There could have been many sensible, non-radical ways to apply Title IX to sports programs. In assessing the fairness of a school’s resource distribution, for example, why not consider the full array of athletic opportunities—from varsity, club, and intramural sports to dance, fitness, and outdoor exploration programs? Or find a way to assess whether an institution’s offerings effectively satisfy the interests and abilities of both male and female students? But the women’s groups wanted more than that. In their view, if women were truly free and equal, they would be just as interested in competitive varsity sports as men. These advocates insisted on “proportionality”—if a college’s student body was 60 percent female, then 60 percent of the varsity athletes should be female. Anything less was proof of continuing discrimination. And rock climbing, yoga, and dance did not count. For the activists, Title IX was not an equal opportunity law; it was a mandate to change conventional understandings of what it means to be a man or a woman. “This was a heady job for government regulators,” writes Melnick.
In 1996, assistant secretary of OCR Norma Cantú sent out a “Letter of Clarification,” which mentioned “proportionality” as a “safe harbor” that would protect schools from investigation. Schools got the message that anything less than statistical parity was risky. Previously, schools had been safe from investigation if they could show they were making good-faith efforts to accommodate student interests and abilities in sports. But Cantú’s letter represented a radical policy change. It was in effect imposing a quota system—even though the original law explicitly forbade quotas. And the change was made by “administrative fiat,” in Melnick’s words, without a notice-and-comment proceeding or the president’s signature. But the OCR labeled the secretary’s decree a “clarification.” Judges deferred.
Melnick describes the chaos and expense that ensued. Colleges and universities generally have far more female than male students, yet far fewer women than men aspire to participate in varsity athletics. To keep their football teams and avoid losing even more male wrestlers, baseball players, and swimmers, most schools have opted to devote a greater share of their athletic budgets to varsity sports. Untold millions now go to a relatively small group of elite male and female athletes inside the increasingly cloistered, commercialized world of college sports. Melnick wonders what the current regulation-driven system has to do with increasing educational opportunities for young women. The average female college student might have benefited from more federal funding for physical fitness programs. Now, she helps foot the bill for the ever-expanding college athletic-industrial complex.
Proportionality means almost all schools with large football programs must do three (3) things:
1) Dump male sports until they offer only the minimum allowed by NCAA rules,
2) Use roster caps to force remaining male sports to keep their numbers to a minimum, &
3) Add pseudo-sports for women like equestrian, beach volleyball, etc.
All facts, right? Tough to argue those, isn't it?
Okay, how about we get those Title IX radicals riled up with another fact - one they really go nuts over - Men and Women are DIFFERENT!
Argue that one, Billie Jean & Nancy...
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