Oh "Title IX" you've done it again...

Just yesterday the University of Delaware announced that they'll be dropping Men's Cross Country and Outdoor Track due to Title IX incompliance.  It was bad enough when they discontinued indoor track a few years ago, but now the whole program is done.  Having lived through a situation just like this during my freshman year at James Madison it sickens me to hear that another mens track and field program has been lost...

Everyone knows administrators use Title IX as a scape goat for saving money (although in this case Delaware's entire T&F budget was only $20,000!  Less than the cost of one full scholarship for an out of state football player).  No where in the law is it even suggested that mens teams should be eliminated to become compliant.  Unfortunately this is the reality of the situation and it doesn't seem to be changing any time soon.  How do we resolve this problem?  that's a pretty good question...To be "compliant" with Title IX the number of participants in mens and womens sports should be representative of the student population on campus (percentage-wise).  With football teams usually carrying over 100 players it's very difficult to to balance out those numbers. 

THERE IS NO FEMALE EQUIVALENT TO FOOTBALL

Because of this, male athletes in other sports are suffering the harsh consequences of gender inequity.  If it's all about "equal opportunity", then why do teams that carry both men and women (i.e. track, swimming, soccer) always have larger roster space for females?  That doesn't sound like an equal opportunity to me...There are also big-time athletic programs who recruit girls on campus to join varsity teams (crew is a popular one) just to balance out the numbers.  It really baffles me when girls are recruited on campus to be "Division 1 Athletes" when they've never participated in the sport in their lives...

I'm all for giving everyone a chance, and definitely realize the positive effect that Title IX has had on women's sport in the United States.  I do however question its current application.  Title IX was written to GIVE OPPORTUNITIES, not take them away...I really wish all the women (and men) who developed and defended this law would stand up now and make it right.  Up until the passage of Title IX women's sport in this country was underrepresented and in need of a change.  It seems now that the baton is being passed onto mens Olympic sports...