The NCAA News - News and Features

March 31, 1997

Revised format expands topics at Title IX seminars

Two upcoming NCAA Title IX seminars have been designed with a new format to give participants more topics from which to choose.

Unlike at past seminars, participants in the 1997 seminars will be able to choose from among 10 topics, said Janet M. Justus, NCAA director of education outreach. In addition, two panel discussions will provide information for all participants on achieving gender equity and on the future of Title IX.

Seminars are scheduled April 21-22 in Atlanta and May 12-13 in Kansas City, Missouri. The registration deadline for Atlanta is past, but for Kansas City, it is April 7. To register, contact Kaily Sola at the NCAA national office (913/339-1906).

Topics for the small sessions at both seminars include current case law, athletics certification, facilities development, coaches' compensation and availability, promotions and marketing, financial aid, the Gender-Equity Disclosure Act, and conference issues.

Title IX basics -- including a session about the three-part test for compliance and one about program components -- again will be offered at the 1997 seminars to give an overview of Title IX issues. A representative from the Office for Civil Rights, which enforces compliance with Title IX, also will be available for question-and-answer sessions arranged separately for Divisions I, II and III.

Justus said Judith M. Sweet, athletics director at the University of California, San Diego, and former NCAA president, will kick off both seminars as the keynote speaker. She will address the 25th anniversary of Title IX.

The day-and-a-half seminars feature small-group sessions addressing various topics during the first day and then large panel discussions on the morning of the second day.

"Strategic Planning to Achieve Gender Equity" will be the topic of a panel discussion at both seminars. Panelists will be Steve Wallo, athletics director at Lewis and Clark College; Elizabeth A. Alden, AD at San Francisco State University; and Judith L. Ray, AD at the University of New Hampshire. At the Kansas City seminar, Cheryl L. Levick, senior woman administrator at Stanford University, also will participate.

Concluding both seminars will be a presentation on Title IX in the 21st century. In Kansas City, panelists will be Cedric W. Dempsey, NCAA executive director; Robert E. Frederick, AD at the University of Kansas; and Christine Grant, women's AD at the University of Iowa. In Atlanta, panelists will be Daniel DiBiasio, president of Wilmington College (Ohio); Donna Lopiano, executive director of the Women's Sports Foundation; and Bridget Niland, a member of the NCAA Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.

***

Legislation is being considered in several state legislatures concerning gender-equity and Title IX issues.

In Arkansas, H. 1683 allows for state-supported four-year institutions of higher education to use an additional $300,000 per fiscal year of unrestricted educational and general funds to provide gender equity in intercollegiate athletics programs. The Arkansas House has adopted the bill, which is now before the Senate.

A proposal in the Michigan legislature would amend the Elliott-Larson Civil Rights Act to prohibit an educational institution from eliminating or reducing the level of services or number of scholarships provided for an intercollegiate or interscholastic athletics program solely to affect the overall ratio of male to female athletics participants at the educational institution. H. 4455 presently is being considered by the House Committee on Constitutional and Civil Rights.

The Washington legislature has approved legislation requiring institutions of higher education to strive toward equitable participation in their intercollegiate athletics programs by June 30, 2002. "Equitable" means that the ratio of female and male students participating in intercollegiate athletics is substantially proportionate to the ratio of female and male undergraduate students 17 to 24 years old enrolled full-time on the main campus.

The legislation requires the Washington Higher Education Coordinating Board to report every four years, beginning in 1998, on institutional efforts to comply with the gender-equity requirements.

Both the Washington House and Senate have passed versions of the bill and it now is before the House again.

In Minnesota, legislation is being considered by both the House and Senate that would require higher education institutions to document all revenues and expenditures attributable to women's athletics separately from all other athletics activities on campus.

The legislation also authorizes the chairs of the House and Senate higher education finance divisions to appoint two members to serve as liaisons to the women's athletics departments on all campuses. The liaisons would serve as contacts for the women's athletics directors or coordinators on each campus to provide assistance as needed.

H. 1245 is before the House Committee on Education and S. 1219 is before the Senate Committee on Children, Families and Learning.

***

Thirty-three women student-athletes volunteered their time to organize, raise funds for and carry out Centre College's second annual Women's Sports Day March 8 at the college.

The student-athletes joined eight Centre coaches in doing all the work required for the event, including advance publicity, fund-raising and direct supervision of participants. Gina Nicoletti, head women's soccer and tennis coach at Centre, coordinated the event.

More than 100 girls ages 6 to 13 -- an increase of more than 30 percent from last year -- were introduced to sports skills and informal competition during the four-hour event. Local businesses donated door prizes given at the lunch.

Kitty Baird, Centre associate athletics director and a veteran coach, said the event was important because of the positive impact on the lives of the individual girls.

"If a girl hasn't participated in sports by age 10, there is only a 10 percent chance that she'll participate when she's 25," Baird said. "That's exactly why we're having the sports day at Centre -- to let young girls know just how much fun you can have in sports."

-- Compiled by Sally Huggins

Title IX Ticker is a monthly feature in The NCAA News. News and information regarding Title IX and gender-equity issues can be sent to The NCAA News, Attn.: Title IX Ticker, 6201 College Boulevard, Overland Park, Kansas 66211-2422.