Title IX Enforced at BSU

Budget Cuts Affect Men’s Track and Field Team

By DJ Haffely and Maggi Stivers

John Muenchow runs in the Beaver
Twilight meet on February 17th.

Like most other public universities in Minnesota, BSU is experiencing financial problems. As a result, some things will have to change. It has been announced that men’s track and field will be cut at the end of this season to become move toward compliance with Title IX. “I know it has to be done,” said Tara Bender, BSU social work student, “but its keeping people from coming to BSU.”  BSU’s sports are out of balance with Title IX and adminstators are struggling to solve it.

Title IX states that, “No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.”

This diagram outlines the 3 prong in which a school must
meet in order to be compliant with Title IX

 Rayla Allison, associate director of the University of Minnesota School of Kinesiology, in an email interview, explained that Title IX athletic analysis uses 13 component areas. These 13 components include effective accommodation of interest and abilities (the three- pronged test), scholarships, recruiting, travel and per diem, practice and competitive facilities, publicity, coaching, locker rooms, equipment and supplies, academic support and tutors, scheduling of games/practices, dining and housing facilities and support services. 



The basic prongs of the effective accommodation of interest and abilities  component of Title IX are to have equal proportions, showing growth, and meeting the needs of the student body, although a school only has to comply with one prong.  Eric Forsyth, a BSU sports  management professor, explained that for a school to be in compliance  with the “equal proportions” segment, the total percentages of men and women  in the athletic programs should reflect the percentages of enrolled students. 

 In fall 2010, BSU had 2,579 female undergraduate students comprising  52% of the student body and 2,347 males (48%), according to a document entitled  fall 2010  thirtieth day headcount of enrollment. BSU had 422 student athletes  participating in the 2009-10 school year; There were 259 male athletes (61%) and 163 female (39%) athletes and approximately 35 of those men belong to the BSU’s men’s track and field team. BSU offers nine women’s sports and four men’s sports. After men's track and field is cut the men’s sports offered at BSU are going to be baseball, basketball, football, and golf. Basketball, cross country, golf,  soccer, softball, tennis, track and field and volleyball are offered for women. Men and women both have divison one hockey teams at BSU.  To be in compliance with Title IX, BSU should not have such a disparity in the number of sports. The Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) requires a 5 to 5 sport ratio or a 4 to 6 sport ratio whereas BSU has a 4 to 9.  

The Twilight Track Meet held
 in Bemidji on February 17th.

The second prong is that your athletic program must be showing progress   towards the “equal proportions” requirement. If the ratio is closer than it was in the past year, the second prong of Title IX is met.

Saint Cloud State University is also not in compliance with Title IX. According to Allison, the SCSU undergraduate ratio is 50% male and 50% female, but their sports have a ratio of 61% male and 39% female, a similar ratio to BSU. “Students of SCSU voted to pay more to keep all sports,” said Hannah Swift, copy editor and staff editor for the University Chronicle. If SCSU keeps all their sports, they will still be out of compliance with Title IX.  “Let me say," said Allision I have yet to find a college or university in Minnesota compliant, though I have not analyzed all."

There are serious consequences for ignoring Title IX. Forsyth explained that if a school doesn’t follow the rules, the consequences could be anything from state funding for athletics being pulled to seasons being suspended. According to the Women’s Sports Foundation Web Site “Current estimates are that 80% or more of all colleges and universities are not in compliance,” according to the Women’s Sports Foundation Most of those cases, though, are not serious enough to suffer consequences. So why was it imperative to cut BSU’s men’s track and field?

Nde Anye (Prince Aloh) warms up for the Twilight Meet.

Forsyth believes that for BSU to stay in the NSIC and  become one hundred percent compliant with the first prong, BSU will end up cutting more sports in the future or increasing roster numbers for women's sports. Cutting the BSU men’s track and field team and possibly other programs may not be appropiate to meet the letter of the law.  “However I can say this…the federal law does not mandate any school to cut a program in order to become compliant," Allison wrote. That would be an administration decision not a legal decision. In fact the federal regulations of Title IX discourage an administration from cutting programs,” stated Allison. 

The twelve other components are also important to be in compliant with Title IX. BSU is not in compliance with many of the other prongs which includes fininical requirments.

Photos By DJ Haffely and Maggi Stivers