Saving Sports

Blog of the American Sports Council.

Profile in Persistence: Indiana’s Andy Bayer

Take a good look at that photo. That's a picture of Andy Bayer, a red-shirt freshman at Indiana University and an All-American in Cross Country. What's even more amazing is that it almost didn't happen. You see, Andy, like a lot of top male cross country prospects around the country, wasn't able to get a scholarship ... More

How Title IX is Strangling Men’s College Soccer

Over at Ocala.com, Dwight Collins is concerned that the U.S. Men's National Team may never win the World Cup, and he's listing what he believes are the reasons why. And I couldn't miss #1 on the list: * Title IX. The gender equity legislation that has done so many wonderful things for women's sports at the collegiate ... More

Softball Team Leads Anti-Title IX Protest; PLNU Men’s Golf Coach Speaks Out on Title IX

On Friday we told you about the situation at Point Loma Nazarene University, a school in San Diego that cut four teams -- 3 men's and one women's -- in order to comply with the strict proportionality prong of Title IX. Yesterday, about 100 PLNU students, led by the members of the softball team, got together to pr... More

Point Loma Nazarene Softball and Three Other Men’s Teams Get Canned in Title IX Numbers Game

California continues to see cuts in its collegiate sports. Less than two weeks after Cal State Bakersfield slashed wrestling, women's tennis, and men's and women's golf, two more schools eliminated programs in an attempt to "resolve issues involving federal gender equity guidelines," also known as Title IX compliance... More

How Title IX Can Hurt Small Roster Women’s Sports

From the outside looking in, news that a high school in South Dakota was eliminating their girls gymnastics team in order to add competitive cheer wouldn't seem like a significant story. But then, when you look a little closer, you can see how the tyranny of strict proportionality can wind up hurting a small roster ... More

Seton Hall Eliminates Entire Track and Field Program, Adds Women’s Golf

From North Jersey.com: Seton Hall announced Wednesday that it is dropping men’s and women’s indoor and outdoor track and field, effective July 1, as a cost-cutting measure. In keeping with NCAA and Title IX requirements that the school fields 14 sports teams, women’s golf will be added. More later. More

Female Athletes Don’t Need Title IX

Earlier this week, CSC Chairman Eric Pearson pointed me to the following editorial that appeared on MassLive.com: American women athletes, draped with gold, silver and bronze medals at the Vancouver Winter Olympics, offer shining proof that playing sports isn’t just for men. The achievements of skiers ... More

Cal State Bakersfield Cuts Four Sports

From Bakersfield.com: A distraught Rudy Carvajal could only talk in a whisper Thursday afternoon when he discussed Cal State Bakersfield's announcement that four sports were being dropped. Wrestling, men's and women's golf and women's tennis will complete their current seasons, then cease to exist. "It's the worst ... More

Hawaii Athletics Caught in a Budget Squeeze

From the Honolulu Advertiser: "Sometimes people ask me, 'Can you cut a sport?' " Donovan said. "Because of Title IX and gender equity, we can't cut a women's sport unless we cut football. And if we cut football, we couldn't stay Division I. So that would leave on the table for us (men's) swimming, tennis, golf, baseball ... More

UCLA Denies Baseball Program in Danger

Late last night, we passed along a report from an LA sports blog that the school's storied baseball program -- the one that produced the legendary Jackie Robinson -- might be dropped because of Title IX concerns. A few minutes ago, I got a call from Marc Dellins, the SID at the school, who denied the report. Said ... More