Title Ix

Gov. Martin O'Malley suggested Towson University form a task force to study how better to deal with meeting Title IX rules on gender equity. The governor, who proposed giving state money to save the university's baseball program, told a group of reporters Monday that all his questions about the decision to eliminate some men's sports had been answered. But he suggested that perhaps the public would benefit from a task force. "I think a lot of us have trouble with the idea that to create more sports opportunities for our daughters, we have have to eliminate opportunities for our sons," O'Malley said.

When Kathy Zerrlaut arrived at UMBC in 1973, the women's teams didn't play in the brand new UMBC Fieldhouse, now RAC Arena, and UMBC didn't even have a stadium. The new coach's volleyball team played in the old gym, and her lacrosse team played on a field in front of the library. As Zerrlaut prepares to retire at the end of this month after 41 years as a coach and administrator at UMBC, including 24 as senior women's administrator, she has been a champion both for women's sports and for Retrievers athletics as a whole, playing a key role in the program's development.

The article, "Title IX under fire as colleges cut teams," (April 7) tackled the issue of Title IX proportionality at Towson University, but the perspective of athletic women and female coaches in this debate has been largely missing. One of the solutions of balancing the number of male and female athletes that was proposed in the article was adding women's teams in universities that are not complying with Title IX requirements. If there were barriers that prevent women from active participation in sports, this solution might not lead to the equality that the title was initially created to enhance.

Responding to complaints that universities have fallen short in policing sexual assaults on their campuses, the White House announced a series of measures Tuesday intended to pressure college officials to step up efforts. The Obama administration wants universities to conduct "campus climate" surveys beginning next year and to clarify sexual assault policies so that victims know where to turn for help. The government is also creating a website, NotAlone.gov, that it says will help victims file federal complaints and access data on federal investigations.

Athletes and administrators with ties to this area describe what Title IX has meant to their athletic careers - and their lives. Angel McCoughtry Angel McCoughtry starred at St. Frances Academy before playing collegiately at Louisville, where she set the school record for career points in just more than three seasons. The Atlanta Dream selected McCoughtry first overall in the 2009 WNBA draft, and she was named Rookie of the Year the following season. She holds records for most points in a WNBA Finals game after she dropped 38 against the Minnesota Lynx in Game 1 last year.

The men who play baseball and soccer at Towson University, run track at the University of Delaware and wrestle, swim or golf at any number of other colleges all heard the same reason when their teams were cut: Title IX. To meet the federal law's goal of providing equal opportunities for athletes of both genders, schools have eliminated men's teams to keep their overall rosters in line with the number of women playing sports. But a growing chorus is crying foul. "People are really upset that they're dragging Title IX through the mud to cut sports teams," said Towson University graduate Scott Hargest.

Virginia Commonwealth will add women's lacrosse to its athletics lineup beginning with the 2015-16 season in order to maintain compliance with Title IX, the school has announced. The VCU Board of Visitors on Thursday approved adding the sport to its intercollegiate athletics program, which currently sponsors 16 intercollegiate sports programs -- eight men's teams and eight women's teams. Over the past four years, the number of student-athletes per academic year has consistently been between 265 and 279, and student-athlete composition has generally been equal between men and women.

WASHINGTON - A set of proposals made last week by a commission created to ensure gender equality in school athletics would scuttle the mandate by the federal program called Title IX to eliminate such discrimination and freeze a discriminatory standard into the system. President Bush and Education Secretary Rod Paige must prevent these undemocratic and unlawful proposals from being implemented. Title IX of the Educational Amendments of 1972 is the landmark legislation that bans sex discrimination in schools, whether in academics or athletics.

MINNEAPOLIS -- Concerned that college football coaches will lobby a conservative Congress to weaken Title IX regulations, the Women's Basketball Coaches Association yesterday began efforts to head off the football coaches' efforts.The WBCA, meeting here in conjunction with the NCAA women's Final Four, announced a lobbying and letter-writing campaign of their own, to challenge the College Football Association and the American Football Coaches Association."We will be instrumental in our security.

While both sides in the gender equity debate raging through (( college athletic departments continue to squabble over the meaning of Title IX, the officials who must meet these federal requirements carry twofold concerns.Athletic administrators -- meeting in Baltimore yesterday for the first day of a two-day, NCAA-sponsored seminar on Title IX -- must identify new ways to bring the numbers of women who participate in athletics more in line with the overall campus population, while also finding the money to pay for the new sports.

After scrambling to raise enough money to support the baseball team's 2013 season, Towson has gathered the necessary funding to ensure the program's 2014 campaign, athletic director Tim Leonard said Wednesday afternoon. “We're happy to say that at this point, we've achieved our fundraising goal to qualify for the state funding matches,” he said, referring to the $200,000 needed. “We have some donors out there who are true champions of baseball and have really stepped up to make a difference, to ensure that we keep baseball around for a while.

Within the first 15 minutes of his job interview with Towson president Maravene Loeschke, Tim Leonard knew two things: he wanted to be the university's next athletic director, and the school felt the same way about him. "It was just this sense, it was like a sixth sense that came over me," Leonard said, eliciting laughter from an audience that had gathered at Johnny Unitas Stadium for his introductory news conference Friday morning. "I knew it was right. " Loeschke was similarly enthusiastic about Leonard, saying, "It is very clear to all of us that we have a champion who is going to help us make champions.

I am a female sports fan. I go to games, watch them on TV, download the apps, read the stats, and buy the T-shirts. I recently heard about the launch of a new professional women's soccer league, and I started thinking about the sports to which I am attached. They are all professional male sports - plus men's college basketball - but I have never thought about why. I suspect it has to do with my age (51), which limited my exposure to girl's athletics - Title IX was just beginning to be implemented when I was in school - as well as my sports fan role model, my father.

The Towson University Board of Visitors fully supports President Maravene Loeschke and her leadership of the University ("Franchot goes too far" April 20). President Loeschke has taken the responsible approach to ensure that Towson athletics are fiscally responsible, compliant with federal Title IX law and competitive in the NCAA Colonial Athletic Association, Division 1 athletic conference. The Board of Visitors is a service and advisory organization of Towson University established to provide advice to the president.

The article, "Title IX under fire as colleges cut teams," (April 7) tackled the issue of Title IX proportionality at Towson University, but the perspective of athletic women and female coaches in this debate has been largely missing. One of the solutions of balancing the number of male and female athletes that was proposed in the article was adding women's teams in universities that are not complying with Title IX requirements. If there were barriers that prevent women from active participation in sports, this solution might not lead to the equality that the title was initially created to enhance.

Gov. Martin O'Malley suggested Towson University form a task force to study how better to deal with meeting Title IX rules on gender equity. The governor, who proposed giving state money to save the university's baseball program, told a group of reporters Monday that all his questions about the decision to eliminate some men's sports had been answered. But he suggested that perhaps the public would benefit from a task force. "I think a lot of us have trouble with the idea that to create more sports opportunities for our daughters, we have have to eliminate opportunities for our sons," O'Malley said.

Here is an excerpt of an editorial from the Boston Globe, which was published Wednesday.BESIDES the victory, the thrill of the Women's World Cup soccer game was how well it played out in the hearts of fans.These players have pulled off a nearly chivalrous balance. They are aggressive athletes but with a gentle love for the game.In this world of pure joy about the game, the word "confidence" shakes off its hackneyed shell. It becomes a crackling term that bundles the virtues of practice, focus, desire and hard work.

BOSTON -- Now that school is out, it's time to sit down, kids, for another of those wonderful lectures about the bad old days: When we were your age, Ashley and Michael, boys were taught shop and girls were taught home economics. When we were your age, Matthew and Brittany, the boys played varsity sports and girls were their cheerleaders. When we were your age, Megan and Christopher, the boys ruled the ballparks, and the girls held bake sales to pay for their own uniforms. The reason for this lecture is the 30th anniversary of Title IX. On June 23, 1972, a law banning sex discrimination in all schools that received federal funds was signed by Richard Nixon.

The men who play baseball and soccer at Towson University, run track at the University of Delaware and wrestle, swim or golf at any number of other colleges all heard the same reason when their teams were cut: Title IX. To meet the federal law's goal of providing equal opportunities for athletes of both genders, schools have eliminated men's teams to keep their overall rosters in line with the number of women playing sports. But a growing chorus is crying foul. "People are really upset that they're dragging Title IX through the mud to cut sports teams," said Towson University graduate Scott Hargest.

Towson University baseball could live to fight another year after Gov. Martin O'Malley included an additional $300,000 in his 2014 budget to help the university sort through difficulties with its athletic funding. The baseball program had been slated for elimination after this season until O'Malley became interested in its fate. An O'Malley spokeswoman said Monday that the appropriation, still subject to General Assembly approval, resulted from a one-on-one meeting last week between the governor and Towson president Maravene Loeschke.