Athletics

Team sports help students build healthy habits and provide valuable lessons in collaboration and sportsmanship. Yet, at their worst, they can corrupt or degrade universities’ missions. The following articles suggest ways to preserve the benefits of university athletics while reducing the academic, financial, and social costs of big-time college sports.

Differences exist in House, Senate plans

Jun 16, 2005 ·

RALEIGH – With House leaders approving its version of the $17 billion state budget early Thursday morning, members will now work towards ironing out the several differences that exist between the two documents.

Those differences also include funding for programs with the University of North Carolina system. House leaders approved a budget that cuts several proposed spending initiatives approved in the Senate budget, while also including new appropriations as well.

Women’s groups against Title IX changes

Apr 22, 2005 ·

CHAPEL HILL — A group of female college administrators has begun a grassroots effort to overturn a recent Title IX clarification that makes it easier for college and universities to comply with Title IX regulations regarding athletics.

According to NCAA News, the National Association of Collegiate Women’s Athletics Administrators has sent an email to its members asking them to contact their congressmen and other political leaders to get the Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights decision overturned. The Women’s Sports Foundation is also joining in the effort.

Supreme Court Decision Harms Title IX Reform

Apr 5, 2005 ·

In Birmingham, Ala., a high school girl’s basketball coach, Roderick Johnson, noticed something he believed was a violation of Title IX regulations. The girl’s program was receiving fewer resources than the comparable men’s program, leaving Johnson’s program at a competitive disadvantage, in his opinion.

Historically, Title IX has been used as a way to increase the number of women’s athletics programs across the country. It has had an adverse affect, owing to Title IX enforcement by the Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights, at cutting the number of athletic opportunities for men on college campuses.

Clarification eases Title IX requirements

Mar 24, 2005 ·

A recently released clarification by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights makes it easier for college and universities to comply with Title IX regulations regarding athletics.

The March 17 clarification, signed by Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights James F. Manning, specifically deals with the “fully and effectively” test, the third of three prongs to determine if a school is in compliance with the 1972 regulation that bans discrimination on the basis of sex from institutions that receive federal funding. The clarification was published on the Office of Civil Right’s Web site.

Sports or Academic Freedom

Mar 8, 2005 ·

March is the month sports fans refer to as “March Madness,” for good reason. The month is filled with conference basketball tournaments only to be followed by the annual NCAA men’s basketball tournament, along with a scattering of other events along the way.

But the “main event,” so to speak, is the NCAA tournament. Sixty-four college basketball games over the course of three weeks are enough to wet any sports fan’s appetite.

The attention placed on those games is what makes college administrators giddy with excitement. To the college administrators of the 65 teams selected for the tournament, it means more visibility they hope will eventually turn into increased alumni contributions or a higher number of college applicants.

Yes, it’s fun to sit down on the couch with your favorite adult beverage in one hand, the remote control in the other and a bowl of chips in your lap and watch every game from the play-in game to the championship game. However, do we pay similar attention to the academic failings of today’s colleges and universities as we do college sports? Chances are few if any understand the true landscape of the American public university system and some of the problems that it currently faces.

Wrestling with Title IX

Jan 14, 2005 ·

For more than 30 years, Title IX of the Education Amendments has been heralded as the reason for the increase in the number of women’s athletic programs across the country and providing opportunities for women like Mia Hamm to compete on the college level.

While Title IX has provided more opportunities in athletics for women, it has done the opposite for men. A federal guideline intended to prevent discrimination among the sexes in education has done just the opposite in college athletics. Title IX requirements have been used to cut athletic opportunities for men, while at the same time increasing opportunities for women.

Clemson, South Carolina made right decision

Nov 24, 2004 ·

In Detroit Friday, the Indiana Pacers’ Ron Artest ran into the bleachers, punching several fans after he was hit with a cup of beer starting a riot between players and fans.

Less than 24 hours later, emotions in a heated rivalry game between Clemson and South Carolina ran high and resulted in a 10-minute, bench-clearing brawl in the fourth quarter.

It was a weekend where these two sporting events were more indicative of a professional wrestling pay-per-view event than a pro basketball or college football game. Both fights, regardless of the circumstances, were uncalled for and certainly raise questions about the lack of sportsmanship in sports today.

Clemson, South Carolina made right decision

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In Detroit Friday, Indiana Pacers’ Ron Artest ran into the bleachers, punching and shoving several fans after he was hit with a cup of beer that further incited a riot between players and fans that had already reaching a boiling point.

Less than 24 hours later, emotions in a heated rivalry game between Clemson and South Carolina ran high and resulted in a 10-minute, bench-clearing brawl in the fourth quarter.