It just won't go away!

That's what folks on the hot seat are saying about the automatic relay take-off judging issue. Due to system failures at high school and college meets, coaches are proposing rule changes at both levels.

Now, Swimming World is polling readers on the topic.

Should relay takeoff pads be the main judge in deciding if a relay team should be disqualified for an early takeoff?

Vote here. Thanks for the heads up, DJA.

It certainly is frustrating to think we need to vote for common sense. Catch up here. Still, at least we're allowed to vote...



Now, time for your weekend Title IX update:

South Carolina columnist Ron Morris shared some of his suggestions on improving college sports. Read more here. One was to reduce football scholarship limits from 85 to 65.

Take those 20 scholarships and spread them around other sports. Athletics departments could better adhere to Title IX regulations with the extra scholarships. Or, perhaps, a sport such as baseball could receive a more-reasonable 20 scholarships rather than the 11.7 currently allowed.

That's not likely to happen. Even if it did, how often does money "saved" by trimming men's sports budgets (or eliminating programs) translate into increases for women?

Richmond's Paul Woody suggests simply taking football out of the equation. Read more here.

In 1974, U.S. Senator John Tower proposed an amendment to exempt "revenue generating" sports from Title IX. The amendment was defeated, but Tower was on to something.

Football should be eliminated from Title IX compliance.

It's been proposed as a way to keep proportionality from eroding men's opportunities. It would be great, but I just don't see it happening. Better still, how about increasing opportunities for both men and women? Wouldn't that eliminate the "need" for a quota system?

Dave Reardon of Honolulu points writes about the WAC Track & Field championships being hosted by the University of Hawaii. The school dropped their men's program in the 70's. Read more here.

UH men's track and field was axed as an intercollegiate sport in the mid-'70s. The way things are now there's no way it can return. Even Herman Frazier, an Olympic sprinter, realized that when he was athletic director; he wanted a men's track revival, but realized it impossible to do and still be in compliance with Title IX.

UT-bound Gretchen Jaques wrapped up her high school career out in California. Read more here.

Jaques, heading to the University of Texas, won the 200-yard individual medley (1:59.19) and 100 breaststroke (1:01.01) to go with her two relay titles. She capped a career in which she went 8 for 8 in CIF finals races and cemented her status as arguably the finest prep swimmer in area history.

Jaques finished her CIF career with three division records as well, having won the 50- and 100-yard freestyles as a freshman and sophomore. Her winning 50 free time of 22.80 set in 2009 still is the meet record.

Keeping up with the Charlotte UltraSwim Grand Prix?

Kathleen Hersey won the 200 fly last night. Garrett Weber-Gale finished fourth in the 50 free.

Watch live video (prelims and finals) via USA Swimming here. Results are here.

High school track has gone to a wild card system to fill that extra lane at their state meet. Read more here.

Brace yourselves, folks - we have a men's swimming ADD!

A California school, Chapman University, will join the SCIAC. Read more here.

Upon joining the conference, Chapman will have up to three years to add intercollegiate programs in men’s track and field, men’s swimming and diving, and women’s lacrosse. Chapman will also be expected to add women’s golf by the 2015-16 academic year.

Time for an old Boston tune.

Quote of the Day

Concentrate all your thoughts upon the
work at hand. The sun's rays do not
burn until brought to a focus.



Alexander Graham Bell

Quote of the Day

Whenever the world throws rose petals at you,
which thrill and seduce the ego, beware.



Anne Lamott

Quote of the Day (thanks DJA)

To get what you want, STOP
doing what isn't working.



William Dennis Weaver

Quote of the Day

The policeman isn't there to create disorder,
the policeman is there to preserve disorder.



Richard Joseph Daley

Too Much OUCH!!!

Update on the hair-pullin' coach is here. Thanks for the heads up, DP!

When liberal publications like the Huffington Post start questioning men's sports cuts made in the name of Title IX, you know the quota crowd must be worried. Read more here. Thanks for the heads up, CS!

According to the university, the cuts to men's cross country and track bring its proportionality levels into compliance, and a new women’s golf program will also be added in the fall.

These changes may sound like good news for women athletes at UD, especially golfers. But emerging research suggests that even when schools cut men’s programs in the name of Title IX, the freed-up money rarely flows straight toward the female locker rooms.

The College Swimming Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) has announced this year's honorees. Texans achieving coaching milestones are Doug Boyd of Texas A&M (20 years) and Steve Collins of Southern Methodist (30 years).

Time for an update on zero tolerance ding-dongs. Catch up here. You won't believe the latest round of stupidity. Read the story and watch the video here.

“It makes me feel like I can’t trust people in a position of authority like that,” Graham said. “It’s scary to think that they would do something to a kid that doesn’t have any problems.”

How about those folks at Alden & Associates? They've helped schools like Kutztown and Nebraska-Omaha decide which men's sports to dump. Testimonials? Yeah, they've got 'em!

University of Nebraska at Omaha
Feasability Study

"I was impressed with the overall breadth of service. Due to the extent of our reorganization, we required a firm that could perform a judicious review in an extremely short window; Alden & Associates delivered for UNO."

Trev Albert
Director of Athletics

Delivered? Really??? Read more here.

SMU has posted an ad for a women's assistant coach. Job is posted on the CSCAA site here.

Been on the edge of your seat, waiting to see the high school rule changes for 2011-12? Sit back and relax! The NFHS has posted rule changes here.

4-1-new 4: Once the meet competition is concluded, the referee continues to maintain clerical responsibilities through the completion of any required reports or correspondence related to action occurring during the meet. If necessary, the state association may intercede due to unusual incidents after officials’ jurisdiction ends or the meet is terminated prior to conclusion of regulation competition.

Rationale: Administrative duties for meet referees may need to continue after the contest to document actions which occur during the competition. This revision illustrates the difference between the meet referees’ jurisdiction during the competition and other clerical responsibilities such as submitting specific reports after the competition is completed. In addition, clarifies that state associations may continue to develop and implement policies that allow for review of unusual incidents that occur while the meet officials have jurisdiction or after the competition is completed.

Better late than never, right? No, there's been no change in Appendix B.

Rumor: Has anyone heard that Colorado Time Systems will sponsor relay towels for all 2012 high school state qualifiers?

Want to join the first-ever group of NISCA Fellows? Application form is here. Deadline is July 1.

The UIL steroid testing program yielded one (1) positive out of 2,083 tests. Read more here. Could have saved them a lot of money - it had to be that danged 4'10" kid who kicked the 93-yard field goal into a 35 mph wind.

A&M sprinter/brainiac Casey Strange has been awarded an NCAA post-graduate scholarship. Read more here.

Mustangs Audra Egenolf and Sascha Van den Branden have also earned NCAA post-grad scholarships. Read more here.

"We are very excited about Audra and Sascha earning the prestigious NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship," head coach Steve Collins said. "This is a tribute to their hard work and dedication as student-athletes. We offer our congratulations to them both and wish them continued success in their postgraduate programs."

Former Longhorn Whitney Hite will be the new men's and women's head coach at Wisconsin. Read more here.

"One of the things that stood out to me — besides his background as a swimmer and working his way through the ranks as an assistant coach — is where he took a program at Washington, which did not have very good facilities," Alvarez said. "(He) took them to a place where both men and women's teams were ranked nationally."

Longhorn recruit Clay Youngquist was recently named Detroit Athletic Club Michigan Male High School Athlete of the Year. Read more here.

Finally, College of the Sequoias is dumping men's tennis and golf. Read more here.

"The rationale behind cutting was a lack of numbers," said Vice President of Academic Services, Duncan Graham, "men's tennis had 13 players on their roster and men's golf only had seven in the spring of 2009."

Rice has eight (8) men on the golf roster and ten (10) guys on the tennis squad. Those are D-I programs. The COS "rationale" sure doesn't sound very rational.

Originally, the school was looking to cut both the men's and women's golf and tennis teams, but according to Graham, that was not in compliance with the Office of Civil Rights and Title IX, which states that all athletes of a school that receives federal financial assistance should not be subjected to any discrimination, regardless of sex.

Okay, now we get it...

UCLA and Title IX

Several new articles on Title IX from The Daily Bruin:

UCLA team numbers help fulfill Title IX requirements

Title IX tries to promote gender equality in sports

Financial restrictions from gender equity law Title IX keep sports teams from joining NCAA

p.s. Pic is new Spieker Aquatics Center

p.p.s. They dumped their storied men's swimming program long ago...

Quote of the Day

It is almost always the cover-up, rather
than the event, that causes trouble.



Howard Henry Baker, Jr.

Rule Change Change-Back Changes

I'm just going to try to pass along the info I've received. If I'm mistaken, please let me know.

1. The UIL went to the Appendix B protocols a couple of years ago - w/o input from high school coaches.

2. Use of the protocols resulted in questionable DQ's at the 2010 & 2011 state meets.

3. TISCA lobbied the UIL to either add video review or eliminate the use of the automated system.

4. The UIL agreed to implement rule changes, provided three hundred (300) high school coaches - and their athletic directors - make their wishes known in writing - on district letterhead - within sixty (60) days.

That's it, right?

The clock is ticking!

Athletic directors are incredibly busy with baseball/softball playoffs and state tournaments in tennis, track, and golf. Even if they are on board with the changes, it's tough to track them down right now.

With this in mind, I'm told:

If you're a coach wishing to support the rule change - but you don't have your A.D.'s signature stamp handy - you can send your letter anyway.

It's as easy as 1-2-3:

1. Click on the link below,
2. print, sign, & date, and
3. email, fax, or mail it to Traci Neely.

Letter to UIL

Quote of the Day

My fellow Americans, I am pleased to tell you
I just signed legislation which outlaws Russia
forever. The bombing will begin in five minutes.



Ronald Wilson Reagan

Wrestling with the truth in Nebraska

Stunning! Shocking!! Outrageous!!!

Administrators not being honest?!?!

For the story on shady, dirty-dealin' booger-brains, click here.

Quote of the Day

When everything is coming your way,
you're probably in the wrong lane.



Thomas James "Tom" Snyder

The truth hurts:


Know an unemployed (or under-employed) vet? Steer them toward this Mashable piece.

Got a heads up from CS on this, but didn't get to catch it. Did any of you listen to Dennis Prager's show titled "What is Title IX and why is it so destructive?" Friday? Great topic!


While we're on the subject, I wonder how the University of Delaware track/cross country mediation session went on Friday. The media is getting behind these guys and their fight to survive proportionality. Read more here. The Save UD site is here.
If you're not keeping up with Joseph's progress, catch up with Terri Stanton's latest update (read here):

Our lil’ musician Audrea had wanted to write a song for her brother for a very long time but had “writer’s block” about it until yesterday and then it came. The LORD just reigned down his grace and gave her the words He wanted her to sing to her baby brother. A lot of the inspiration came from the doctors early on in Joseph’s injury that told us he wouldn’t survive or would just be a vegetable the rest of his life. The current battle with United Healthcare also gave her a LOT of inspiration. The words “with this love surrounding us” are referring to YOU, OUR prayer warriors. You can listen here:
Warrior


Bradley University dropped swimming back in 2002. Last week they tore down their old facility. Read more here. In the newer Markin Center pool, the only "competitive" swimming left is the spring intramural meet.

The swim meet is complete and you can now see the results of the top three finishers in each event. Thank you to all who competed. It was a great meet with some really close races.
Thanks for the heads up, HN! She's one of our original three regular readers!!
Folks in New Jersey can enjoy a swim in the Flying W Ranch pool. Read more here.


Read the NCAA's Champion magazine (Spring 2011) online here. Issues back to 2008 are also available there.
Want to be more creative? It's as easy as 1-2-3 (...4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11-12). Read more here.

Quote of the Day

When we lose the right to be different,
we lose the right to be free.



Charles Evans Hughes

Title IX News

On today's Letters to the Editor page of the New York Times are some responses to their series on Title IX. Read them here.

To the Sports Editor:

Instead of frowning on colleges eliminating men’s teams to comply with Title IX, perhaps the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights should do something about it.

In 1996, O.C.R. declared Prong 1 of Title IX’s three-part test a “safe harbor” for compliance. Subsequently, Prong 1 became first among equals in the compliance game, as it is the only option that virtually guarantees that colleges won’t be subject to costly litigation if they decide to eliminate teams. When combined with declining male enrollment, the use of gender quotas has resulted in the erosion of athletic opportunities for male athletes in a variety of Olympic sports like gymnastics and volleyball.

The loss of track and field at Delaware, as well as the recent elimination of wrestling programs at Liberty and Nebraska-Omaha, can be directly traced to O.C.R.’s 1996 action. Basic fairness demands that guidance be reversed. Karen Owoc

San Ramon, Calif.

The writer is the executive director of Fairness in Sports Foundation, whose objective is to restore the original intent of Title IX.





Fairness in Sports Foundation: Moms on a Mission to Save Sports

Quote of the Day

I am a man of fixed and unbending principles,
the first of which is to be flexible at all times.



Everett McKinley Dirksen

If you enjoyed...

...Then Some Other Stuff Happened, you'll love (Naughty word warning!) &#%@ My Students Write:

Michael Angelo painted the roof of the 16th Chapel.

Sex is a factor in teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases.

Sedimentary people stay in one place. They only interact with other sedimentary people.

Most respondents stated that attitudes towards sex changed after the Vietnam and Woodstock wars.

Its not really plagiarism as it was exactly what I was going to write anyway.

Revelation is an event in which God relieves himself.

My story is hysterical fiction because it took place during World War II and could have actually happened.

These statistics are jaw dropping, yet at the same time not at all surprising.

Steinbeck always wrote with a porpoise.

Darwin’s theory of natural selection is also known as survival of the fits.

The main problem with global warming is, that many orgasms will go extinct.

The Octopus of Apathy is spreading its testicles throughout the land.

I’m sorry but can you clarify what you mean by written?

Fieldwork is a way of falsifying researchers work, and therefore anthropology is about critiquing other anthropologists projects.

I felt so guilty because I realized I was aiding in the bedding of a criminal.

Rome went on to conquer other territories and planets.

Like a woman seduces a horny man, Hitler captivated the people of Germany.

Quote of the Day

Only entropy comes easy.



Anton Pavlovich Chekhov

Quote of the Day

Anything worth doing is worth overdoing.



Sir Michael Philip "Mick" Jagger

Since I'm no inventor...

...why reinvent the wheel?

Big Title IX news here and here.

Unfortunately, Title IX has been twisted beyond recognition by administrative rulings that now require colleges to strike a proportionate balance between women's and men's participation in intercollegiate sports, wholly without regard to student demand. There are only two ways in which this hopeless search for perfection can be maintained in strict accordance with the law. The first is to expand the number of women who engage in intercollegiate sports until, on a percentage basis, they roughly approximate the number of men. The second is to cut back on the number of eligible men until the participation rate is as low for men as it is for women.

Both strategies come with huge costs. The only way to boost the number of women in intercollegiate sports is through massive efforts to induce reluctant women to participate. That approach requires expensive recruitment and substantial scholarships. At the margin, thousands of additional dollars are poured into persuading one more woman to join a team. Those same dollars could easily fund a dozen or more men who are so eager to participate. Right now there are no men’s swimming teams at many major colleges. The number of college wrestling teams has been cut in half over the past 30 or so years. And earlier this week, the New York Times reported that the University of Delaware plans to cut its men’s varsity track team in order to comply with Title IX, even before it had fallen out of compliance with the statute. Does anyone think that these steps were taken for a want of student demand or college funds for these activities? No. It is the Title IX scythe that cuts out these opportunities.

Caution! You're about to enter...

...a no spin zone!

Just kidding. This post is all about spinning...and caution.

If you've not been catching the recent emails from A Splash of Truth and reading those updates at USSWIMNSCANDAL, here's the Readers Digest version.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The latest email was sent out on May 2. Among other things, it contained this list of goals and objectives:

1. Effectively settle the numerous sexual abuse lawsuits in a timely and efficient manner.

2. Apologize to the many victims of sexual abuse and misconduct.

3. Chuck Wielgus and Pat Hogan need to be immediately removed from their positions at USA Swimming. This would save our organization one million dollars per year in salary. Swimming in the United States cannot move forward and effectively heal with these two individuals remaining in their respective positions.

4. The USA Swimming Board of Directors needs to be more accountable and more effectively oversee and actively manage the USA Swimming staff.

5. The American Swimming Coaches Association Board (if it is anything more than a "rubber stamp" board) needs to remove John Leonard as the Executive Director. If Leonard is not removed from the American Swimming Coaches Association, we are calling upon all coaches and parents to boycott ASCA and start a new coaches association that actually helps and supports club coaches. Other actions that need to be taken are as follows - 1. Don't pay for or attend ASCA sponsored clinics. 2. Don't purchase ASCA memberships. 3. And certainly don't buy any materials or services from ASCA. As an organization, USA Swimming needs to disassociate themselves with ASCA and certify and educate coaches on their own. ASCA's only good for gouging clubs and their underpaid coaches. Unfortunately, USA Swimming Club coaches do not have a coaches association that truly represents their interests.

6. We are calling on the membership to remove some of the veteran USA Swimming, LSC and USSIC Board Members that have overseen the corruption and ineptitude that has happened under their watch. Stop recycling these same individuals on and off our USA Swimming and USSIC boards year after year.

7. We are calling on the membership to demand full disclosure of the USSIC including the operation and finances of this company that is funded by our membership money.

8. We are calling on the membership to reject any efforts by the USA Swimming Executives and Board to implement a dues increase this fall. DO NOT SUPPORT ANY DUES INCREASE IN ANY WAY, SHAPE OR FORM!

While we wouldn't argue with most of these objectives, I'm tapping the brakes on number five.



In particular:

As an organization, USA Swimming needs to disassociate themselves with ASCA and certify and educate coaches on their own. ASCA's only good for gouging clubs and their underpaid coaches.

Let's have a show of hands: How many think USA Swimming can put on a better coaches' clinic than the ASCA World Clinic? Just three of you? Of you three, how many World Clinics have you attended? None? Okay, thanks for your input. That will be all...

I don't know John Leonard personally. I've heard him speak about rooting out drug cheats. His anti-doping work has helped our sport.

The ASCA World Clinic has outstanding speakers and presentations, year-in and year-out. Coaches and clubs use the ASCA Job Service to connect. Coaches that can't attend the World Clinic can still learn plenty via the World Clinic Yearbook.

I don't know that I'm prepared to drop my ASCA membership and certifications just yet. I certainly don't agree with everything they do, but since when should that be news?

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The latest site update was posted on May 2. It concerns the Dagny Knutson saga. This gal has bounced from Minot, to Auburn, to Fullerton, to Gainesville. How about we leave the poor kid alone?


Is this what USSWIMNSCANDAL calls protecting athletes?

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I understand the "good" these folks are trying to do for our sport. I just wish they'd tone down the "spin" a bit.

I feel that we're all being indicted here and that can't be a good thing. An overwhelming majority of the folks involved with swimming are good people with the best of intentions.

Not everything ASCA and USA Swimming does is bad, but too much spin can make it seem like it.

Proportionality Hurts Athletes

While Title IX lawyers have profited by using proportionality to shake down college athletic programs, the athletes Title IX was supposed to help continue to suffer. Using a quota system to enforce Title IX has resulted in lost opportunities for both men and women.

Read more here.

"How did we ever get to a place where a program that is supposed to be about creating opportunities for women is now being used in a way to create no opportunities for women and to cut men?" said Tom Rogers, a former captain of the Delaware track team who graduated in 1989, to The New York Times.

Corey Wall, current co-captain of the men's track team, noted that there was no threat of a lawsuit or question of compliance when the university demoted the team, which is why a complaint was filed in the first place.

"We're not fighting Title IX at all; we're just fighting the misuse of it," he said.

Well put, Tom & Corey!

Happy 21st, Leon!!!

Yes, we're all still wondering how he ever made it...

Quote of the Day

The dream to kill me will
never be completed.



Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad
bin Laden, a.k.a. Osama bin Laden

Maybe - just maybe - ...

...the tide is turning.

University of Delaware officials have agreed to mediation over the dumping of men's track.

Brown University is holding off on their sports cuts.

Cal has reinstated the five sports they'd threatened to drop.

While we can't put them all in the "win" column yet, it seems that college administrators are at least hearing our message.

Education has been an important factor.

Some folks have learned about Title IX enforcement via sites like Saving Sports, pieces in newspapers (New York Times), and on television (ESPN).

Others have seen their sports "hijacked" by Title IX activists. Nevada & NYC high school girls' soccer, along with Michigan high school girls' basketball, have suffered while a few radicals pushed through their agendas.

Still others have found out about Title IX enforcement when their sons wanted to continue competing in college. That's when they ran into sport cuts, roster caps, and reduced scholarship opportunities.

It's a real eye-opener when they realize that men's D-I swimming is limited to 9.9 scholarships per team while the women can divide up 14 per school.

This means that even schools that wish to fully fund both programs must discriminate against male swimmers.

Senseless, right?

Most people agree.

In fact, a recent Rasmussen poll found that only 13% of adults support proportionality.

Looks like the message is getting through.

But colleges have been struggling to meet the law as the number of students who are women has risen. With women comprising 57% of college students today, just 13% of adults think the federal government should require that each college have an appropriate number of women athletes to ensure that 57% of college athletes overall are women. Most adults (64%) oppose such a requirement, while another 23% are undecided about it.

Early in the proportionality debacle, those protesting against men's sports cuts were mostly male. Now that women are also on board, we should gain momentum in our drive to end gender quotas in college sports and

Save the Males!!!

Quote of the Day

I don't think there's ever a time where I
step back and say I wish I was something
different. I'm doing what I love to do.



Sidney Patrick Crosby

Turning Point?

Each time we see someone stand up against the Title IX quota system, I wonder if it will someday be viewed as a turning point.

Could the University of Delaware track battle be that turning point? Read the latest on their fight for survival here.

Delaware is one of dozens of universities that have eliminated low-profile men’s teams like wrestling, gymnastics and swimming in an effort, the universities say, to comply with Title IX, the federal law that bans sex discrimination in education.

But in cutting the men’s varsity track team, Delaware took the practice a step further. The university did not make the argument that it needed to cut the team to immediately comply with the law — after all, it plans to add a women’s golf team in the fall. Instead, officials say they are ending the track program, which has its 100th anniversary this year, out of concern that they could not remain compliant in the future.

Translation: We're fine for now, but feel the need to axe a few men in case the WSF tries to shake us down.

“Title IX protects against sex discrimination,” Ali said. “Traditionally, the underrepresented sex in institutions of higher education has been women. That is changing.”

Ali said her office was aware of circumstances in which men are underrepresented when it comes to college athletic scholarships, even though they are overrepresented in their overall participation in athletics. And the University of Kansas recently resolved a discrimination complaint filed by a former male swimmer who alleged that the university had been providing athletic slots to a disproportionate number of women. Kansas agreed to reduce the size of its women’s teams and encourage more men to walk on to other men’s teams.

I hope Nancy, Billie, and company are satisfied. Roster management is now being used to limit women's opportunities...

Thanks for the heads up, CS!

Quote of the Day

When I am dead and buried, on my tombstone
I would like to have it written, "I have arrived."
Because when you feel that you have arrived,
you are dead.



Yuliy Borisovich Bryner, a.k.a. Yul Brynner

Quote of the Day

You may not be interested in strategy,
but strategy is interested in you.



Lev Davidovich Bronshtein, a.k.a. Leon Trotsky

Quote of the Day

If stupidity got us into this mess,
then why can't it get us out?



William Penn Adair "Will" Rogers

Count Cheerleading?

That's what Sean Gregory suggests in a Time article. As we know, gender quotas often result in dumping male sports, rather than increasing female opportunities. Read more here.

The NCAA, however, currently does not recognize competitive cheerleading as a sport. So under Title IX, White is not counted as a female athlete. That's shortsighted. Schools seeking to pass the Title IX proportionality test will sometimes resort to roster management because football teams are so bloated. Some have over 100 players, so budget-strapped athletic departments need to find a similar number of spots on women's teams. Those 10 dudes who practice with the women's hoops team surely help. So instead of resorting to such trickery, why not offer a genuine athletic opportunity to 30 or so young women on a competitive-cheering team?

Quote of the Day

It might be a bad thing, not to know what's going
on in the world. I can't say I really approve of it.



Sharon Olds

Quote of the Day

I am glad that I paid so little attention to good
advice; had I abided by it I might have been
saved from some of my most valuable mistakes.



Edna St. Vincent Millay

Public Relations Nightmare at UD

As the media digs into the University of Delaware men's track mess, the university might be close to crying "Uncle!"

Read a short article and listen to a soundbite here. Not sure what "mediation" means here, but let's hope the university offers an opportunity for reinstatement of the program.

Last week, the Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights announced it would investigate the cut.

But now team Captain Corey Wall tells WDEL's Rick Jensen Show that UD wants to use mediation to reach a settlement.

Quote of the Day

I'm not afraid of flying, I'm afraid of crashing.



Neil Simon

Hoops, hoops, and more hoops...

From TISCA to Coaches

From Coaches to UIL

IMHO

Mainstream Media on Roster Management

Both ESPN (above) and the New York Times are focusing on the "roster management" issue today. Read more here.

Yet football, the pride of many universities and a draw for alumni, rarely faces cuts. The average Division I football team went from 95 players 30 years ago to 111 players in 2009-10.

“Football is the elephant in the whole thing,” Mr. Crouthamel said. “That’s the monster.”

Advocates for men’s teams say roster management hurts their cause as well, because colleges tend to eliminate men’s sports rather than increase women’s sports to reach parity. Officials have also cut the size of men’s teams, compromising their competitiveness.

“I think roster management is almost a cuss word,” said Tommy Bell, the athletic director at Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne. He wants to restore a men’s track team, he said, but to do so, he must trim men’s spots elsewhere. “I hate doing it,” he said.

Thanks for the heads up, DJ!

Delaware Track OCR Investigation

This story is getting verrrrry interesting.

To have the Office of Civil Rights looking into a Title IX complaint in which men are being discriminated against is unusual.

Of course, we know it should have happened a long time ago, right?

While this can hardly be considered a trend, at least it's a baby step in the right direction. Title IX reformers aren't against providing opportunities for women. We are just trying to protect male athletes from losing opportunities in sports like gymnastics, swimming, track, and wrestling.

More inside scoop from the Save UD movement:

Article by Shannon wasn't the key to forcing the school to unblock their protest site. Someone at the UD Review was the driving force behind that.

Also, here's an exclusive (at least for the moment) new comic that hasn't yet made it onto their site:




Keep fighting the good fight, Delaware Track!!

Quote of the Day

Life is often compared to a marathon, but I think
it is more like being a sprinter; long stretches of
hard work punctuated by brief moments in which
we are given the opportunity to perform at our best.



Michael Duane Johnson

Kasic Talks Roster Caps & Civil Rights

Roster "management" strategies work in two ways - toward one goal.

Male sports' rosters are capped, meaning that outstanding walk-ons are told "Thanks, but no thanks. Check with intramurals."

Women's rosters are inflated, meaning that some athletes listed on a roster may have little or no experience and may not actually practice/compete.

Both methods help athletic departments achieve gender equity - at least on paper.

Ah, the beauty of proportionality...

Read more from Allison Kasic of the Independent Women's Forum here.

This article presents a good example of roster management at work at Boise State, complete with a great definition of the practice: "Roster management entails promoting walk-on opportunities in women's sports and limiting men's rosters to the minimum necessary to compete for championships."

Kasic has also posted on the fight to save Delaware's men's track program. Read more here.

Seems the government may actually investigate a claim of gender discrimination against - get this - men!

This will be interesting to watch. I've seen examples of men's teams unsuccessfully sue schools to try and get their programs reinstated, but this is the first time that I can remember the government investigating a school on Title IX grounds on behalf of a men's team. If nothing else, the investigation should produce more information about the process that led to the school's decision to cut the programs -- a decision that obviously wasn't publicly debated,as it caught those involved completely off-guard. Stay tuned.


On the subject of UD track, the university denies it intentionally blocked the track team's Save UD site. Read more here.

Wall told The Review Thursday that several people had informed him they could not access the site. He said he confirmed it by testing several locations on campus and by accessing his site logs, which showed there had been no visitors from the university network since April 4.

Tests by The Review also confirmed the site was not accessible from campus. A reporter sitting in Kirkbride Hall Thursday afternoon tried, but failed, to access the site. But moments later, the reporter successfully accessed it using a proxy server, a third-party website designed to help users bypass content filters.

"I was very upset today," Wall said Thursday night. "I just don't think the university has a right to do that. They can block explicit material like porn [...] but a blog, voicing an opinion they feel is against them? To me that violates freedom of speech."

Contacted by The Review Friday morning, university spokesman David Brond said the site was blocked April 3 by an automatic process meant to keep spammers and hackers off of the university network.

"The IP address the website is part of tried to contact 11,000 people on this campus," Brond said. "Immediately, automatically our server said, ‘It must be a hacker.' It didn't even know it was saveud.com."

Brond became aware of the site Friday when he received a Google News Alert about a post on the site regarding the federal investigation. When he visited it, he saw another post accusing the university of blocking the site.

He viewed the site and instructed IT personnel to manually override the block.

"It was never a conscious decision to block this," Brond said, adding that several IP addresses are automatically blocked every week.

Although the site is now accessible on campus, Wall said he remains skeptical of Brond's explanation.

"I'm not going to take the university's word for that," he said. "It's definitely possible, but I'm not convinced."

Gotta love the trend. Investigative journalism being used to shine a little light on the subject. If Josh Shannon hadn't done a little research for this story, do you think they'd have acted so quickly? At all?

It's not paranoia if they really are out to get you, right?

The First Amendment isn't what it used to be...

Edited 4/26:

Artist asked that I remove cartoon that was here. No problem.

Quote of the Day

Truth isn't always beauty, but the hunger for it is.



Nadine Gordimer

Quote of the Day

I've always made a total effort, even when the odds
seemed entirely against me. I never quit trying;
I never felt that I didn't have a chance to win.



Arnold Daniel Palmer

Quote of the Day

I apologize for lying to you. I promise I won't
deceive you except in matters of this sort.



Spiro Theodore Agnew

Memory Lapse?

Soooooooooo...our leadership's being asked to survey our TISCA membership on the automatic relay take-off judging rules, right?

The UIL wants to make sure we're all on board with dumping a lousy protocol and moving forward.

Funny thing is, I don't ever remember being asked my opinion on adding the systems and protocols in the first place.

Do you? If we coaches were in on the decision, let me know the who, what, when, and where. I totally missed it.

If they didn't check in with us a few years ago - but went ahead with the changes anyway - why does our vote matter so danged much now?

I haven't been "in the loop" for a while and feel like I've missed something important here. Help me out.



p.s. While my memory might be pretty bad, it's still better than this guy's.

Quote of the Day

There is an eloquence in true enthusiasm.



Edgar Allan Poe