Sports sponsorship: The James Madison University governing board has approved a plan to bring the athletics program into compliance with Title IX. The plan will take effect July 1, 2007, when the following men’s and women’s teams will be eliminated: Men — archery, cross country, gymnastics, indoor and outdoor track, swimming and wrestling; Women — archery, fencing and gymnastics. That will leave the university with 18 varsity sports. Joseph Damico, rector of the school’s board of visitors, said James Madison’s 28-sport program, tied for seventh in the number of teams among Division I schools, is "unusually large for a public university of our size. With so many teams, we faced an insurmountable challenge coming into compliance with Title IX. Fundamentally, that is why the board voted for this plan." Jeff Bourne, James Madison athletics director, said the school explored every avenue in search of an alternative. "Lamar Daniel, a well-known consultant on Title IX compliance, has worked closely with us and he believes that this plan is our most viable alternative for reaching compliance with Title IX," he said. Once the plan is fully implemented, total participation in athletics will move to 61 percent female and 39 percent male, in alignment with current student enrollment. The decision affects 144 student-athletes, as well as three full-time and eight part-time coaches. Bourne said James Madison is "taking great care to preserve the financial guarantees already made to our student-athletes. If you are a student-athlete on an affected team and you are receiving a scholarship, you will continue to receive that scholarship until you graduate." Bourne said any affected student-athletes who decide to transfer to another program will be provided with full assistance regarding the transfer process. Affected coaches will receive severance packages appropriate to the university’s policies and procedures. All of the financial resources recovered from the implementation of the plan will be redirected to provide the full complement of NCAA scholarships for women’s golf, tennis and swimming. Partial scholarship funding will return to men’s golf and tennis, with a plan to enhance to full funding by 2011.

Facilities: The University of Detroit Mercy will name its renovated men’s basketball locker room in honor of Willie Green — a former Titans’ Horizon League Player of the Year and now a member of the Philadelphia 76ers — after Green's significant donation to help fund the project in Calihan Hall. The school is planning to recognize Green during its homecoming basketball game February 10. "It is absolutely wonderful when former student-athletes give back to their alma mater. Willie’s gift speaks volumes, especially to our Titan alumni and friends who support and care so deeply about the program," said Athletics Director Brad Kinsman. The new locker room will feature wood lockers, a state-of-the-art audio-visual system and a student study area with Internet access. Green graduated from Detroit in 2003 as the fourth-leading scorer in Titan history with 1,779 career points. He was selected in the second round of the NBA draft by Seattle and then immediately dealt to Philadelphia. He has played three seasons for the 76ers. "I wanted to do something for my former Titan teammates to show my appreciation for their friendship and all the good times we shared," Green said. "The university and the Titan basketball program played a key role in my development during my time there and I’m very happy to be able to give back in this way." ... The University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, announced plans for an on-campus facility that highlights a century of basketball at the university. The 7,500-square-foot Carolina Basketball Museum, to be located adjacent to the Smith Arena, will be the largest museum in the U.S. dedicated to a college basketball program. The museum will offer an interactive, media-driven experience and will include a three-quarter-size basketball court as the main exhibit area to highlight the entire history of the Tar Heels basketball program, which dates to 1911. Bethesda, Maryland-based Gallagher & Associates is designing the museum. That firm has completed a number of sports museums and halls of fame, including those at Arizona State University, the University of Virginia, the University of Oklahoma and Cornell University.

Milestones: The Hampton University football program registered its 500th victory in 105 years of competition September 23 with a 26-7 win over Morgan State University in the New York Urban League Classic. The two-time defending Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference champion Pirates joined a list that includes 27 other institutions that currently compete on the Division I Football Championship Subdivision level (formerly Division I-AA). Current head coach and interim Director of Athletics Joseph Taylor has guided the program to 124 victories in his 15 years at Hampton. Taylor is currently the fourth winningest active coach in the FCS with 185 career victories. 

Miscellaneous: The Ivy Group has launched a new Web site — Ivy@50.org — that will host a year-long celebration of the 50th anniversary of formal Ivy Group competition. The celebration will feature special articles every weekday through the end of May 2007. More than 75,000 Ivy athletes have played under a unique model of college sports, sharing a consistent goal of providing successful athletics as an integral part of the full undergraduate experience — combining the values and lessons of athletics with those of the classroom and laboratory, the campus and the community — to produce leaders in every walk of life. The first two stories are profiles of former University of Pennsylvania wrestler David Pottruck and former Harvard University track athlete Meredith Rainey Valmon.