Title IX

[Hunter]

So I just heard that JMU is cutting 10 varsity sports teams

September 29, 2006

HARRISONBURG ÔÇö James Madison University's Board of Visitors voted today to approve a plan to bring the JMU Athletics program into compliance with Title IX.

The plan will take effect July 1, 2007, when the following varsity teams will be eliminated:

Men's
Archery
Cross Country
Gymnastics
Indoor Track
Outdoor Track
Swimming
Wrestling

Women's
Archery
Fencing
Gymnastics

With 28 varsity teams, the JMU Athletics program ties for the rank of seventh in terms of the number of teams among all 327 Division I schools nationally.

"The JMU Athletics program is unusually large for a public university of our size," said Joseph Damico, rector of the JMU Board of Visitors. "With so many teams, we faced an insurmountable challenge coming into compliance with Title IX. Fundamentally, that is why the Board voted today for this plan."

The proportionality requirements of Title IX mandate that collegiate athletics programs mirror each school's undergraduate population in terms of gender. As of the fall semester 2006, JMU's proportions place it fundamentally out of compliance with federal law:

Overall Enrollment
Female 61%
Male 39%

Athletics Participation
Female 50.7%
Male 49.3%

Jeff Bourne, JMU athletics director, said, "We explored every avenue in search of an alternative to this action. Lamar Daniel, a well-known consultant on Title IX compliance, has worked closely with us and he believes that this plan is our most viable alternative for reaching compliance with Title IX."

Once this plan is fully implemented, total participation in athletics will move to 61 percent female and 39 percent male, in alignment with current student enrollment. The university will then have 18 intercollegiate sports:

Men's
Baseball
Basketball
Football
Golf
Soccer
Tennis

Women's
Basketball
Cross Country
Field Hockey
Golf
Lacrosse
Soccer
Softball
Swimming
Tennis
Track, Indoor
Track, Outdoor
Volleyball

This decision affects 144 student-athletes currently participating in these sports, as well as three full-time and eight part-time coaches.

"Now that the Board has voted to enact this plan, our main concern is with our affected student-athletes and coaches," said Bourne. "We are taking great care to preserve the financial guarantees already made to our student-athletes. If you are a student-athlete on an affected team and you are receiving a scholarship, you will continue to receive that scholarship until you graduate."

Currently, eight students on the rosters of the 10 affected teams receive a total of $13,500 in scholarships. Access to sports-medicine and academic-advising programs also will be available to them. Any affected student-athletes who decide to transfer to another program will be provided with full assistance regarding the transfer process. Affected coaches will receive severance packages appropriate to the university's policies and procedures.

All of the financial resources recovered from the implementation of this plan will be redirected to provide the full complement of NCAA scholarships for women's golf, tennis and swimming. Partial scholarship funding will return to men's golf and tennis, with a plan to enhance to full funding by 2011.

To view online the press conference held Friday afternoon to announce the plan, go to <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://media.jmu.edu/special/8_924.asx">http://media.jmu.edu/special/8_924.asx</a><!-- m -->. Attending are JMU President Linwood Rose, Board of Visitors Rector Joseph Damico, Associate Athletic Director Sheila Moorman, BOV member Wharton Rivers Jr., and Athletic Director Jeff Bourne.

So is it just me or does Title IX completely miss the point. The point is to have equal oppurtunities for men and womens sports, but when you have to cut sports teams that are providing those oppurtunities to students it's not good for anyone. I just feel bad for all the people on those teams that suddenly have to find a new school if they want to keep playing sports. I was just wondering if people we're making a big deal about this around campus (Im not exactly close by anymore).

[Feersty]

Very interesting.

[.RJ]

So is it just me or does Title IX completely miss the point.

A lot of gov't mandates/programs miss the point. Its unfortunate to see the sports teams getting thrown under the bus in the name of compliance with some gov't regulation.

[Mike]

Wow, that is huge.

[Goodspeed]

I got the impression that the reason for the change is that if males typically make up around 40% of the population, but have more than twice as many teams, that the application process would be biased towards athletes and unfair, is this correct? Either way it sucks for the athletes, I doubt it matters much to them that their scholarships will be kept, they want to play the sport so I think we'll be seeing a lot of them leave next year.

Plus our basketball team sucks. And yet they are keeping that and giving our highly ranked award winning archery team the axe. WTF is up with that?

[HAULN-SS]

They want to break into 1A football eventually probably. Cant very well do that when you have to give equal funding to all those teams

[Apoc]

It seems that JMU's gender bias is working against the guys for once.

Kinda stinks of affirmative action.

[BLAIR]

a few of my freinds are here on track and x country scholarships.. but they get to keep the scholarship, but they are all leaving JMU because they want to persue a career is running after college.... SUCKS BIG TIME

[Feersty]

They want to break into 1A football eventually probably.

Unlikely. Need the money, the stadium, the scholarships, and the student population to even consider it.

[bassmangrammy]

Yeah. I close friend of mine, Jed, just won the NCAA national championships in Archery. Take that in... JMU has the national archery champion. Well they did! I know JMU's AD, Jeff Bourne, personally and I will give him my thoughts here next time I see him. You know since I'm a student, oh wait nevermind, I'm not a financial supporter... I won't waste my breath. I thought he had more backbone.

But I blame title IX... I'm sorry but that law is fucking stupid. Oh and wait, did Golf get cut?! Our golf team sucks ass, but golfing familys' donate money!

I say we protest!

[Mike]

hasn't jmu always had a really good archery program? and to cut women's gymnastics as well? weird... maybe i'm overvaluing the gymnastics team because i knew a lot of them, but... this is just nutso.

[Apoc]

a few of my freinds are here on track and x country scholarships.. but they get to keep the scholarship, but they are all leaving JMU because they want to persue a career is running after college.... SUCKS BIG TIME

A career running? What sort of straight up running careers are there? (seriously asking)

[Mike]

a few of my freinds are here on track and x country scholarships.. but they get to keep the scholarship, but they are all leaving JMU because they want to persue a career is running after college.... SUCKS BIG TIME

A career running? What sort of straight up running careers are there? (seriously asking)

a few of the people i ran with in high school do it. it isn't too glorious unless you make it to the olympic level, but it is fulfilling and pays the bills. you typically sign with a team (usually a shoe company) and live in their "house," which is kind of like a frat house, but for runners. if you start winning big races you can get bigger endorsements... sort of like any pro athlete, but on a lesser scale.

[BLAIR]

dont ask me what kinda career they have in it.. i do know they are working to qualify for the olympics.. we are takin sub 4 min. mile guys.. so they are no joke

[G.Irish]

On one hand I see what they're trying to do and in theory it makes sense. If you have 60% women at your school you on paper shouldn't have more men's teams than women. But that doesn't take into account that maybe more men play sports than women do on average.

I kind of don't understand what the net good of all this should be. Will the remaining teams have more money now? Will scholarships be more evenly distributed?

The intent seems good but like a lot of things good intent sometimes leads to terrible results and unintended consequences.

[BLINGMW]

What exactly is the incentive for the school to conform to this title IX bullshit? Are they forced to? Face penalties if they don't? Do they get grant money from the state if they do? Some sort of twisted bragging rights? I just wonder who decided that the payoff is worth the disdain from the students. I'd like to know what JMU now gets because they decided to do this.

[Dragon]

My biggest gripe - How can you get rid of women's gymnastics, they're just as flexible as cheerleaders and not as annoying! Truly a shame.

[Kaan]

JMU is trying to go Div 1A. thats why the stadium and parking deck changed/added. All these moves were made for the football team.

and i'll continually stand behind this statement. if they gave MM the football team budget... we'd get them more press

[BLINGMW]

... we'd get them more press

yes, a sudden, massive rise in vehicular homicide and spectacular, multi-vehicle crashes by JMU students driving Ferraris would likely make the news.

[Sijray21]

i knew a lot of student athletes personally, through classes, and through friends. knowing that their sport was a big part of their life this news is really a dissapointment to hear. I understand complying with government regulations, but i don't believe that this is fair. i don't believe that the participation margin between the population of JMU and the NCAA participation is that different to warrant the Title IX enforcement. This just dissapoints me...