ision is based upon a comparison of the entire women's program with the total men's program. This permits flexibility, allowing schools to "showcase" different sports for men and women or offer superior treatment in one area for, say, a male sport, offset by a reduction in quality in a different sport for men. Examples of the 11 program area: A) Equipment and Supplies; B) Game and Practice Schedules; C) Publicity; D) Facilities; E) Coaching; F) Travel and Per Diem, etc. (Lichtman, 63)A number of arguments have been made against equality of men's and women's sports. 1) Equity will ruin men's sports. The law's purpose is to afford equivalent opportunities and treatment for both sexes. Yet, a decision to eliminate sports for males does not enhance opportunities for females. Granted, achieving equity will require that additional resources and money be shifted to women's sports. However, with more prudent budgetary controls, greater fiscal responsibility, and a coordinated effort to raise additional funds through effective marketing, programs can continue to flourish without the need to drop some men's sports. To accomplish this, policies should be developed that drive the operations and maintenance budget of a sport. Adopting such an approach will save dollars and help stretch existing funds to cover other expenses. Moreover, it is to be hoped that instances where educational institutions use precious monetary resources defending themselves against legitimate Title IX lawsuits will become a thing of the past. Far more effective use would be to apply those funds to eliminate the conditions that precipitated the litigation. 2) Football should be eliminated from Title IX. Coaches quickly point out that football is unique and women's programs do not possess a parallel sport from participatory, costs, or income-producing standpoints. Supporters of Title IX point to the Javitts Amendment, which acknowledges that certain sports-for ex...
