From Deseret News archives:
Title IX ax continues to destroy programs
It happens right out in the open.
It has the full support of the federal government and the courts.
It is considered by some to be "progress."
The group that is discriminated against: Any male college athlete.
They're discriminated against under the guise of gender equity legislation.
Ironic, isn't it?
It has another name: Title IX.
The Title IX ax fell again last week as the slaughter on men's sports continues, this time close to home. The University of Utah officially cut its men's track program, which was barely alive anyway. Thus, the Ute track team has the distinction of getting cut twice from that athletic program after being brought back for a quiet encore.
Anyone for a third strike?
The word from the athletic department is that the sport was cut because it was underfunded, uncompetitive and would be too costly to become competitive; the university wants to use the money instead to help other sports, namely women's track. The Utes — and this is where things got entertaining — made a point of saying this is not because of Title IX.
Of course it's because of Title IX. That's why the program was underfunded in the first place. That's why it wasn't competitive. That's why they want to use the money for women's sports.
That's why the women's track team gets 13 scholarships and the men 3.1.
That's why they couldn't increase spending for the men's team — because they'd have to increase spending for the women's team to meet legal requirements, even though the women's team already receives at least four times more funding.
The Utes are by no means the exception; they are the norm. Next year, BYU will offer 20 scholarships to the women's track team, 12.5 to the men. At Weber, the score will be about 15-10. At Utah State, 20-12.5. The NCAA has essentially mandated discrimination, setting the limit for track scholarships at 20 for women and 12.5 for men.
But this isn't about track and field. It's about all of the so-called minor sports, as well — swimming, gymnastics, wrestling, soccer. Those sports have been crippled by the hundreds of men's teams that have been eliminated by Title IX.
Because of the court's wrongheaded interpretation of the original Title XI law, one-to-one proportionality is being enforced, which means the football team, with its 85-man rosters, skews the numbers. To compensate, schools cut men's sports and beg women athletes to join their ranks.
