The athletic program is trying to balance
its opportunities, but now the Legislature
has the opportunity to help out with...
Title IX
Federal mandates can do wonders for
getting things motivated. A case in point.
Although women's athletics has been
around at the University since the 1890’s,
it wasn’t until two years ago that women
started to receive the recognition and
funding comparable to the men’s intercol
legiate program.
The reason? Title IX of the Federal
Education Act—the blanket federal ruling
designed to end sex discrimination in any
educational program or activity assisted
by federal funding.
The 1972 federal mandate has goaded
the men’s intercollegiate program to give
up some $200,000 to the women’s pro
gram this year to assist the University in
complying with Title IX. And in an unpre
cedented move this year, the state De
partment of Higher Education has in
cluded a specified item in its priority list for
the 1979-81 biennium budget asking for
direct state funding for women’s athletics.
The item would provide for $920,000 to |
be divided between the eight state univer
sities in accordance with enrollment fig
ures. The University would garner
$255,000 for the biennium.
“It (the money) will help,” Becky Sisley,
assistant athletic director and former
women’s athletic director, says. “But ‘
$130,000 a year is nothing, really. But it
will help."
Athletic director John Caine is en- :
thusiastic about the funding possibility,
noting that it will “benefit men in an indi
rect way.”
“I’m hoping the Legislature will come
around,” Caine says. “The upgrading of
the women’s athletics should not be the
responsibility of the men s program.”
The fate of the line item, which is listed
as “mandated expense" along with
facilities for the handicapped on the prior
ity list, will be decided sometime prior next >
year. Before the ultimate decision by the
Legislature the higher education budget
must weave its way through a maze of
committees, examinations, reviews, and
legislators.
The list’s seven priorities includes more
monies for libraries; funding for non
sponsored research; an increased em
ahasis on physical plant maintenance;
and more monies for the University’s
Health Science Center, and is currently
under review by Gov. Bob Straub’s
oudget analysts.
“The new governor (governor-elect Vic
:or Atiyeh) will probably examine it, too,’’
adds Curt Simic, University vice presi
jent.
The budget, along with the priority list,
should be forwarded to the Legislature no
r‘er than Feb. 1, 1979, where it will be
axamined thoroughly by a sub-committee
to the Ways and Means Committee. A
aroposal asking for state funding for
women’s athletics died in the sub
aommittee two years ago.
“Frankly, what comes out of the com
mittee will probably be what we get,"
Simic says, adding that 1~e doesn’t expect
final legislative approval until May or June
of 1979. The budget will go into effect July
1979.
If the proposed higher education
budget and priority list don’t get passed as
they stand now it won’t be for lack of effort
on the part of higher education supporters.
A committee of interested alumni, athletic
personnel and university officials from
around the state have been barnstorming
Oregon addressing groups on the impor
tance of higher education funding.
The committee, which includes Simic,
Sisley and several University-related offi
cials, particularly addresses the groups
with the importance of the priority of fund
ing for women’s athletics. Sisley says that
many people attending the meetings are
alumni or interested parents, who are
urged to talk with their congressman
about the higher education budget.
The committee originally stressed fund
ing for women s athletics above the ap
proval of the entire education budget. But
Simic stresses that, now, the entire
budget is the issue, and not any one item
prioritized in the proposal.
4If that (separate interests) would have
happened, we’d be pitting ourselves
against each other,” he explains. "We
said to them, if you do this we stand a
chance of hurting the whole budget."
Sisley notes that the Legislature hasn’t
overtly supported increased funding for
higher education in the past, citing figures
which compare a 275 percent increase in
the general fund monies for other pro
grams with a 125 percent funding in
crease in the same 10 year time span for
higher education.
OREGON
DUCKS
The Ducks field hockey team may not be in the league that
produces the Rose Bowl, but they are playing in Autzen
Stadium, long the domain of men s athletics. Because of Title IX
Ememkl Photo*
legislation, the women are receiving equal funding as well as
the use of all facilities.
She also notes that along with the Title
IX mandate, the Oregon Legislature pas
sed an equal opportunity mandate of its
own, titled Chapter 204 of Oregon Laws
1975.
“We have all these mandates, but no
money to go along with it,” she says.
Currently the University is on the first
leg of a three year compliance plan to
upgrade the women's intercollegiate ath
letic program to meet mandate standards.
Sisley cites the upcoming completion of a
softball diamond and the reconstruction of
women's locker space in the Mac Court
basement as examples of Title IX com
pliance.
But after ticking off several improve
ments Sisley shakes her head. "But the
Department of Health, Education and
Welfare is issuing revised standards, so
we really don't know. We don’t know what
those new standards are yet.”
Until those revisions are unveiled the
University will continue on its current
compliance plan. But Caine has noted
that the idea behind the intercollegiate
athletic program is not to make the men
and women s programs identical, but to
equalize the opportunity in both programs'
sports.
The men’s athletic program has contri
buted considerably to the commitment to
equalize opportunity. The women’s
budget this year totals $450,(XX), a far cry
from the $40,000 funding five years ago,
and an increase from $174,994 of a year
ago. The men’s program contributes
$206,996: student fees chip in $90,000
$100,602 is comprised from state funding
for teacher coach salaries; $25,000 is re
ceived in redirected gifts; and an addi
tional $2,000 is expected in gate income
from women's events.
Is it reasonable to expect that much
revenue from women s events? Caine is
not optimistic the full $2,000 amount will
be realized, but several women’s gymnas
tic and basketball events will cost onlook
ers money this year.
The entire projected intercollegiate
budget this year totals roughly $3.5 mil
lion. Men s programs take a giant chunk
1 V"
McArthur Court is now open to the women s volleyball team, who previously played in
Gerlinger Annex Federal mandates have forced the men’s program to loosen its
stranglehold on facilities - and operating budgets.
out of that amount with $1,155,671 for
football; $470,151 for basketball;
$140,000 for track and cross country;
$55,000 for baseball; $13,050 for swim
ming; $72,000 for gymnastics: $54,000
for wrestling; $16.500 for golf; and $8,020
for tennis. Greg Robinson, the athletic
program's business manager, notes that
men's football and basketball are the only
two programs that make a net gain. Most
of the budget s fundings come from
alumni contributions, gate receipts and
fundraising.
Cane notes that the state doesn t hind
one penny of the budget directly. “I'm hop
ing someday they'll realize it (athletics) is
the best public relations the state of
Oregon has,” he says.
Women's programs take notably smal
ler portions of the budget with volleyball
using up a projected $4 203; basketball
$54,621; track and cross country
$62,818; softball $16,856; gymnastics
$29,055; field hockey $45,794; swimming
$22,681; and tennis $11,174.
As the Title IX compliance program
moves onward the women's intercol
legiate program will be requiring more
funds for the necessary equipment, scho
larships, facilities and personnal. Al
though $130,000 a year in state funding
may not seem large pitted against the
sums required for the transition to a fully
equalized opportunity for men and women
in athletics, it is a start.
Story by Ann Treneman.
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