At James Madison, Title IX Is Satisfied, but the Students Are Not

[TexasTerror]

Always hate to see schools eliminate sports. This is one of our I-AA bretheren who were featured in the NY Times. It's unfortunate the JMU has got to do this. Just a continuing trend of schools cutting mens' sports...

At James Madison, Title IX Is Satisfied, but the Students Are Not

By BILL PENNINGTON
Published: October 7, 2006

HARRISONBURG, Va., Oct. 5 — The James Madison University men’s and women’s cross-country teams had run especially well against an elite field during a competition late last month in eastern Pennsylvania. Afterward, Coach Dave Rinker gathered a giddy, excited group of athletes with tears in his eyes.

Cross-country runner Jennifer Chapman has questioned the motives of James Madison leaders who eliminated 10 sports with Title IX regulations.

Rinker’s runners noticed he was not smiling. In the middle of the meet, back here on the James Madison campus, the university had announced it was eliminating men’s cross country and track, along with eight other, mostly men’s, sports to comply with Title IX, the federal gender-equity law.

“Title IX was created in 1972 to prevent sex discrimination, and it was needed,” Jennifer Chapman, a senior on the women’s cross-country team, which is not being eliminated, said four days later as she led a protest rally of 400 students on campus. “But look what’s happening now. We rode the bus home from Pennsylvania for four hours, 14 guys and 19 girls all crying together. How is that supposed to have been Title IX’s intent?”

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/07/sports/othersports/07madison.html?_r=1&ref=sports&oref=slogin

[SuperJon]

I abso-freaking-lutely hate Title IX. We've discussed it a lot in my Sport Law class. It had good intentions but there seriously needs to be a waiver for football schools.

[Hansel]

they already had 50% of their athletes as women- this was just dumb

[Hansel]

I abso-freaking-lutely hate Title IX. We've discussed it a lot in my Sport Law class. It had good intentions but there seriously needs to be a waiver for football schools.
could be a budget thing too and the pres was just passing it off as title IX

NDSU has had a fair amount of track/FB athletes

will this afffect the JMU FB team?

[grizband]

I hate this, football field many more scholarship atheletes than any sports, so men are already at a disadvantage. Then, to think about the coaches the university has fired, and the students who are affected; is this really what Title IX wants? I seriously doubt it, but no one will stand up and say this is wrong! It's like my boss says (who is a woman): women's lib. movements were created to make things equal, not to take away from men.

[Hansel]

I hate this, football field many more scholarship atheletes than any sports, so men are already at a disadvantage. Then, to think about the coaches the university has fired, and the students who are affected; is this really what Title IX wants? I seriously doubt it, but no one will stand up and say this is wrong! It's like my boss says (who is a woman): women's lib. movements were created to make things equal, not to take away from men.
did you read what the Femi-nazi from Ithaca said

some academics are way out of touch with reality

[grizband]

did you read what the Femi-nazi from Ithaca said

some academics are way out of touch with reality
No, I didn't. What did she say?

[Hansel]

from the article...not as bad as the first time I read it :o, but anytime 50% of a school's athletes are female I don't think you can complain

Ellen Staurowsky, an author and expert on Title IX issues and a professor of sport management at Ithaca College, defended the fairness of Title IX interpretation.

“If James Madison had been incrementally responding to women’s sports opportunities over the years, they wouldn’t be in the situation they found themselves in,” Staurowsky said. “It is decades of inertia by decision makers that leads to Title IX compliance problems. So now this generation has to deal with massive cuts.”

[bandl]

As a JMU alum...it was always great to be so truly outnumbered by the amazing amount of hottie JMU girls (last I saw it was 63-37?? ish)...but this is ridiculous. :(

[Hansel]

As a JMU alum...it was always great to be so truly outnumbered by the amazing amount of hottie JMU girls (last I saw it was 63-37?? ish)...but this is ridiculous. :(
article said 61% female :)

[bandl]

article said 61% female :)
Pretty good odds though wouldn't you say??? ;)

[Hansel]

Pretty good odds though wouldn't you say??? ;)
NDSU was the other way around- so I got some good training ;)

with those odds I would be unstoppable :p

[GeauxColonels]

Abso-freakin'-lutely REEDICULOUS!!!!! Tell that femi-natzi that if she and the other women in the country want such an absurd standard, they need to get out there and SUPPORT these teams financially! This is ANOTHER example of inefficient fiscal policies that universities are subject to!

[bulldog10jw]

This guy blames college football for title IX problems.

http://www.timesdispatch.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=RTD%2FMGArticle%2FRTD_BasicArti cle&c=MGArticle&cid=1149191034316&path=!sports!punch&s=1045855935482

[Maverick]

JMU eliminated 10 sports. 144 athletes. 8 coaches (3 full-time, 5 part-time). and (this is the one that really blew me away) 8 scholarships. I hope that it was a typo in an article I read but if those numbers are true what kind of athletic program has 8 scholarships spread among 10 sports. Still JMU should have been looking at the numbers annually (and they probably were) and making adjustments. This federal law has been around for many years and there have been plenty of notice about this matter from many sources. With a number such as 61-39, and not being able to touch FB and BB (M&W) and not working out a long range plan was the mistake JMU made. Hiring a full-time swim coach last year and never even mentioning it showed that they weren't working to address the problem. Then when it comes down to them painting themselves into a corner that said the only thing they could do was to eliminate 10 sports shows the failure of the leadership to address the problem in an open and honest fashion. You may not agree with Title IX but you sure as hell can't ignore it and hope nothing happens when you have such a student body disparity such as 61-39. Problem is that a lot of schools have used the addition of women's rowing with the ability to add up to 80-90 female student-athlete opportunities. The lack of a river or lake of adequate size nearby really complicated the matter, so see it is a problem of geography.

[RobsPics]

JMU eliminated 10 sports. 144 athletes. 8 coaches (3 full-time, 5 part-time). and (this is the one that really blew me away) 8 scholarships. I hope that it was a typo in an article I read but if those numbers are true what kind of athletic program has 8 scholarships spread among 10 sports. Still JMU should have been looking at the numbers annually (and they probably were) and making adjustments. This federal law has been around for many years and there have been plenty of notice about this matter from many sources. With a number such as 61-39, and not being able to touch FB and BB (M&W) and not working out a long range plan was the mistake JMU made. Hiring a full-time swim coach last year and never even mentioning it showed that they weren't working to address the problem. Then when it comes down to them painting themselves into a corner that said the only thing they could do was to eliminate 10 sports shows the failure of the leadership to address the problem in an open and honest fashion. You may not agree with Title IX but you sure as hell can't ignore it and hope nothing happens when you have such a student body disparity such as 61-39. Problem is that a lot of schools have used the addition of women's rowing with the ability to add up to 80-90 female student-athlete opportunities. The lack of a river or lake of adequate size nearby really complicated the matter, so see it is a problem of geography.


Agreed.

Stop blaming the law.

Blame the school's administration for ignoring the law for so long, and them painting themselves as the victim.