgets at Division 1-A schools, these sports also have the most effective and aggressive fundraisers. Although it appears that Title IX is to blame for the elimination of many men’s collegiate sports, the truth is that many athletic departments haven’t been working hard enough to generate revenue to sustain themselves. Those colleges, such as the University of Akron, that have created scholarship funds and other endowments, with the assistance of alumni, private businesses, etc., have managed to save their non-revenue men’s sports programs. So while Title IX has had a superficial impact, financial administration technique has an even greater impact on non-revenue collegiate men’s sports.
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References
Blade (2002). Time To Revisit Title IX. (2002, June 27). The Blade (Toledo, OH). Retrieved April 9, 2006 from http://infoweb.newsbank.com/iw-search/we/InfoWeb/.
Carpenter, L. J., & Acosta, R. V. (2005). Title IX. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.
Ducat, C. R., & Chase, H. W. (1992). Constitutional Interpretation: Rights of the Individual (5th ed.). New York, NY: West Publishing Company.
Kiernan, V. (2004). Wrestling Advocates Lose Another Round in Challenge to Title IX. The Chronicle of Higher Education, 50(38), 1. Retrieved April 9, 2006, from http://chronicle.com/weekly/v50.i38/38a03601.htm.
Lane, T., & Sewell, R. B. ( 1997, June 22). Giving Women An Equal Shot. The Toledo Blade. Retrieved April 9, 2006 from http://infoweb.newsbank.com/iw-search/we/InfoWeb/.
Reed, T. (2002, July 5). Cutting A Future Path-Impact of Title IX Hits Home. Akron Beacon Journal (OH). Retrieved April 9, 2006 from http://infoweb.newsbank.com/iw-search/we/InfoWeb/
Suggs, W. (2005). Gender Quotas? Not in College Sports. The Chronicle of Higher Education, 51(43), 1. Retrieved April 9, 2006, from http://chronicle.com/weekly/v51/i43/43a02401.htm.
Suggs, W. (2005). In Lawsuit, Advocates of Men's Sports Accuse U.S. Agency of Anti-Male Bias. The Chronicle of Higher Education, 51(29), 1. Retrieved April 9, 2006, from http://chronicle.com/weekly/v51/i19/19a03002.htm.
Windhorst, B. (2002, July 4). Balancing Act to Fix-Football Costs Are Crippling. Akron Beacon Journal (OH). Retrieved April 9, 2006 from http://infoweb.newsbank.com/iw-search/we/InfoWeb/.
Wyche, T. S. (2006). [Interview with Mike Karabin]. Unpublished
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