The Impact of Title IX on High School Recruiting

As noted in the national sports news this week, controversy still surrounds the Title IX legislation that we have been living under for over 20 years. In terms of sports and high school recruiting, college recruiting and equality for men and women, this issue may never be resolved. In fact, it seems the more we do to insure equality, the more un-equal things become. The reality is that our good intentions are not going unpunished.

Originally, the Title IX legislation made no mention of sports at all. It was written to insure that equal opportunity was given to men and women when applying for jobs at institutions that received federal funding. It is included as a portion of the Education Amendments of 1972, and has been hacked at ever since to serve specific needs of specific groups and individuals.

Since the inception of Title IX, high schools and colleges have actually cut sports programs for men to create balance between men's and women's programs. In some dramatic cases, bleachers, scoreboards and playing fields have been destroyed to create this 'equality'. The mandate was that if you don't have the same facilities for the girls, you can't have it for the boys. So, down they came. How does that help?

I'm sure in many areas there are more young men involved in physical sports than women. And, many schools are limited in what they offer based on student interest. What has been popular in the past for is what is continued in the future. Introducing new sports is sometimes difficult. I know that for many schools adding soccer was a big deal a few years ago. And, it didn't need to be mandated by the government. And this has impacted high school recruiting.

Years ago when I worked in a middle school, boys and girls had separate physical education classes. This is how it was when I was in school too. I thought nothing of it. The boys played football, basketball, baseball, and ran track and wrestled. The girls played softball, basketball, field hockey, ran track, volleyball and did gymnastics. The boys progressed on to high school with a well rounded knowledge to help them succeed in the sports there. The girls, the same. A few years later came Title IX and the classes had to combine the girl and the boys. Are you kidding? None of these kids wanted to have a PE class with the opposite sex. And, when they discovered that the curriculum would be completely changed they were furious. Boys could no longer have a wrestling program because in a co-ed class girls and boys could not be grappling all over each other on the mats. There was no more football; soccer was added. Baseball was dropped and everyone played softball. Gymnastics was dropped. Basketball, track, volleyball and field hockey stayed. And, they added ping pong, badminton, archery, and other fillers like 'skills and drills' (push up, sit up, and pull up games).

In a nutshell; Title IX may seem like a solution to a problem but in fact has created a new, larger problem for all of us. Students are missing out on specific activities they need and schools are being hit with the cost of compliance with no return on their investment. Expensive equipment sits gathering dust and filler activities that are boring to our kids are in place of real physically challenging activities.

In reality, our elementary and middle school students must work harder for high school recruiting opportunities because of Title IX. Again, no good deed goes unpunished. Sometimes we need to leave well enough alone.

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Letter of Intent in College Sports Recruiting

Recently there have been a lot of news stories about athletes who are involved in college sports recruiting. They are being 'picked up' or signing letters of intent to college teams. Controversy seems to surround some of these events. And, although this is a time of great excitement for most, some athletes are greatly disappointed if things don't work out as they dream they will.

So, the first thing that occurred to me is that I need to know what the word "intent" means and how it applies to college sports recruiting. I looked up the word and found that "intent" is from the Latin word "intentus" meaning an aim, or purpose. "Intent" is a past participle of "intendere"; to intend. This means to me that the word implies there will be an act that will take place soon. Also, noted is "the state of a person's mind that directs his or her actions toward a specific object." A synonym for intent would be aim, plan or plot.

With an understanding of the word, I began to examine what a letter of intent might be used for. In the case of students and colleges, I surmised that a college would want a student to be committed, or locked in to attending. This way the college athletic director could begin to build a team for the next year; actually the next four years and plan a strategy for his teams' success. Likewise, the student could be confident that the college would hold a spot for them. The student would be able to plan the next four years of their education and participation and even look further into the future to professional play. Any reasonable person, no matter which side of the table they are on, would be satisfied that a specific act would be taking place in the very near future. In this case, a college sports recruiting opportunity.

When I read about the young high school basketball player that had been accepted by a Utah university and rejected a few months later, I was disturbed. I thought of my son and his time in high school and how much he loved basketball. I remembered the rare occasion that a fellow team member was being courted by a college. This was a dream come true and a chance of a lifetime. With 700 students in his senior class, one percent was awarded athletic scholarships. What a disaster for the entire family to sign the letter of intent only to have the deal fall through.

Do high school athletes now have to enlist agents or lawyers before signing? Do coaches and parents need to make students aware of the possible withdraw of what they believe to be a promise for their future, and make contingent plans? Will we begin to see lawsuits filed for breach of the college sports recruiting letters of intent? And, how will they be decided?

It seems all the hope and excitement that surrounds the college sports recruiting season will fade into a legal quagmire in the future. The dreams of young athletes lost in the mumbo jumbo of contracts and lawsuits. And, once again the only group that will benefit will be the lawyers. Really, how sad!

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