Playing In Two "Equal" Sandboxes
From CollegeAthleticsClips.com
 
FROM THE EVERGOING EFFORTS TO TRACK TITLE IX COMPLIANCE comes the latest report card from the US Department of Education.

The view from 30,000 feet reveals a progress in many areas, but yawning gaps in others. The D of E snapshot depicts a decidedly mixed bag, with Division I seemingly coming closest to the Title IX definition of gender equity. The data comes from information supplied by 1874 institutions for the 2002-03 school year; 981 NCAA schools, 616 two-year colleges and 277 NAIA schools. A total of 481,930 (half a million) student-athletes were fielded by the schools.

In the catch-all stat comparing gender participation by percentage of athletes to percentage of student enrollment, the overall data showed that women were 40% of student-athletes while they comprised almost 60% of the aggregate student enrollment. Meanwhile, women‚s sports were allocated only 36% of operating expenses by athletics departments. That‚s far away from Title IX mandates.

Division I came the closest of all groupings. In D1 women comprised 56% of the student population and 46% of student-athletes. The D1 differential of 10% compared to D2 with 19%, D3 with 17% and „other‰ (NAIA, JuCos, CCs, etc.) with 21%.

Other highlights (and tidbits):
• Spending at Division I-A BCS schools averaged $35 million; non-BCS schools averaged $15 million.
• D2 Adams State College in Colorado had the highest differential in participation rates for females. Although 72% of students were female, only 30% of student-athletes were female.
• D3 men had the highest participation rate: an 13% of male students in D3 were student-athletes.
• Lowest participation rates were D1 women at 2% and women at two-year colleges at 1%.
• Highest participation totals per sport for each gender were 74,881 for men‚s football and 42,750 for women‚s cross country.
• Average athletics budgets for D1 men‚s sports were nearly twice those of D1 women‚s sports. Men‚s were $6.1 million; women‚s $3.2 million.

Aggregate Data (Œ02-‚03):

Division I:
• men / women: 56% / 44%
• # athletes: 147,082
• # schools: 323

Division II:
• men / women: 60% / 40%
• # athletes: 76,360
• # schools: 281

Division III:
• men / women: 56% / 44%
• # athletes: 132,590
• # schools: 376

Two-year colleges:
• men / women: 63% / 37%
• # athletes: 77,059
• # schools: 616

NAIA:
• men / women: 59% / 41%
• # athletes: 48,839
• # schools: 277

SOURCES: Chronicle of Higher Education; US Department of Education

Top Men's Sports:
1. Football ........ 74,881
2. Baseball ........ 46,202
3. Cross Country .. 43,869
4. Soccer ........ 29,549
5. Basketball .... 29,300
6. Golf .......... 11,300
7. Tennis ........ 9381
8. Swimming .... 8016
9. Wrestling ..... 7617
10. Lacrosse ..... 7210

Top Women's Sports:
1. Cross-country ... 42,750
2. Soccer ........ 27,377
3. Softball ....... 25,759
4. Basketball .... 24,865
5. Volleyball ..... 21,499
6. Swimming ..... 10,951
7. Tennis .......... 10,227
8. Rowing ........... 6653
9. Lacrosse ......... 5511
10. Field hockey .... 5142
Source: U.S. Department of Education

NCAA Division I:

Students
• men ..... 46%
• women ... 54%

Athletes
• men ..... 56%
• women ... 44%

Proportion of students who are athletes:
• men ..... 4%
• women ... 2%

Average sports budget:
• men ..... $6.1 million
• women ... $3.2 million

NCAA Division II:

Students
• men ..... 41%
• women ... 59%

Athletes
• men ..... 60%
• women ... 40%

Proportion of students who are athletes:
• men ..... 7%
• women ... 3%

Average sports budget:
• men ..... $1 million
• women ... $700,000

NCAA Division III:

Students
• men ..... 42%
• women ... 58%

Athletes
• men ..... 59%
• women ... 41%

Proportion of students who are athletes:
• men ..... 13%
• women .... 7%

Average sports budget:
• men ..... $464,780
• women ... $327,620

Two-Year Colleges:

Students
• men ..... 42%
• women ... 58%

Athletes
• men ..... 63%
• women ... 37%

Proportion of students who are athletes:
• men ..... 3%
• women ... 1%

Average sports budget:
• men ..... $117,710
• women ... $164,509

NAIA / Others

Students
• men ..... 41%
• women ... 59%

Athletes
• men ..... 60%
• women ... 40%

Proportion of students who are athletes:
• men ..... 13%
• women .... 6%

Average sports budget:
• men ..... $371,946
• women ... $267,258