Task Force Media Notes

TASK FORCE MEDIA NOTES
VOL. 3, NO. 1 (January 12, 1999)

This is part of a series of regular reports to update, inform, educate and stimulate public discussion

WRESTLING COACH J. DENNIS HASTERT ELECTED SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE

The wrestling community is proud and excited that Congressman J. Dennis Hastert of Illinois, a former high school wrestling coach and an active leader in the sport, has been elected as the new Speaker of the House of Representatives.

Hastert is a Republican representing the 14th Congressional District of Illinois, serving in his sixth term in office. Hastert worked as a history teacher and wrestling coach at Yorkville High School before seeking public office.

The Speaker is the most powerful and respected leader in the House of Representatives. Another former wrestler also served as Speaker of the House, the late Carl Albert of Oklahoma.

When America has needed a leader with strong character, morality and integrity, it has often turned to a former wrestler. In 1860, that wrestler was Abraham Lincoln. In 1901, another wrestler, Teddy Roosevelt, became president. In fact, at least eight U.S. Presidents have been former wrestlers. In 1999, with Congress in disarray after a year of controversy, the nation has turned to wrestler Dennis Hastert to put the House in order.

"They do call me 'The Coach' on (Capitol) Hill, and I guess one of my roles is to put other people out there in the limelight, to get to be the star, and I think that*s what we*ll be able to do in this Congress," Hastert told the Associated Press.

The fact is that Hastert was not just a coach, he was an outstanding wrestling coach. According to Illinois Wrestling Historian Ed Ewoldt, Hastert was one of the best coaches in the state during his tenure. Among his wrestling coaching achievements at Class A Yorkville High School included the 1976 State Champion team, three state runner-up teams (1974, 1977 and 1978) and the 1979 state third place team.

His teams won 14 Conference championships, six Regional championships and four Sectional championships, according to Ewoldt. In 1976, he was named Illinois high school wrestling Coach of the Year, and was inducted in the Illinois Wrestling Hall of Fame in 1980. He also served as the Grand Marshall for the Illinois State Wrestling Championships in 1983.

Among Hastert's honors within the wrestling community was the 1996 Order of Merit award from the National Wrestling Hall of Fame. He also received the 1995 Impact of the Year award from W.I.N. magazine.

Hastert competed in wrestling at Oswego High School and at Wheaton College. He remains very active in wrestling, attending major events such as the Midlands Championships, the NCAA Championships and the Dan Gable Classic.

Hastert has been praised from colleagues on both sides of the aisle for his hard work, integrity, dedication and ability to work with others. These are among the values that are an important part of the sport of wrestling. Consider these quotes:

* "(Hastert) used to be a wrestling coach. I think Denny will coach and manage the team. I think he*ll do that extremely effectively." - Representative James Talent, R-Mo.

* "Denny*s a coach. He doesn*t need to be a star, he makes stars, he makes winning teams. Right now, we don*t need a lightning rod, we need a coach... He*ll work with everybody." - David L. Hobson, R-Ohio.

HASTERT HAS BEEN THE LEADER IN THE BATTLE FOR FAIRNESS IN COLLEGE SPORTS

In addition to all of his other achievements in Congress, the new Speaker of the House J. Dennis Hastert of Illinois has been the leading voice of fairness and reason concerning the unintended consequences of Title IX.

A front page article in the Des Moines Register sports page on Jan. 5, written by Dan McCool, was entitled "Hastert wrestles with Title IX." According to McCool, "During the last several years, he has listened to coaches and fans argue that Title IX, which requires equal opportunity regardless of gender, is killing college wrestling."

In the McCool article, Mike Chapman of the Wrestling Institute and Museum, explained Hastert's valuable contributions concerning the issue. Said Chapman:

* "One, he's given us a very important presence in our very highest area - here's a United States Congressman who understands how Title IX, the way it's enforced, is decimating male Olympic sports. He calls it the law of unintended consequences. The unintended consequences are that it's destroying male opportunities all over the country. The second thing he did was support legislation that brought a hearing two years ago. The hearings didn't do much in terms of anything but raising consciousness, getting people united. He has been tremendous in the way he's lent support of his office to the cause."

Iowa State coach Bobby Douglas explained how much the wrestling community appreciates Hastert:

* "He certainly will help with our plight. It makes me proud to see the country still depending on wrestlers."

THE TIME HAS COME FOR WOMEN*S SPORTS TO MAKE THE MOST OF ALL THE OPPORTUNITY

One of the results of the battle for proportionality in college sports has been the major effort by colleges across the nation to provide additional opportunities for women's sports - not only in terms of the number of participants but through increased budgets and promotional efforts.

In spite of all of the efforts to promote women's college athletics, almost every single women's team loses money. Major college athletic departments are funded through the profits of the major men*s sports - football and basketball, and in some cases, ice hockey. An article in the Minneapolis Star Tribune, written by Jerry Zgoda, was entitled "U is seeking balance between men and women." It explains the budget challenges faced by the University of Minnesota. Consider these two paragraphs from the Zgoda article:

* "The challenge: Provide equal opportunity for men and women athletes when the men*s athletic revenue budget for 1999 is $20.1 million - about half of it generated through football, basketball and hockey ticket sales, consessions, merchandise and other sales - and the women's department is $8.8 million, more than half of it from university or state funds. The men's department allocates about $1.3 million of its revenue each year to the women*s department. The university's entire athletic budget is $37.6 million for 1999."

* "(University vice president for athletics and development McKinely) Boston called that allocation a 'band-aid approach' that won't supply long-term solutions for gender-equity issues. Boston said that he'd like to see women's sports eventually provide 20 percent of the women's department's total budget - its ticketing, concessions and merchandise will contribute about $356,000, or about 4 percent, to that $8.8 million in 1999, according to information Boston submitted to the regents Friday.*

Boston is also quoted saying "It also comes down to finances." His call for the women's sports programs to start creating more revenue to help support its operations seems like a fair and simple solution to some of the problems caused by Title IX enforcement.

However, mention this basic theory to leaders of the women's special interest groups, and they scream bloody murder. Women's Sports Foundation president Donna Lopiano repeatedly says that it does not matter how the money comes in, but that it must be spent without discrimination.

Basically, in the 25 years of Title IX, a culture has been created where women's sports programs continue to put their hands out for more funding and opportunity. However, in this drive for increased opportunity, the women's sports community has not challenged itself to generate income to help offset its own cost growth.

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL GROWTH OFFERS HOPE THAT WOMEN CAN PULL THEIR OWN WEIGHT

Women's college basketball has perhaps received the most support in terms of resources and promotions of any of the college sports for women. An article in the NCAA News on December 21, written by Kay Hawes, was entitled "Ball is bouncing up for women*s basketball."

College women*s basketball is growing, including attendance, television and media coverage, and corporate sponsorship. Consider these facts from the article:

* "A study conducted by the Taylor Research and Consulting Group showed that 31 percent of consumers age 9-55 -- 55.8 million Americans -- consider themselves fans of women*s college basketball. And there was a statistically equal level of interest in women*s college basketball among men and women."

* "According to the American Basketball Council, basketball has overtaken volleyball as the most popular team sport among females. Also according to the council, between 1987 and 1997 the number of women who played basketball increased 25 percent, from 11 million to 13.7 million."

However, only a handful of college women*s teams are turning a profit, in spite of all gains. One of the reasons is that with the growth of the programs, the teams are spending more and more every year.

The success of a few women's college teams, such as national powerhouse University of Tennessee Lady Vols, is an encouraging sign. Consider these exerpts from the article:

* "For many people and many programs, the Lady Vols are an example of what women*s basketball can be and perhaps will be like in the future. As the team has taken home a total of six national Division I championships, the last three in four years, the Lady Vols have set records for home attendance and even made a profit."

* "Making a profit is the goal of many women's programs, but it is difficult to do since expenses keep rising. 'It*s tough to make a profit in sports, especially women*s sports,' (Tennessee women*s athletics director Joan C.) Cronan said. 'But we said yes to basketball before that was cool, and over the years we've worked extremely hard to develop a product that people want to buy.'"

If more women's college athletic programs, not only in basketball but in all sports, took the attitude displayed at Tennessee, the huge financial stresses in college athletics would be eased considerably. This could lead to fewer dropped programs. The federal government and the courts have provided the opportunity to women*s sports - now it's time for their leaders to challenge themselves to better promote their activities.

WHAT IF PROPORTIONALITY WERE APPLIED TO A HIGH SCHOOL CHOIR???

One of the reasons that the general public does not understand the injustice of Title IX gender quotas is that they do not directly affect the lives of most Americans. These activities are happening at far-away college campuses and only affect a few thousand college athletes each year.

Just imagine if proportionality was expanded outside of colleges and into local high schools, as has been the current trend. And imagine if Title IX, a law written for all educational programs, was expanded beyond sports into other activities, as many people have proposed.

Let's use a real life example which might hit more closely at home. On Dec. 16, 1998, the Coronado High School (Colo.) choir held a public recital entitled "Songs of the Season," under the direction of Michael Merrifield and with accompanist K. Kenneth Westcott.

There were performances by six choirs. The entire recital lasted an hour and a half, and the auditorium was sold out with families and friends of the participants. If you closely reviewed the program that was handed out at the recital, you would discover that there are 138 girls and 38 boys in the Coronado High School Choir.

According to proportionality, there must be a ratio of participants in activities equal to the gender makeup of the entire student body. Let*s assume that the female/male ratio at Coronado High is similar to other educational institutions - say, 53% female and 47% male. Also assume that no other boys wish to join the choir, since the activity is already open to all.

If you employed a strict proportionality gender quota to this choir, you would need to have just 43 girls to match the ratio of the 38 boys on the choir, which would then achieve "gender equity." Somebody would have to eliminate 95 girls from the choir and tell their families to stay home on the night of the recital. Obviously, if proportionality was used on this choir, the length of the show would be much shorter, and the audience would be much smaller.

Does this sound totally unfair? Irrational? Destructive? The answer is YES. However, this is exactly what is happening to male athletes on college campuses today. This is truly what happens when proportionality is pursued without respect to student interest.

Fortunately, nobody has forced proportionality quotas on high school choirs yet. Nobody has been excluded from participation in choir in order to reach an artificial gender quota enforced by the federal government. Everybody who had an interest in joining in the Coronado High School choir was allowed to participate.

Does proportionality make a little more sense, now?

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