Study Reveals Alarming Decline in
Men’s College Athletic Opportunities
CSC Cites Pattern of Discrimination,
Cuts Happening Across the Board
March 29, 2007
A study of NCAA athletic participation data released by the College Sports Council
shows steep and steady declines in college athletic opportunities for
men.
The longitudinal analysis reveals an ongoing pattern of eliminating
male teams over the last 25 years. Previous studies of long-term
participation rates failed to account for the growing number of NCAA
member schools. For the first time, the CSC study accounts for
that factor, uncovering a host of downward trends.
“Anyone that examines the data should be alarmed to see that schools
have been cutting men’s teams across the board for years,” said Eric
Pearson, Chairman of the CSC.
“There has never been a more urgent time to reform Title IX and restore
the law to its original intent which is fairness for everyone,” said
Jessica Gavora, CSC Communications Director and author of “Tilting the
Playing Field.” “Proportionality enforcement has cost thousands
of young men their place on the team and these study findings should be
a wake-up call for everyone who cares about athletics.”
More than 2,200 men’s athletic teams have been eliminated since
1981 – a consistent, declining trend of 17 percent.
The total number of women’s teams has outstripped the number of
men’s teams since 1995. The number of men’s teams per school is
dropping to less than 7.8 per school while the number of women’s teams
per school has risen to more than 8.7 per school.
Some of the sports that have been hardest hit include swimming,
wrestling, and tennis.
Nearly every men’s sport has experienced consistent and often
steep declines in teams throughout the country. Even football has seen
a decline in the number of teams.