I have written this idea to Swimming World and USA Swimmer and now I want to share it with my Forum Friends to see if I can garner any support. I just read the report in the ASCA magazine on how the implementation of Title IX has hurt men's swimming. As a supporter of womens sports I think Title IX has done much more good than harm. As a fan of college swimming I think the NCAA has done more harm than good. I was searching for a solution that would get swimming out of being at the mercy of the NCAA.The solution seems to be to start a scholarship fund for swimmers to be administered by USA Swimming. Criteria would be set up,both athletic and academic,for deserving swimmers to earn college scholarships to the college of their choice. The swimmer would be free to swim for the college if they had a team if desired or for the appropriate club if they don't. If they earn a swimming scholarship from the college the extra funds could be recycled back into the program.In the interest of fairness the scholarships would go to an equal number of men and women. This program would not be a way to get around Title IX but to get around the NCAA. Yes,it would take a massive fund raising effort,but I think most swimmers,parents,Masters,and corporate sponsors would be interested in donating(I would.) It would give swimming great publicity and would be a great recruiting tool. What do Y'all think?
I had thought that the ratio of scholarships were suppose to equal the ratio of the student body. Also, ISU was better than U of I in football this year. U of I is more of a basketball school.
Edited to add, I don't think it is the number of sports, but the number of scholarships. Football has a large number of participants, and a large number or scholarships. To get the equity, the college has to add more women's sports, because no women's sports has the numbers that football has.
Dorothy -
While ISU has had better football seasons lately, they don't play the same level of football as UofI. UofI is Big Ten.
I also understand the scholarship/money thing, I was one of the last ISU mens swimmers (cut two years after I left). Even though the mens football program wasn't very good then, they took back the three mens swimming scholarships and canned the swim team.
In my opinion, the real inequities are not between mens and womens programs, they occur in the AD's office within the mens programs as others have said. Title IX only ensured women got access to some of the funding, the AD's decided from where.
I only offered the state school info as a way of looking at the overall picture, to add some example to it and show there really isn't a clear pattern to the issue.
I had thought that the ratio of scholarships were suppose to equal the ratio of the student body. Also, ISU was better than U of I in football this year. U of I is more of a basketball school.
Edited to add, I don't think it is the number of sports, but the number of scholarships. Football has a large number of participants, and a large number or scholarships. To get the equity, the college has to add more women's sports, because no women's sports has the numbers that football has.
Dorothy -
While ISU has had better football seasons lately, they don't play the same level of football as UofI. UofI is Big Ten.
I also understand the scholarship/money thing, I was one of the last ISU mens swimmers (cut two years after I left). Even though the mens football program wasn't very good then, they took back the three mens swimming scholarships and canned the swim team.
In my opinion, the real inequities are not between mens and womens programs, they occur in the AD's office within the mens programs as others have said. Title IX only ensured women got access to some of the funding, the AD's decided from where.
I only offered the state school info as a way of looking at the overall picture, to add some example to it and show there really isn't a clear pattern to the issue.
