Copyright 2002 The Denver Post 
All Rights Reserved  
The Denver Post
October 23, 2002 Wednesday 1ST EDITION
SECTION: SPORTS; Pg. D-02

LENGTH: 554 words

HEADLINE: Title IX Hearings review equality Men's sports suffer from changes, some say

BYLINE: Terri Cotten , Special to The Denver Post

BODY:
COLORADO SPRINGS - Despite the accomplishments of Title IX since  its adoption in 1972, it has come under fire for advancing women's  athletic programs at the expense of men's and for threatening the  Olympic movement.



In June, U.S. Secretary of Education Rodney Paige appointed the  Commission on Opportunity in Athletics to review this criticism,  hold hearings in four U.S. cities and recommend changes by  January.



This week's hearings, the third series held before the 15-member  commission, conclude this morning.



Title IX and its subsequent enforcement guidelines clearly have  benefited female athletes, Dennis J. Francois of New Mexico  Highlands University told the commission Tuesday.



According to NCAA statistics, in 1971 approximately 294,000 girls  were participating in high school sports nationwide, and 30,000  were competing at the college level. By 2000, the number of female  high school athletes had increased to more than 2.67 million, and  the number of those at the college level had climbed to nearly  149,000.



During that time, however, more than 390 college wrestling programs  were eliminated. For the five years ending in 1997, the NCAA found  that more than 200 male sports programs had disappeared, along with  20,000 athletic opportunities for men. During that period, female  opportunities had increased by only 5,800.



Francois and others argue that the most controversial of the  three-pronged test of a school's compliance with Title IX should be  changed.



That test, called proportionality, requires schools to provide  athletic opportunities in numbers proportional to the enrollments  of each gender.



While some argue Title IX requires cuts to men's teams to  accommodate women's programs, the National Coalition for Women and  Girls in Education has found the real issue is schools are giving  high-profile sports, such as football and mens' basketball, a  disproportionate share of funding.



For example, a coalition of citizens to preserve Title IX found  that San Diego State decided to address its $ 2 million budget  deficit by cutting its men's volleyball team instead of cutting  into the $ 5 million football budget.



'This Title IX generation has witnessed not just an explosion in  girls' and women's participation in athletics, but substantial  growth in athletic opportunities for boys and men,' Dr. Bruce  Doyle, a school board member for Colorado Springs School District  11, said during a news conference. 'The worry that Title IX  proponents and opponents should share is the loss of opportunities  for both women and men.'



'Clearly there has been historical discrimination against women in  athletics, but there's been historical discrimination against women  in everything,' Josephine Potuto, a law professor at the  University of Nebraska and a member of the NCAA Division I  Committee on Infractions, told the commission.



Others testifying also questioned why it should be the role of  universities to provide Olympic athletes.



Gary Abbott, director of special projects for USA Wrestling, who  decried the elimination of wrestling programs, argued that U.S.  Olympic sports are not federally funded as they are in other  countries.

LOAD-DATE: October 23, 2002