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

VALERIE BONNETTE HAS A COMMON SENSE APPROACH TO TITLE IX

On January 20, Mike Stock of the San Diego Union-Tribune wrote an exceptional feature article about Valerie Bonnette of Good Sports, Inc., who runs a Title IX consulting company based in San Diego. The article explains how Bonnette, an expert on Title IX law who once worked for the federal government, has a common sense approach about gender equity.

Bonnette, a former college coach, wrote her graduate thesis on Title IX, and after graduation went to work at the Office of Civil Rights (OCR), working with Title IX compliance. She reviewed investigation reports, managed a number of investigations and co-authored an investigator*s manual. After 15 years, Bonnette left the OCR out of frustration. Consider these quotes from the San Diego Union-Tribune article:

* "'The stress level was right through the roof,* Bonnette recalls. 'You'd interview coaches who were afraid one wrong word would cause the school to lose federal funding, and them to be fired. I began to see that a serious void in understanding existed.'"

* "'(I quit) out of total frustration,' Bonnette said. 'There was no legitimate effort to explain Title IX nuances.'"

Through her new company, Bonnette has served as a consultant to about 50 colleges, assisting in their Title IX compliance needs. According to Stock, Bonnette has received a reputation as *The Title IX lady who makes sense.* In short, Bonnette believes that there is flexibility in achieving Title IX compliance. Consider these paragraphs from the Stock article.

* "'It is a very sensible law when correctly interpreted,' she insists, 'but that has been lost in the emotions and controversies.'"

* *Bonnette is not a crusader. She, in fact, is critical of women*s advocacy groups whose agendas tend to muddy the waters. 'They have the ears of reporters in New York and Washington,' Bonnette says. 'As a result, what you read about Title IX in newspapers almost always is incorrect.'"

Bonnette contends that proportionality, the strict gender quota, is not the only way to achieve Title IX compliance. She suggests that the other two prongs of enforcement, a pattern of increased opportunities for women and accomodating interest and abilities, are also valid ways to achieve compliance. She believes that some colleges drop men*s sports teams unnecessarily.

Perhaps colleges, such as Miami of Ohio, which has proposed dropping four men's sports teams at one time, should have hired Bonnette to review their athletic program rather than consultants that just suggest what administrators want to hear.

BAND-AID FIXES DO NOT SOLVE PROBLEMS AND OFTEN LEAD TO FAILURE

A disturbing trend in the battle for Title IX compliance is the decision by some administrators to require supporters and alumni for specific men*s athletic teams to raise substantial funds to retain the program. For some reason, targeted sports are isolated and abandoned, left to fend for themselves for survival.

Miami of Ohio has voted to delay its decision on dropping four men*s teams. The Board of Trustees has requested that these four teams come up with $13 million in two months.

This approach, if it works, provides a short-term solution to the problem. When a team "comes up with the cash," it allows the sport to survive on campus. This quick fix is acceptable for athletes and coaches whose only goal is to avoid elimination. It is like a band-aid, which stops the bleeding and allows the patient to live another day.

However, band-aid solutions do not always work in the long-term. When a sports team is funded through outside sources and is not fully supported through the athletic department budget, it becomes very vulnerable to future changes. In many cases, the band-aid can be pulled off and the bleeding continues... Consider the cases of the wrestling teams at Portland State and Syracuse.

PORTLAND STATE MUST AGAIN BATTLE FOR SURVIVAL THROUGH STUDENT FUNDING

For two straight years, the wrestling team at Portland State University was close to elimination. Both years, the university proposed dropping wrestling, which had the most success and tradition of all sports teams on campus. Budget challenges and Title IX were cited as reasons for the proposals. Both years, because of public pressure and creative proposals, the wrestling team was saved.

In the spring of 1998, Portland State dropped its baseball and wrestling teams, but allowed the wrestling team to survive through a plan including outside fundraising and student fees. Wrestling lived to see another day, but baseball was history.

In basic terms, the athletic department washed its hands of wrestling - and the students and alumni stepped forward to retain the team. This season, Portland State has moved up to Div. I, and the wrestling team has joined the PAC-10 conference, a step up for the program.

Guess what? Portland State wrestling is once again on the chopping block. According to the PSU Vanguard on February 3, the student newspaper, this time the cuts may come from the Students Fee Committee (the same group that stepped up and saved the team last year).

This year*s Student Fee Committee voted to eliminate the funding set aside for wrestling. However, because of the appointment of new members to the committee and a desire to review the matter more closely, the decision has been delayed for a short time. The initial decision to cut wrestling may be overturned by the committee, or overturned through an appeal process.

The supporters of wrestling at Portland State have been very active, one of the reasons why the team survived its first two brushes with death. It is conceivable that Portland State*s wrestling team will survive its third straight year under the gun. However, once again, the student-athletes will have to go through the agonizing process of fighting for their life on campus.

As long as Portland State wrestling is funded through outside sources, including donations and student fees, it will be vulnerable to elimination. Student committees change every year. Donations and fundraising programs often ebb and flow from year to year. This "solution" is not a permanent fix of the problem.

SYRACUSE WRESTLING ATTEMPTS TO INVIGORATE FUNDRAISING PROJECT TO SAVE TEAM

In the spring of 1997, Syracuse University announced that it was dropping its men*s wrestling and gymnastics teams. This was a major blow, especially for wrestling, which had a long and storied history at Syracuse, including numerous Olympic athletes. The excuse given by the administration on campus was the same as so many other colleges have used when axing men*s teams - budget and Title IX.

The alumni and supporters of Syracuse wrestling reacted quickly and with passion, and a deal was struck. Syracuse agreed to retain the wrestling team at a minimal level until the 2000-2001 season, while supporters of the program conducted a fundraising program. If the wrestling supporters came up with $2 million by June 2000, then the team was saved. If not, then wrestling would be eliminated from the Syracuse athletic program. It was a simple pay-to-play plan, placed on the shoulders of the wrestling alumni.

Almost two years into the fundraising effort, the friends of Syracuse wrestling still remain a long way from reaching their goal. The program has gone through two coaches and a number of other challenges since the deal was struck. Leaders of this effort are now reminding the wrestling community that Syracuse wrestling will be eliminated without their support and donations.

Sonny Greenhalgh, the Wrestling Chairman for the New York Athletic Club and a Syracuse alumnus (class of 1964), has taken on the position of President, National Division, of "Keep Syracuse Wrestling." This volunteer group vows that it has not given up, even as the clock ticks down on the program. Consider what Greenhalgh has written in a letter to the wrestling community and the media:

* "Unfortunately, I think a lot of people are forgetting about us... or at least not thinking about us because it is painful... People need to know that we are still in battle, fighting harder than ever. We need support from all over the country, and we need dollars."

* "It is everybody*s battle, everybody in wrestling. We need letters written to Congress, the NCAA, the Syracuse University Chancellor and the Syracuse University Athletic Director... We have got to face it, talk about it, and work to stop it. We are going to raise as much money as we can. More importantly, we are going to raise as much support as we can."

To save the program in 1997, supporters of Syracuse wrestling agreed to a band-aid solution, just to keep the team on campus. The time is coming very soon when the fate of the program will be determined. Either the band-aid will be replaced by a firm commitment, or the band-aid will be pulled off for good....

PROFESSOR RETURNS AWARD AT MIAMI OF OHIO TO PROTEST THE PLAN TO DROP MEN*S TEAMS

During the hearings concerning the proposed cuts of four men*s sports teams at Miami of Ohio, a dramatic plea for sanity came from a leader on the faculty. A commentary by Dayton Daily News columnist Gary Nuhn entitled "Title IX plea came from the heart," cut right to the heart of the issue. According to Nuhn, a zoology professor named Donald Kaufman spoke at the public hearing. Kaufman, a 25-year faculty member, had raised $4 million in grants and received the school*s three major teaching awards. As Nuhn explains:

* "He came quickly to the point. 'I cannot abide by the elimination of four men's sports,' he said. 'It is morally, ethically and legally wrong.' Then he did something that shocked the room. He again held aloft his 25-year plaque and said, 'I cannot accept this award until this situation is resolved. I'm giving it back.' He strode over to Miami president James C. Garland and handed him the plaque, and from the response of the large crowd, you*d have thought Miami had scored a touchdown in the last minute to win the Rose Bowl.*

A few days later, Nuhn interviewed Kaufman about his action. The Nuhn article continues:

* "'I love Miami,' he said. 'I love what it stands for. It's a great place. But no one seemed willing to take a stand to do what's right. I agonized about going before the board. I'd never done it before. There have been many issues that I felt strongly about, but none moved me ethically the way this one did.'"

Kaufman*s actions did not fall on deaf ears. In fact, Sports Illustrated, the leading sports magazine in the nation, picked up the story that week. In the Scorecard section, a feature entitled "Title IX Trouble, Prof of Doom" shared the Kaufman story with the nation. His courage and conviction to stand up for what he believes is now known across the nation.

USA WRESTLING*S SCHERR EVALUATES TITLE IX AS CHALLENGE TO THE STATE OF THE SPORT

About the same time as President Bill Clinton delivered his State of the Union address to Congress, Daily Oklahoman journalist Mac Bentley asked USA Wrestling Executive Director James E. Scherr to give his own State of the Sport address. Scherr covered a number of topics within the sport, including the challenges on the college levels caused by Title IX. Scherr*s comments to Bentley offer some unique perspective:

* "Wrestling across the world seems to be fairly strong, although the economic situation in Eastern Europe has hurt a little bit. It seems fairly strong, fairly stable and maybe growing at a slight rate. But long-term world-wide, we need to make sure we*re a viable product for television if we*re going to continue to be as successful as we have been in the Olympic arena. The revenue that runs the Olympic Games is driven by the television market. As a sport, we need to be strong for TV for our long-term survival."

* "Within the United States, wrestling is growing at the grass roots level. The number of kids available has grown because the population base has grown, but the number of programs has also grown. We*ve grown across the board, it*s growing at the base levels and its expanding into areas of the country that it hasn*t been in."

* "But as everyone knows, we're very challenged at the collegiate level because of Title IX and the interpretation and enforcement of Title IX. That could damage the sport, and certainly if we lose all of our college programs it will damage the sport. So I don*t think you can underestimate the impact that Title IX could potentially have. If wrestling remains strong in the world and continues to grow at the grass roots and high school levels, the pendulum will swing back where college programs will be started again at some point in the future, I believe. I don*t think that (Title IX cuts) have slowed down. I think it will continue to be a threat as along as the current administration and enforcement remain. I think we will continue to see programs dropped."