Study indicates post-Title IX increase for minority athletes

A study by the Women's Sports Foundation has found that sports opportunities for female student-athletes of color have significantly increased since Title IX's inception in 1972.

The report was authored by Jennifer Butler, the James A. Atkins Advocacy intern, and Donna Lopiano, executive director of the Women's Sports Foundation. The authors found that female college student-athletes of color realized a 955 percent increase in participation opportunities from 2,137 in 1971 to 22,541 in 2000. This finding combats suggestions that female student-athletes of color have not made as many gains as their white counterparts under Title IX.

Published in June of this year, the study was intended to examine the available data on male and female student-athletes of color in intercollegiate athletics to evaluate their participation and scholarship support compared to white male and female student-athletes. Study authors used NCAA data on athletics participation and graduation rates by gender and race as well as census bureau statistics.

Among other conclusions drawn from the study was that female student-athletes of color also have experienced a dramatic increase in scholarship assistance. In 1971, those student-athletes received less than $100,000 compared to the $82 million they received in 1999.

The report outlined several recommendations, including a call to develop a strategic plan to address the issue of segregation in sport. Authors proposed that national organizations concerned with gender, race, ethnicity and disability partner with the United States Olympic Committee, national governing bodies and other agencies to build a plan of action.

A complete copy of the report may be downloaded from the Women's Sports Foundation Web site at www.womenssportsfoundation.org.

Binghamton soccer zeroes in on defense

Opponents have found the first half of men's soccer matches against the State University of New York at Binghamton to be a nothing experience.

As of November 3, Binghamton -- the top-ranked defensive team in the nation -- was the only team on the Division I level not to have allowed a goal in the first half of any game this season.

Heading into the America East Conference tournament, Binghamton has a 10-2-6 record as has already broken the school records for shutouts in a season (14), most consecutive shutouts (seven, a current streak) and the most shutouts by a goalkeeper (Stefan Gonet has 14.0).

Brown soccer skipper becomes English major

Mike Noonan, head men's soccer coach at Brown University, recently became the first American to earn an UEFA "A" coaching license. Issued by the English Football Association, he was just one of eight to earn the license this year from a group of 38 coaches from all over the world.

Noonan, already the holder of an "A" license from the United States Soccer Federation and a national staff coach for the National Soccer Coaches Association of America, said he took the course because wanted to continue to learn new things about coaching styles and about current trends in the sport. He also said he wanted to challenge himself.

"The game over here doesn't have as rich a tradition as it does in Europe, so culturally I wanted to see how the English would deal and how I would deal with being in that environment," he said.

To obtain the UEFA license, Noonan traveled to England to complete hundreds of hours of training in two annual sessions spanning four weeks. The program covered everything from team management to food and nutrition.

"They dissect the game into such detail," Noonan said. "The first two weeks concentrated solely on the offensive side of the ball and the next two were about defense."

-- Compiled by Leilana McKindra

Number crunching

Looking back

15 years ago

Here's what was happening within the NCAA in November 1988:

The NCAA Presidents Commission and the American Institutes of Research release the findings of a yearlong, $1.75 million study of the collegiate experience of student-athletes. Among the findings are that basketball and football players at Division I schools spend an average of 30 hours per week on their sports when they are in season -- more than they spend preparing for and attending classes combined. At the same time, more than 95 percent of these same student-athletes say that earning a college degree was very important to them when they enrolled. The study also found that most college athletes in football and basketball found it difficult to make academic work their top priority.

For the first time in its 10 years of NCAA basketball coverage, ESPN announces it will televise more than 200 games during a season. The 211-game schedule, which includes 173 live regular-season telecasts and extensive postseason coverage, begins November 18 with a live tripleheader featuring participants in the Big Apple National Invitation Tournament.

The nation's breweries announce plans to fight the NCAA's proposed banning of beer commercials from championships telecasts. Up until this point, the Association has restricted beer commercials to 90 seconds per hour for each telecast, and the contract allows the networks to sell brewers no more than three of the 21 available network commercial minutes per game.

Indiana University, Bloomington, runner Michelle Dekkers wins the Division I women's cross country individual title in near-freezing temperatures November 21 in Des Moines, Iowa. Dekkers, a junior who won the race in her bare feet, was competing in her first championship.