James Madison Dukes - Title IX Compliance

Title IX Compliance

On September 29, 2006, the James Madison University Board of Visitors announced that ten sports teams would be eliminated effective July 1, 2007. The affected teams were men's archery, cross country, gymnastics, indoor track, outdoor track, swimming, and wrestling, as well as women's archery, fencing, and gymnastics. The stated reason for the cuts was to comply with Title IX requirements, specifically that the ratio of male-to-female student athletes match the whole student population. Many students were angered by the cuts, complaining that only less-popular sports were affected, and not sports such as football. Numerous editorials have appeared in newspapers across the country, both in support of and against the decision. On October 12, the United States Olympic Committee sent a letter to President Rose and Athletic Director Jeff Bourne, asking them to reconsider the decision to eliminate all ten teams.

This action, however, was not without precedent. In March 2001, JMU's Board of Visitors was presented with four options for bringing the athletic program into compliance with Title IX. At that time, the options as presented to the board were to maintain the status quo, eliminate eight teams as recommended by JMU's Centennial Sports Committee, create a two-tiered system consisting of scholarship and non-scholarship teams as recommended by the administration, or raise student fees to fund an endowment for athletic scholarships as recommended by athletic coaches. Board of Visitors Athletic Committee chair Pablo Cuevas was paraphrased in The Breeze as stating that the option of maintaining the status quo was not viable due to concerns regarding Title IX. At that time, the teams under consideration for elimination were men's wrestling, swimming, archery, gymnastics, and tennis, and women's gymnastics, archery, and fencing. The Board of Visitors, in a unanimous vote, ultimately decided to adopt the administration's recommendation of a two-tiered system of scholarship and non-scholarship teams. The non-scholarship teams were men's swimming, indoor and outdoor track and field, cross country, golf, wrestling, tennis, gymnastics, and women's swimming, golf, tennis and gymnastics. Athletic director Jeff Bourne stated that the plan to eliminate scholarship funding would be implemented gradually over four to five years, as all then-active scholarships would be honored, and that verbal commitments to scholarships made by coaches to potential recruits would also be honored.