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The NCAA News -- November 9, 1998

Committee on Women's Athletics studies gender-equity audit

The NCAA Committee on Women's Athletics has reviewed several issues prompted by the gender-equity audit of the Association and the recent meeting of the National Association of Collegiate Women Athletic Administrators (NACWAA).

The committee met October 13-14 in Monterey, California.

In August, the committee was directed by the NCAA Executive Committee's Ad Hoc Committee to Review Diversity Issues to oversee an audit of the Association to identify gender-equity issues, provide suggested solutions to any issues identified and determine the costs associated with the solutions.

At the October meeting, committee chair Cheryl L. Levick of Stanford University gave an update of efforts reviewing different areas of Association activities and services, including championships, marketing and promotions, officiating programs, and exempted events.

A report regarding the audit will be presented to the NCAA Executive Committee in January. Levick asked that the entire Committee on Women's Athletics be involved in preparing the report.

"The audit provides a proactive and timely opportunity to look at all major components of the NCAA and identify possible issues regarding gender equity," Levick said.

"It also allows the Association the opportunity to adjust services in the identified areas, with the goal of providing more opportunities for female student-athletes. It's a unique opportunity to help the Association improve itself regarding gender equity."

Develop gender-equity plan

After it reviewed the preliminary information gathered for the gender-equity audit, the committee made several recommendations, the first of which was that an NCAA gender-equity plan be developed and implemented.

The next recommendation was that further information be gathered and reviewed regarding increased championships opportunities for women. The committee also recommended that a policy be adopted that states that no women's championship would be dropped until a plan is developed and implemented to reach gender equity.

The committee also recommended that the sports of water polo, ice hockey, squash and bowling be put on the fast track to the championship-sport level. Measures could be taken, for example, to permit women's sports with fewer than 40 sponsors to have NCAA championships.

Also recommended was that efforts be undertaken for further study of women's sports offered at the Olympic level, as well as those sports in which there are a greater number of ethnic minority women, with a view toward consideration of eventual championships in those sports.

The committee also recommended that YES clinic opportunities be expanded to include more sites, venues and times.

The committee also recommended reviewing staffing and resources used to support existing women's championships.

The committee also recommended that NCAA-sponsored officiating programs be offered in softball, volleyball and soccer. (Currently there are five such officiating programs available in men's sports and one in women's sports.)

Several additional recommendations addressed issues in marketing, licensing and promotions.

The committee reviewed promotions, souvenir game programs and welcome centers and recommended that criteria be established to ensure that the same number of these items be distributed or sponsored for men and women. The committee agreed that further review of the marketing, licensing and promotions process and procedure is needed.

Other highlights

Committee on Women's Athletics
October 13-14/Monterey, California

  • Heard an overview of discussions regarding the possible payment of the restricted earnings case. The committee recommended that the principle of gender equity and diversity not be compromised when the Association reviews and implements procedures to pay for the case.

  • Reviewed proposals from the Division I Financial Aid Committee and the Big 12 Conference regarding increasing maximum grants for women's sports. After much discussion, a motion to support the Division I Financial Aid Committee's proposal failed. The committee would like to review membership comments to the proposals and the sports committees' reports on the proposals.

  • Heard a report from Levick regarding a letter she had sent on behalf of the committee to Kenneth A. Shaw, chair of the Division I Working Group to Study Basketball Issues. Levick had pointed out that the committee was concerned about a lack of women, particularly minority women, on the working group. Subsequently, Bernadette V. McGlade, chair of the Division I Women's Basketball Committee and senior associate athletics director at Georgia Institute of Technology, and Alfreeda Goff, associate commissioner of the Midwestern Collegiate Conference, were appointed.

  • Reviewed the committee's mission and strategic plan.

  • Heard a report from the NCAA Minority Opportunities and Interests Committee.

  • Reviewed the athletics certification instruments and noted the addition of selected items in the second cycle pertaining to the equity and diversity area.

    The committee also recommended a review of opportunities in broadcasts on radio, the Internet and television.

    The committee also reviewed exempted events and recommended that efforts be made to ensure that equitable opportunities are available.

    NACWAA issues

    The committee received an update of several issues involving NACWAA.

    Prompted by a request from NACWAA, the committee recommended including the Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) in the exhibits and displays for the new NCAA Hall of Champions in Indianapolis. (AIAW was the governing body for intercollegiate women's sports prior to the NCAA offering women's championships.) Potential displays might include the history of the AIAW, along with information about the organization and its champions.

    The committee also reviewed the NACWAA resolution on Smith v. NCAA. The text of the resolution appeared in Digest section of the October 26 issue of The NCAA News.

    In light of the appeal, the Committee on Women's Athletics also recommended that the Division I Board of Directors and Divisions II and III Presidents Councils, the Executive Committee and the Management Councils go on record stating that they support gender equity, the gender-equity audit and the proactive implementation of policies addressing its findings.

    In other business, the committee noted that the new NACWAA president is Karol A. Kahrs, associate athletics director at the University of Illinois, Champaign. The new president-elect is Bridget Belgiovine, NCAA assistant chief of staff for Division III. New board members are Athena Yiamouyiannis, NCAA director of membership services, and Jane C. Meyer, associate director of athletics and senior woman administrator at the University of Wisconsin, La Crosse. Additional new NACWAA positions were listed in the NCAA Record in the October 26 issue of The NCAA News.

    Other NACWAA issues included strengthening relationships between the committee and NACWAA, and a possible joint initiative to expand opportunities for girls and women in sports by spearheading efforts to have college women's teams conduct clinics for girl's teams during the week in which National Girls and Women in Sports Day is celebrated -- typically the first week in February.