Title IX lawyer critiques Athletics report

Although Athletic Department officials claimed last week the University has made progress in gender equity, others say that Penn still has ground to cover. The Equity in Athletics Disclosure Act report stated that the student-athlete population is 37 percent female, up from 33 percent three years ago. But Carol Tracy, executive director of the Philadelphia-based Women's Law Project, said the numbers were not as high as they should be. "There should be clearly more women participating," said Tracy, who negotiated a Title IX settlement with the University in 1995. "I'm concerned, but I think they're on the right path here." Title IX of the 1972 Education Amendments to the Civil Rights Act of 1964 requires universities that receive any federal funding to have equal resources for male and female athletes. Tracy cited the large gap in recruiting dollars as the primary factor behind the inequity in gender participation. During the 1995-96 school year, the Athletic Department spent $192,000 on recruiting for men's teams and $66,000 for women's sports. "One way to increase participation levels is to have money for recruiting," said Tracy, a Penn graduate and former Women's Center director. But Senior Associate Athletic Director Carolyn Schlie Femovichlast week attributed the disparity to the fact that most of men's sports recruiting dollars go to football. Tracy said the emphasis on football recruiting is "really irrelevant." Femovich said the Athletic Department has made progressand plans to monitor recruiting expenses. "We've seen growth in women's recruiting budgets in the last couple years," Femovich said last week. "But I think we need to be continually responsive to their recruiting needs." According to Tracy, the University's 1995 Title IX settlement required equal expenditures for lodging, meals and transportation. The EADA report listed men's basketball operating expenses at $106,000, while the women's squad spent $63,000. Femovich said she could not explain the large disparity in basketball, especially since the two teams' travel, meal and uniform expenses were nearly identical. Tracy emphasized that the Athletic Department must address the question of this particular gap. According to Tracy, the EADA has provided considerable impetus toward universities' compliance with Title IX by forcing them to reveal statistics on their athletic programs. "I think that the Equity in Athletics Disclosure Act probably will be every bit as important as the enactment of Title IX itself," she said. Nursing Professor Ruth McCorkle, chairperson of the University's Gender Equity Advisory Group, cited women's athletic facilities renovations, recruitment efforts and quality coaching as key to increasing participation rates of female student-athletes. "Female athletes should feel very good about the investments that have been made and that we'll continue to make even bigger ones," said McCorkle, an intramural softball coach. Tracy said the University should survey female students on what new varsity sports could entice more women to participate. But Femovich said the Athletic Department has no "immediate plans to add any women's sports." "Adding sports means additional expense and if that's what is necessary, then we'll certainly do it," Femovich said.