Morally Indefensible - Nothing exposes the insanity of how Title IX is being enforced as well as does the practice of eliminating costless walk-ons.

12/19/2002 Leo Kocher W.I.N. Magazine

Title IX, a federal law that was passed to ban sex discrimination in our schools, is unfortunately having the opposite of its intended effect in college sports. Due to the federal government misapplying the law, college athletic opportunities for males are being eliminated on a massive scale.

"Squad caps" (or "Roster Management") is one of the means that colleges use in their varsity sports programs to come into compliance with this federal misinterpretation of Title IX. It is basically a school's reaction to the senseless government imposed quota that Title IX has been morphed into by the US Department of Education. Coaches are told they cannot keep non-scholarship athletes, who are quite often talented and deserving players, in order to keep the ratio of male and female athletes in balance. Turning away these "walk-ons" saves virtually no money and does not do female athletes any good. It is a clear case of punishing males for the unforgivable offense of showing up for sports in greater numbers than females.

The New York Times (in an article that really exposed the senselessness of squad caps) quoted an administrator who favored the squad cap practices that today's disastrous interpretation of Title IX has inspired -

"I hated the movie `Rudy,' " said Marilyn McNeil, athletic director of Monmouth University in West Long Branch, N.J., referring to the film about perhaps the most famous walk-on of all, Rudy Ruettiger of Notre Dame. Ruettiger endured years as a scrub on the practice squad until, as a senior concluding his career, he was allowed into a game for one play, and he sacked the quarterback. "If you're not going to get your uniform dirty during games, you shouldn't be on the team," said McNeil, who is also the chairwoman of the National Collegiate Athletic Association's committee on women's athletics.

This spin that the walk-ons who are denied opportunity are no-talents that just want to hang out with the real athletes is employed by people like McNeil because they realize it will be the death knell for this unfair interpretation of Title IX if the public understands that deserving athletes are denied a spot on the team for quota (not financial) purposes.

Recently a call was sent out to coaches asking for their stories about non-scholarship athletes (walk-ons) who became All-Americans, Olympians and professional athletes. The response was astounding. Football alone must have literally dozens of athletes that started out as walk-ons that went on to play in the NFL. All other sports have many examples of athletes who walked on in college and blossomed into superstars as well. There are literally thousands of athletes who earned scholarships after, not before, coming out for their college team.

Below are two emails received from wrestling coaches that really point out the folly of squad caps - the first is from Tim Fader, coach of Division III power U of Wis. LaCrosse

"Six years ago we had to cut a large group of wrestlers at UW LaCrosse. We had a roster cap of 30 wrestlers and had to tell at least 10 others that they could not wrestle for UWL. They continued to wrestle and lift as a group. Two years ago, UWL finished second in the country. We were led that year by three captains--each of them had been cut from the team as freshmen. I use this story to illustrate anything and everything commitment, loyalty, payoff, perseverance etc..."

Then this one from Michigan State Head Coach Tom Minkel-

"In August of 1992 Brian Picklo came into my office and asked to try out for the Michigan State wrestling team. When I asked him how he had done in high school he told me that he had wrestled for only two year and had made it to districts his junior year but not his senior year. He never made it to either the regional or state tournaments. He had never won any high school tournament.

I told he could try out for the team but his chances of making at Michigan State and in the Big Ten were slim to none.

Brian had very few skills. I almost cut him at the beginning of his freshman year because he was so bad. However, he did have endless enthusiasm, a love for wrestling and an incredible work ethic. He got his butt kicked every day for three years but never lost his great attitude.

In his fourth year he made the starting lineup. He went an incredible 39-6 for the season and 17-1 in the Big Ten! He won the Big Ten Championship at 190 lbs. defeating Iowa's Lee Fulhart in the finals. He went on to finish 5th in the NCAA Championships.

His senior year Brian was Big Ten runner-up, losing a close match in the finals to Minnesota's Tim Hartung (who went on to win the NCAAs and eventually make the US World Team). Brian again finished 5th in the NCAAs.

Brian was not on scholarship his first three years. In fact he wasn't even in our media guide for two years.

After college Brian was hired by the University of Oklahoma as an assistant coach. From there he went on to teach and coach wrestling in high school.

I saw him recently and he told me that he was trying to make the US Olympic Team in judo! He told me that he had a real knack for the sport and was ranked #2 on the national judo team.

This time I didn't tell him his chances of making it were slim to none.

If the present methods of enforcing Title IX had been in effect in 1992 I would have cut Brian from our squad and he would have been deprived of a most rewarding athletic career."

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