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   The December 1 episode of CBS’s 60 Minutes featured a segment on the unintended consequences of Title IX on collegiate athletics.  Reporter, Bob Simon, spoke with several athletes, coaches, administrators and Title IX activists.  University of Chicago head wrestling coach, Leo Kocher represented the views shared by the National Wrestling Coaches’ Association which filed a federal lawsuit on the grounds that the current interpretation and enforcement of Title IX is discriminating against male athletes on the basis of gender.

     The idea that men’s programs are being cut as a result of Title IX is not a myth.  UCLA dropped men’s gymnastics despite a long record producing Olympians and a nationally ranked freshman who happened to be male.  Likewise, the University of Miami, home Olympic Gold Medalist, Greg Louganis no longer offers men’s swimming and diving.  Intermat lists 439 wrestling programs that have been dropped since 1972.  Pennsylvania has seen 23 programs eliminated while California has lost 79 college wrestling programs!

     Two of athletes interviewed were wrestlers Brock Warner, Marquette University and Colin Robertson from Brigham Young University.  Both Marquette and BYU no longer offer wrestling.  Prior to the addition of wrestling by Utah Valley State College, this past September, the state of Utah, home to 2002 NCAA champions Cael Sanderson and Aaron Holker, did not have a single collegiate wrestling team!

      At the heart of the controversy is the proportionality clause. The current interpretation of proportionality permits athletic departments to establish a quota system that mandates proportional representation of the sexes in athletics compared to that of the university at large.  Few colleges and universities are in compliance with the proportionality standard. 

     Maryland University Athletic Director, Deborah Yow, explained that men are cut from the wrestling team to reduce the number of male athletes while the seven time NCAA champion women’s lacrosse team has difficulty filling its scholarships.  Arizona State University built a new soccer field and a three million dollar softball stadium to increase participation by women.  Despite the improvements, Arizona State is still not in compliance with Title IX’s definition of proportionality.  While 52% of the students are women, only 40% of the athletes are.  To raise the number of women athletes, Arizona State, located in the middle of a desert, is considering the creation of a women’s varsity rowing team.  Many universities have placed advertisements on their web sites for women willing to participate in rowing.  One web site stressed that previous rowing experience is not required and that scholarship money is available. 

     Olympic gold medalist and Title IX defender, Nancy Hogshead Makar, claims that the issue is economic.  She calls the idea of teams being cut as a result of Title IX “ridiculous”.  Simon raised the question of why Title IX is not applied to academic programs such as engineering or dance.  When Makar was asked if it is possible that women simply are less interested in athletics than men, she replied that the argument is insulting, citing references to laws that used to prevent women from owning property or voting.

     Hogshead Makar called Secretary's Commission on Opportunities in Athletics an “enormous threat to all of the gains that women have made in sports over the past 30 years.” 

     When asked if the NWCA is out to destroy Title IX, coach Kocher responded by explaining that the goal is actually to enforce Title IX because it says “don’t discriminate on the basis of sex” which is exactly how Title IX is being applied.

     Let’s hope that the Commission can put common sense ahead of political correctness and come up with an interpretation of proportionality that protects opportunities for women without encouraging a decrease in opportunities for men.