Quote of the Day

Success isn't measured by money or power
or social rank. Success is measured by
your discipline and inner peace.



Michael Keller Ditka, Jr.

Quote of the Day

The path of least resistance

is the path of the loser.



Herbert George "H.G." Wells

Quote of the Day

An artist's only concern is to shoot for
some kind of perfection, and on his
own terms, not anyone else's.



Jerome David "J.D." Salinger

More on Duquesne Men's Swimming

Our pal over at the Independent Women's Forum, Allison Kasic, weighs in here. Her post has a link to the Saving Sports post which includes this interesting chart.

Yesterday's local reaction to the slashing of four men's sports at Duquesne is here.

"They were frank about it, they were firm about all of this when they told us," said Pandit, a Hampton High School graduate. "You can join all the Facebook groups you want and write all the e-mails that you'd like, but the truth is that a decision has been made and these sports aren't coming back."

Translation: We're just kidding! Don't go public or you'll regret it. Constitutional rights have been suspended. You no longer have the right to speak freely. We will be monitoring athletes and coaches. By the way, remove the latest post from your team blog - that one informing readers that we've dumped your men's program and eliminated one of your assistant coaching position (unless, or course, you can raise millions)...

The father of a swimmer -- who spoke to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette under the condition that he remained anonymous for fear of reprisal against his son -- said he called the Duquesne athletic department Tuesday morning to speak with athletic director Greg Amodio. The father wanted more information about the cuts and how the money saved would be reallocated.

"When I called down there, I just wanted a few answers, I just wanted to talk to the athletic director to ask why, but, I was told by the person who answered the phone that he was traveling with the men's basketball team," the father said. "I was sort of taken aback by all of that. I was wondering why it was so important for him to be with the basketball team when all this was happening. I was also told he won't be available until Friday."

The men's basketball team is not scheduled to leave until today for its Thursday game at Xavier.

Dave Saba, associate athletic director for media relations, told the Post-Gazette Monday and Tuesday that Amodio would have no further comment beyond the news release issued early Monday evening.

Catch that? Called Tuesday. Told A.D. was traveling with basketball team. Basketball team was leaving Wednesday for Thursday night game. Any bets on how available he'll be Friday? Monday?

How's that for leadership? Amodio's just layin' low 'til this all blows over...

Finally, there's the "screw you guys - you got what you deserved" post at Title IX Blog here.

Quote of the Day

If you see a snake, just kill it -
don't appoint a committee on snakes.



Henry Ross Perot

NostraButton on Proportionality

The use of proportionality to achieve (what's called) gender equity in collegiate athletics will end by 2020.

Why?

Simple! In ten years, proportionality will no longer benefit women's athletics. By then, the increasing percentage of male undergraduates would force schools to either add men's opportunities or cut women's opportunities.

Title IX activists will then argue that proportionality is an outdated method for ensuring Title IX compliance.

Read more here.

Jacqueline E. King, assistant vice president for policy analysis at the council and author of the report, said that while gender gaps appeared to have normalized, the recession could bring changes. For some groups, the economic downturn may serve to narrow the gap between the proportion of women and men enrolled in college.

"There has been some anecdotal evidence coming in from community colleges saying that since the recession, they've seen enrollment of non-traditional-aged men expanding pretty rapidly," she said. "They've been laid off or they're worried about being laid off, so the job market is pushing them to upgrade."

NostraButton has spoken written typen never mind...

Quote of the Day

Good people are good because they've
come to wisdom through failure.



William Saroyan

Weakly Demotivator

USMS

You're going to swim in masters meets eventually. Don't fight it - just accept it. Heck, embrace it - love it!!

Start preparing yourself with a visit to the USMS site here.

Dukes Dunked

Lies, lies, lies!



Duquesne is dropping four sports - all men's.

They say they'll save about a million bucks annually by cutting wrestling, baseball, golf, and swimming. Sound familiar?

They've wiped out 40% of their men's teams and will now support only six (6) male sports. Sound familiar?

All nine (9) women's sports were spared from the "budget" axe. Sound familiar?

Multiple sports programs will benefit from increased scholarship allotments and additional operating funds to offset past budget deficiencies.

They'll be using the money to prop up other sports that lose money.

The 2009-10 fiscal year operating budget is approximately $10.8M.

So, rather than find nine (9) percent in savings in each sport, small minds decided to wipe out four men's sports to realize these "savings".

Coach Dave Sheets writes that it might take a $2.5 million endowment to get the team reinstated. Read more here.

Let's wrap it all up with the standard b.s. athletic directors and university presidents feed us when they drop men's sports teams.

Why were these four sports chosen?
These sports were selected after conducting comprehensive internal and external research over an extended period of time. The research was conducted with the following criteria in mind: financial impact, facilities limitations, gender equity, Atlantic 10 Conference support/affiliation, potential competitive success and overall student athlete experience. Reducing the number of teams and strengthening the remaining core programs will maximize Duquesne’s ability to compete at the highest level, better utilize existing funding, and enhance the student athlete experience.

Sound familiar?

Notice how they sneak in the "gender equity" bit like it's just a small component.

We all know Title IX is the main reason these sports were sacrificed...

Quote of the Day

I ran the wrong kind of business,
but I did it with integrity.



Sydney Biddle Barrows

(a.k.a. Mayflower Madam)

Rather than push it...

...we just got out.

It probably doesn't matter to most readers, but this post is for the few of you that might care (at least a little).

A few years ago, I was talked into returning to Bay City to coach club and high school swimming. Part of the "deal" was that an interlocal agreement between Bay City ISD and The City of Bay City would mean a renovation of the run-down outdoor pool.

I was shown plans and artists renderings.

I was impressed - and gullible!

The plan would have given us a building over the entire facility, an upgraded pump room, a repaired deck, new plaster/tile, new starting blocks, new diving board stand, new lockers, etc.

What taxpayers got for their money was a joke. Most of the renovation was never completed. Most of the work that was done was shoddy.

To add insult to injury, they topped things off with a $1,700 plaque with the names of city and school district officials responsible for the debacle. It was shameful.

I stewed for a while, then raised a little hell - even started to investigate the scam. I eventually gave up and started looking for another place to hang my hat. It all worked out for us, but the good folks we left behind are still suffering with an unsafe, unreliable facility.

What brings me back to this subject? It turns out that a guy named Eric Schroeder* has been after some of the same individuals that were part of the pool scam. Read more here.

In 2008, Bay City resident Eric Schroeder and the Matagorda Advocate each filed Open Record requests for the release of copies of credit cards bills and receipts for Bay City Mayor Richard Knapik, Bay City Community Development Corp. Executive Director D.C. Dunham, City Attorney J.L. Ziegenhals and consultant/contractor Jerry Naiser.

While I'm not sure what Schroeder's after, I'm hopeful that, somewhere along the way, he'll discover the underhanded dirty dealings that went into the pool project.



* If he's the guy I'm thinking of, Schroeder was a real thorn in Mayor Knapik's side at council meetings. At one meeting I attended, Knapik actually turned his chair 180 degrees and sat with his back to him while the man spoke during the open forum of the meeting.

Quote of the Day

If we value the pursuit of knowledge, we must
be free to follow wherever that search may
lead us. The free mind is not a barking
dog, to be tethered to a ten-foot chain.



Adlai Ewing Stevenson II

Quote of the Day

To win without risk is to triumph without glory.



Pierre Corneille

He won't do anything...

...except maybe stab you repeatedly...

Check out a video of Leon saving a released sailfish here. Hint: better if viewed in full screen.

Quote of the Day

Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you
want to test a man's character, give him power.



Abraham Lincoln

Quote of the Day

There are only two distinct classes of
people on this earth; those who espouse
enthusiasm and those who despise it.



Anne Louise Germaine de Staël-Holstein

Quote of the Day

Suppose you were an idiot, and suppose you

were a member of Congress; but I repeat myself.



Samuel Langhorne Clemens (a.k.a. Mark Twain)

Quote of the Day

A mind troubled by doubt cannot
focus on the course to victory.



Arthur Golden

NCAA Convention News

Division II will see some changes as their Life in the Balance proposals were passed. Read more here.

There will now be a "dead period", similar to the UIL's, around Christmas.

The closest vote was on the dead period, which passed by 63 votes. Opponents didn’t like the prescriptive aspect of the proposal and wanted the Presidents Council to come back next year with a proposal to let institutions and conferences to decide a seven-day dead period that best meets their individual circumstances.

But Presidents Council member Cheryl Norton said by establishing the same seven days for all student-athletes and coaches in Division II, they will be able to enjoy the winter break and focus in other areas of their lives, without worrying about any competitive commitments.

Sand volleyball proponents were able to keep their sport on the NCAA's list of emerging sports. Even though a majority of schools voted against keeping the sport, a two-thirds majority was necessary.

Emerging sports are only offered to women, in an effort to balance numbers for Title IX purposes. We all know that taking football out of the equation would solve the problem, but that's another story. Read more here.

The referendum on sand volleyball so captured the attention of those at the convention that someone – without permission – slid pamphlets outlining reasons to save the sport under the hotel room doors of delegates the night before the vote. Many longtime convention attendees noted that they could not recall such a massive campaign for a single piece of legislation.

“Sand volleyball is a popular sport,” said Marilyn McNeil, athletics director at Monmouth University, prior to the vote. “Women are playing the sport. Why would we ever sit here and deny them the opportunity? Let it grow or let it fail, but let it have an opportunity.”

Nearly as many delegates, however, spoke in favor of the measure to cut sand volleyball as spoke to oppose it. Those in favor of cutting the sport argued that it would not bring any new athletes to their institutions and opined about its cost.

“I personally wonder whether we’re going to add any real new opportunities for young women when we add the sport of sand volleyball,” said Joel Maturi, director of athletics at the University of Minnesota, in an attempt to sway the vote. “I strongly believe that we’re going to be counting the same athletes two times. It’s hard for me to fathom that somebody who’s a talented young woman participating in sand volleyball could not very much stand in as a court volleyball player. Then we don’t talk about the fact that we don’t have to add it if we don't want to add it.… The reality of it is, if it’s added by our competition, we believe we’ll be forced to add it because we’re going to recruit the elite student-athlete who’s going to anticipate playing both sports.”

ASCA

Info on clinics, certification, SwimAmerica, and jobs can be found at the American Swimming Coaches Association site here.

Weakly Demotivator

Quote of the Day

The reward for conformity was that
everyone liked you except yourself.



Rita Mae Brown

JMU vs. Title IX

There were no winners in this battle.

Read more here and here.

Josh Klotz transferred to the University of South Carolina after JMU cut the swim team his freshman year. He decided to transfer because he did not want to earn a degree from a university he said he could never really respect.

“You commit to a school and then they can’t even commit to you,” Klotz said. “I paid to go to a school that did that to me.”

According to a 2007 study done by the College Sports Council, 2,200 men’s athletic teams have been eliminated since 1981.

The folks at JMU can scratch Josh (and hundreds of others like him) off the list when they go looking for alumni money.

All six former varsity athletes interviewed, such as senior Ethan Sherman, a swimmer, still believe the decision to eliminate these 10 teams was not fair.

“I think that the only thing it is saying to kids these days is you’re not a real athlete if you don’t play football, basketball, baseball or one of the big sports,” Sherman said.

Take Ethan off that list, too.

Bourne, who has been JMU’s athletic director for 11 years, said he still thinks it was the right decision.

“They may not like it, but we understand why it was made,” Bourne said. “It was the best decision for the institution.”

Best for the institution? That sounds like someone who's part of the problem, not the solution...

Quote of the Day

I wish people who have trouble
communicating would just shut up.



Thomas Andrew "Tom" Lehrer

Happy Anniversary!!!

Let's celebrate by destroying a classic...


What idiot came up with that idea?

via Geekology

Quote of the Day

What is food to one, is to others bitter poison.



Titus Lucretius Carus

Quote of the Day

I want to find a voracious, small-minded
predator and name it after the IRS.



Dr. Robert T. Bakker

Quote of the Day

Successful politicians are insecure and
intimidated men. They advance politically
only as they placate, appease, bribe,
seduce, bamboozle, or otherwise manage
to manipulate the demanding and
threatening elements in their constituencies.



Walter Lippmann

Two Reasons Title IX Activists are Worried

Their scam is unraveling.

The first problem staring them in the face is money.

Title IX got women's athletics a bigger slice of the budget pie, and that was fine and dandy. Women's athletics used to get little or nothing and Title IX forced schools to budget equitably.

However, athletics budgets are being cut, and the activists don't want the cuts to impact women's athletics. Read more here.

The idea of cutting sports programs worries Nancy Hogshead-Makar because it could impact women's athletics. She said the dominant culture in college sports regards the financial survival of football and men's basketball as an imperative. Women's programs that were facilitated by Title IX, which helped pave the way for sports equality for women in education, are viewed as baggage.

"What they're really saying is that really only men's football and basketball spending is sustainable if they cut other sports," said Hogshead-Makar, director of the Legal Advocacy Center for Women in Sports. "Undoubtedly Title IX will be seen as the cause of all the costs.

"This makes it very difficult for women to participate in athletics."

It sounds like Nancy's saying "In good times, let's share and share alike. In bad times, any sacrifices must come from the men's side."

The second problem women's athletics is about to face is one they championed for years - proportionality. This double-edged sword could actually result in women's sports cuts!

It looks like the pendulum is about to swing back and, in a few years, female undergrad numbers won't nearly be what they are today. Many schools have been forced to cut men's programs to meet proportionality. We'd rather see men's programs restored, but how many will, instead, cut women's programs?

For example, Tidewater Community College is 61% female. I'll let you mathletes calculate the percentage of male students. This past fall, male enrollments jumped by over sixteen (16) percent. Read more here.

“This is the first time in a very, very long time that male growth outpaced female growth,” said Deborah M. DiCroce, Tidewater’s president. “I think that there is no way to separate what we’re looking at here from the realities of the economy. This is clearly the reversal of a trend we’ve seen for years.”

Money and proportionality are going to be keeping the gals at the WSF awake at night. Welcome to our world...

Quote of the Day

The ability to delude yourself may
be an important survival tool.



Jane Wagner

Quote of the Day

Real freedom lies in wildness, not in civilization.



Charles Augustus Lindbergh

Weakly Demotivator

NCAA

NCAA Women's Swimming & Diving

NCAA Men's Swimming & Diving

Quote of the Day

Eyes are more accurate witnesses than ears.



Heraclitus

Quote of the Day

You risk tears if you let yourself be tamed.



Antoine de Saint Exupéry

Quote of the Day (thanks MS)

An investment in knowledge
pays the best interest.



Benjamin Franklin

Quote of the Day

A censor is a man who knows more

than he thinks you ought to.



Granville Hicks

Quote of the Day

Over the last fifteen months, we've traveled to
every corner of the United States. I've now been
in fifty-seven states, I think. One left to go.



Barack Hussein Obama II

The sad part is...

...they're not the only ones!.

Imagine a school that offers eleven women's sports and just six for men.

It's not so hard to find schools like that these days. The quota system (proportionality) has been used time and time again to wipe out men's athletics.

Title IX has done just that to the James Madison University athletics program.

The latest attempt to reinstate dropped men's sports at J.M.U. has failed. Read more here.

As usual with this type of article, we find two basic types of comments.

First, there's Mr. "I'm livin' in a fantasy":

Posted by Lee1 on January 05, 2010 at 4:03 pm

It is worth noting that the only reason many sports teams are fielded is due to the income generated from football. Without that, both mens and womens sports teams would be reduced.

Ha! Income from football at J.M.U.!!!

How far in the red do you think they are each year? Six figures? Doesn't make them special, though. Thats' how most college football programs operate.

Next, there's Mr. "I live in the real world":

Posted by battlerdad on January 05, 2010 at 4:22 pm

Football is revenue negative at all but a handful of schools. I would be pleasantly surprised(and amazed) to find that JMU football generates one dime toward financing any other sport.It is funded largely through athletic fees paid by the students. Were that the case, the athletic department would not be shutting these sports down.

p.s. Ever wonder why the small number of men's sports offered is so often six (6)? That just happens to be the minimum allowed by the NCAA.

Quote of the Day

I never saw a wild thing sorry for itself. A small
bird will drop frozen dead from a bough
without ever having felt sorry for itself.



David Herbert Richards "D.H." Lawrence

FINA

The FINA main page is here.

Swimming records page is here.

Swimming rankings page is here (for now).

Weakly Demotivator

Quote of the Day

Ideas without action are worthless.



Harvey Mackay

Quote of the Day

Life always gets harder toward the summit -
the cold increases, the responsibility increases.



Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche

Quote of the Day

Be always at war with your vices, at
peace with your neighbors, and let
each new year find you a better man.



Benjamin Franklin