Coaches, Students Speak of Inequities For Women's Teams

Women's Lacrosse Coach Carole Kleinfelder keeps a manila folder marked `Title IX' on her desk. It's stuffed full with clippings that she's collected during her 15 years at Harvard.

While women's sports in the College have come a long way since 1972, when equitable funding first became the law, Kleinfelder says she sees "boys' club" attitudes persisting in the athletic department.

Though Harvard has not committed any "blatant" violations of Title IX--which states that schools receiving federal aid must provide "equal athletic opportunity for members of both sexes"--Kleinfelder says that the College's athletic department is not abiding by the spirit of the law.

Kleinfelder says she believes that under a strict interpretation of the law, in fact, "there are grounds for lawsuits here."

"I have seen changes in finances but not in attitude [at Harvard]," says the coach. "Athletics is seen as a right for men and a privilege for women."

Athletic department officials, however, maintain that they seek to provide the same opportunities to all sports and denies any preferential treatment for men's teams.

"No one should have any doubt about the the support we give to women's athletic teams," says Athletic Director William J. Cleary.

Cleary and other department administrators, including Senior Associate Director for Athletics Francis J. Toland, say operating budgets for the regular season amount to equitable funding for women's teams. Toland, who oversees budget allocations, refused last week to disclose any specific figures.

Kleinfelder, who led her team to the national title two years ago, might seem to be the sole critic in a department known to keep a tight ship. Yet, though many other coaches say the department does fund and treat women's teams adequately, Kleinfelder is not alone in her perception that men's athletics take priority over women's at Harvard.

`Subtle Inequities'

While some coaches point to what Field Hockey Coach Susan Caples calls "subtle inequities" in resources, many student athletes say they are more conscious of differences in the way men's and women's teams are treated on a day-to-day basis.

"I've felt that women aren't treated equally in terms of sports teams," says Rachel L. Schultz '93, a former varsity lacrosse and soccer player. "You see it in thetraining room--[women athletes] have to wait forthe football and hockey players to leave first."

Similarly, varsity ice hockey player ErinVilliotte '95 says that when a new scoreboard wasbeing installed at Bright Hockey Center earlierthis year, the men's team complained about reducedice time and was given two to three hours ofskating time.

"The women's team was given no additional icetime," Villiotte says.

Men's ice hockey player Matthew F. Mallgrave'93 notes, however, that "That was a reallyimportant practice for us. The women's seasondidn't open until later."

The women's ice hockey season opened a weekafter the men's this year.

Jessica Milhollin '96, a varsity field hockeyplayer, says she finds "a large difference" in thetreatment of men and women athletes. She points tospecial facilities for a men's-only sport likefootball as an example: "In the Dillon fieldhouse, the coaching staff for football has officeswhere they can watch their team rooms, and watchvideotapes with football. We have to askpermission to go in there."

Milhollin says she has seen women's teamsreceive lower priority both at home and at otherschools.

"When all of us travelled to Princeton to play,field hockey and women's soccer were put [inhousing] half an hour away from campus when malesports were put closer in," Milhollin says.

"After a while it just gets to you, becauseyou're working just as hard," she says.

Schultz says that the disparaging attitudetowards women in the athletic department sometimesextends to the department's dealings with campusorganizations.

Charles K. Lee '93, co-chair of this year'sEvening With Champions benefit, says heencountered "extremely unprofessional" behavior byCleary and Gregory J. Garber, assistant directorof athletics for operations, while organizing theannual ice skating show.

Lee says Cleary and Garber had a difficultrelationship with the show's female producer.

"They made her cry after a meeting with her,"Lee says. "They have a hard time with women."

The producer, Susie Dangel of WGBH,acknowledged that relations had been tense betweenherself and the department officials.

Cleary did not return repeated phone callsyesterday seeking comment. Garber, however, saidLee's statement was inaccurate.

"I don't think Charles' perception is veryaccurate, and that's all I'm going to say," Garbersays.

Funding Imbalances?

Athletic officials say the department does itsbest to ensure that men and women athletes aretreated equally. However, according to SeniorAssociate Director of Athletics Patricia Henry,precisely equal funding should not be expected.

"We're not comparing dollar for dollar," Henrysays. Rather, she emphasizes "the opportunity tohave relative success."

Inherent differences between sports account forthe seeming imbalance in funding, Henry says."Many sports need a lot less money forrecruiting," she says.

"I think a lot of what you hear is perceptionand not reality," Henry adds.

But Henry and Cleary concede that women's teamsare at a disadvantage when it comes to externalfunds brought in through alumni efforts.

Friends' groups are alumni organizations thatraise funds to supplement operating costs forteams and provide them with program necessitiesnot in the budget, such as computers, VCRs andcameras.

While many men's teams have extensivefundraising capabilities due to long-establishedFriends' groups, women's teams must spend muchmore time raising money on their own.

"The women's teams do more fundraising than themen's teams," says field hockey's Coach Caples."We do the best with what we have."

Caples says she sells T-shirts and other goodsduring the summertime to raise money for her team.

Toland says alumni funds are only used foractivities "not within the normal operatingbudgets." He maintains that the department seeksto fund teams for all other necessary operatingcosts.

"For budgets for the regular season, all thecoaches are well taken care of," says Cleary.

But Men's Hockey Coach Ronn Tomassoni says histeam's recruiting efforts are supported largely bythe Friends' account. And Men's Swimming CoachMike Chasson says much of his team's funding alsodepends on alumni donations.

In light of these realities, Kleinfeldersuggests that the department should give women'steams more funding to compensate for suchdifferences in alumni support.

"Until women have Friends, someone has to pickup the slack," she says.

Department administrators, however, say theyare making a conscientious effort to build thewomen's Friends base by combining the groups forsome sports.

"We're well aware that women's Friends haveground to make up," Henry says.

The Harvard-Radcliffe Foundation for Women'sAthletics, which helps coordinate Friends' groupsfor women, was formed in 1981 to respond to theseneeds, Henry says.

And Toland says the department has used thebudget to try to even out inequities in theFriends' groups. "We've helped many sports toovercome deficits," he says.

Gender Parity, at Home and Away

When the University of Massachusetts facedbudgetary problems three years ago, it decided tocut costs by dropping three intercollegiatewomen's athletic programs--lacrosse, tennis andvolleyball. The teams responded by threatening alawsuit.

This October, the school reinstated the sportsto varsity status and promised to bring itsprograms into compliance with Title IX regulationswithin five years.

"These sports should not have been cut," U.Mass. President Michael K. Hooker told The BostonGlobe. "The athletic department was underhorrendous budget cuts, but we've got to make sureto achieve parity."

Ivy schools have not escaped unscathed: BrownUniversity went to federal court this fall toexplain why it dropped two of its women's varsitysports in 1991. Brown officials insist these cutswere necessitated by budgetary problems. The caseis currently pending.

Harvard, however, has made no such drastic cutsin funding of either men's or women's sports.Henry says she is confident that the departmenthandles men's and women's sports in a "prettyequal" manner. "Overall, we feel very comfortableand very good about our opportunities to women,"she says.

Women's Swimming Coach Maura Costin Scalise '80says she thinks the men's and women's swim teamsare treated fairly by the department.

"We share the same facilities, we travel thesame way," Scalise says. She says the departmenthelps the team out if it runs short on funds butadds, "You can't come in thinking that, `I'm thewomen's team and Harvard has to give us moneybecause of some law.'"

Most women's coaches, like Scalise, applaud thedepartment's efforts to support women's teams.

"I don't think there's discrimination," saysCaples. "The department shows concern for ourathletes and responds to our needs."

And women's basketball coach Kathy DelaneySmith says she chose to work here because ofHarvard's reputation for actively supportingwomen's athletic programs.

"I would personally not stay in a situation ifI didn't think there would be adequate support,"she says.

But Smith acknowledges that inequities infunding between men's and women's teams do exist.Asked whether she felt the athletic director haddone a good job of helping women's teams, Smithsays she does not want to be critical of thedepartment's policies.

"I don't know if [Cleary] has been here longenough for me to make a statement on that," Smithsays. "Certainly, he has come in under verydifficult financial times."

Cleary succeeded John P. Reardon Jr. '60 asathletic director in 1990.

And Caples says that hard financial times havemeant more of an uphill battle for women's teams.Caples says she is not always completely satisfiedwith the initial budget allocations for her team.

"Things aren't going to be handed to you...Wealways have to fight to get the job done andaccept the money given to us," she says. Still,Caples insists her team is "well taken care of."

But Kleinfelder says that women's coachesshould not have to fight for basic support."That's not good enough," she says. "It's notabout giving [women] what they need. It's aboutgiving them the same."

Getting the "same" includes getting top qualitycoaches for women's teams as well as men's,according to coaches.

"It's important for our athletes to see strongrole models," Caples says.

But Kleinfelder says she believes thedepartment does not always encourage womenapplicants for head coaching positions.

Kleinfelder says that the department'sadvertisements in NCAA publications for the headcoaching position on the women's soccer teamdiscouraged female applicants with its wording.Kleinfelder says the department requested anapplicant to fill the position of "head women'ssoccer coach and assistant men's lacrosse coach,"implying that the two jobs were equivalent inimportance.

"If they wanted to get a strong femaleapplicant, they wouldn't have worded the ad thatway," says Kleinfelder, who was the firstfull-time women's coach hired under Title IX. Shesays she complained to Henry about the ad'swording.

But Cleary and Henry deny that the ad ran withsuch a tone.

"I don't believe we ever advertised it thatway," Henry says. "We do the best we can to findthe best qualified coaches."

NCAA officials contacted last week said theycould not recall whether Harvard had placed suchan ad.

Henry says half of the applicant pool for thatposition were women. The department eventuallyhired Timothy Wheaton to head the soccer team.

While straight budget numbers remain undertight wraps by the athletic department, some saymore open discussion of the status of women'sathletics at Harvard is needed.

"The most depressing thing for me is that wehave not even sat down and discussed the issue,"says Kleinfelder. "Nobody gets together and talksabout things."

Last week, the department presented an annualreport on Title IX progress at Harvard to theStanding Committee on Athletics. But Kleinfeldersays she was not asked to contribute to thereport.

"I've never been asked to comment--I didn'teven know it existed," she says.

Caples, however, insists that communicationwith the department has been "good." Last month,she says, she was asked by departmentadministrators whether her team's needs were beingmet.

Kleinfelder says that what the department needsto do is "to encourage people to come forward, notto suppress."

"Vision and change should come from the topdown, not from the bottom up," she says.

Steven A. Engel B. Goodale, Lorraine Lezamaand Joe Mathews contributed to the reporting ofthis article.CrimsonEric P. WilfordCrimson File PhotoField Hockey Coach SUSAN CAPLES (at right)says that women's teams do more fundraising thanmen's teams-- she herself sells t-shirts in thesummer to raise money for the team. `We do thebest with what we have,' says Caples.

Similarly, varsity ice hockey player ErinVilliotte '95 says that when a new scoreboard wasbeing installed at Bright Hockey Center earlierthis year, the men's team complained about reducedice time and was given two to three hours ofskating time.

"The women's team was given no additional icetime," Villiotte says.

Men's ice hockey player Matthew F. Mallgrave'93 notes, however, that "That was a reallyimportant practice for us. The women's seasondidn't open until later."

The women's ice hockey season opened a weekafter the men's this year.

Jessica Milhollin '96, a varsity field hockeyplayer, says she finds "a large difference" in thetreatment of men and women athletes. She points tospecial facilities for a men's-only sport likefootball as an example: "In the Dillon fieldhouse, the coaching staff for football has officeswhere they can watch their team rooms, and watchvideotapes with football. We have to askpermission to go in there."

Milhollin says she has seen women's teamsreceive lower priority both at home and at otherschools.

"When all of us travelled to Princeton to play,field hockey and women's soccer were put [inhousing] half an hour away from campus when malesports were put closer in," Milhollin says.

"After a while it just gets to you, becauseyou're working just as hard," she says.

Schultz says that the disparaging attitudetowards women in the athletic department sometimesextends to the department's dealings with campusorganizations.

Charles K. Lee '93, co-chair of this year'sEvening With Champions benefit, says heencountered "extremely unprofessional" behavior byCleary and Gregory J. Garber, assistant directorof athletics for operations, while organizing theannual ice skating show.

Lee says Cleary and Garber had a difficultrelationship with the show's female producer.

"They made her cry after a meeting with her,"Lee says. "They have a hard time with women."

The producer, Susie Dangel of WGBH,acknowledged that relations had been tense betweenherself and the department officials.

Cleary did not return repeated phone callsyesterday seeking comment. Garber, however, saidLee's statement was inaccurate.

"I don't think Charles' perception is veryaccurate, and that's all I'm going to say," Garbersays.

Funding Imbalances?

Athletic officials say the department does itsbest to ensure that men and women athletes aretreated equally. However, according to SeniorAssociate Director of Athletics Patricia Henry,precisely equal funding should not be expected.

"We're not comparing dollar for dollar," Henrysays. Rather, she emphasizes "the opportunity tohave relative success."

Inherent differences between sports account forthe seeming imbalance in funding, Henry says."Many sports need a lot less money forrecruiting," she says.

"I think a lot of what you hear is perceptionand not reality," Henry adds.

But Henry and Cleary concede that women's teamsare at a disadvantage when it comes to externalfunds brought in through alumni efforts.

Friends' groups are alumni organizations thatraise funds to supplement operating costs forteams and provide them with program necessitiesnot in the budget, such as computers, VCRs andcameras.

While many men's teams have extensivefundraising capabilities due to long-establishedFriends' groups, women's teams must spend muchmore time raising money on their own.

"The women's teams do more fundraising than themen's teams," says field hockey's Coach Caples."We do the best with what we have."

Caples says she sells T-shirts and other goodsduring the summertime to raise money for her team.

Toland says alumni funds are only used foractivities "not within the normal operatingbudgets." He maintains that the department seeksto fund teams for all other necessary operatingcosts.

"For budgets for the regular season, all thecoaches are well taken care of," says Cleary.

But Men's Hockey Coach Ronn Tomassoni says histeam's recruiting efforts are supported largely bythe Friends' account. And Men's Swimming CoachMike Chasson says much of his team's funding alsodepends on alumni donations.

In light of these realities, Kleinfeldersuggests that the department should give women'steams more funding to compensate for suchdifferences in alumni support.

"Until women have Friends, someone has to pickup the slack," she says.

Department administrators, however, say theyare making a conscientious effort to build thewomen's Friends base by combining the groups forsome sports.

"We're well aware that women's Friends haveground to make up," Henry says.

The Harvard-Radcliffe Foundation for Women'sAthletics, which helps coordinate Friends' groupsfor women, was formed in 1981 to respond to theseneeds, Henry says.

And Toland says the department has used thebudget to try to even out inequities in theFriends' groups. "We've helped many sports toovercome deficits," he says.

Gender Parity, at Home and Away

When the University of Massachusetts facedbudgetary problems three years ago, it decided tocut costs by dropping three intercollegiatewomen's athletic programs--lacrosse, tennis andvolleyball. The teams responded by threatening alawsuit.

This October, the school reinstated the sportsto varsity status and promised to bring itsprograms into compliance with Title IX regulationswithin five years.

"These sports should not have been cut," U.Mass. President Michael K. Hooker told The BostonGlobe. "The athletic department was underhorrendous budget cuts, but we've got to make sureto achieve parity."

Ivy schools have not escaped unscathed: BrownUniversity went to federal court this fall toexplain why it dropped two of its women's varsitysports in 1991. Brown officials insist these cutswere necessitated by budgetary problems. The caseis currently pending.

Harvard, however, has made no such drastic cutsin funding of either men's or women's sports.Henry says she is confident that the departmenthandles men's and women's sports in a "prettyequal" manner. "Overall, we feel very comfortableand very good about our opportunities to women,"she says.

Women's Swimming Coach Maura Costin Scalise '80says she thinks the men's and women's swim teamsare treated fairly by the department.

"We share the same facilities, we travel thesame way," Scalise says. She says the departmenthelps the team out if it runs short on funds butadds, "You can't come in thinking that, `I'm thewomen's team and Harvard has to give us moneybecause of some law.'"

Most women's coaches, like Scalise, applaud thedepartment's efforts to support women's teams.

"I don't think there's discrimination," saysCaples. "The department shows concern for ourathletes and responds to our needs."

And women's basketball coach Kathy DelaneySmith says she chose to work here because ofHarvard's reputation for actively supportingwomen's athletic programs.

"I would personally not stay in a situation ifI didn't think there would be adequate support,"she says.

But Smith acknowledges that inequities infunding between men's and women's teams do exist.Asked whether she felt the athletic director haddone a good job of helping women's teams, Smithsays she does not want to be critical of thedepartment's policies.

"I don't know if [Cleary] has been here longenough for me to make a statement on that," Smithsays. "Certainly, he has come in under verydifficult financial times."

Cleary succeeded John P. Reardon Jr. '60 asathletic director in 1990.

And Caples says that hard financial times havemeant more of an uphill battle for women's teams.Caples says she is not always completely satisfiedwith the initial budget allocations for her team.

"Things aren't going to be handed to you...Wealways have to fight to get the job done andaccept the money given to us," she says. Still,Caples insists her team is "well taken care of."

But Kleinfelder says that women's coachesshould not have to fight for basic support."That's not good enough," she says. "It's notabout giving [women] what they need. It's aboutgiving them the same."

Getting the "same" includes getting top qualitycoaches for women's teams as well as men's,according to coaches.

"It's important for our athletes to see strongrole models," Caples says.

But Kleinfelder says she believes thedepartment does not always encourage womenapplicants for head coaching positions.

Kleinfelder says that the department'sadvertisements in NCAA publications for the headcoaching position on the women's soccer teamdiscouraged female applicants with its wording.Kleinfelder says the department requested anapplicant to fill the position of "head women'ssoccer coach and assistant men's lacrosse coach,"implying that the two jobs were equivalent inimportance.

"If they wanted to get a strong femaleapplicant, they wouldn't have worded the ad thatway," says Kleinfelder, who was the firstfull-time women's coach hired under Title IX. Shesays she complained to Henry about the ad'swording.

But Cleary and Henry deny that the ad ran withsuch a tone.

"I don't believe we ever advertised it thatway," Henry says. "We do the best we can to findthe best qualified coaches."

NCAA officials contacted last week said theycould not recall whether Harvard had placed suchan ad.

Henry says half of the applicant pool for thatposition were women. The department eventuallyhired Timothy Wheaton to head the soccer team.

While straight budget numbers remain undertight wraps by the athletic department, some saymore open discussion of the status of women'sathletics at Harvard is needed.

"The most depressing thing for me is that wehave not even sat down and discussed the issue,"says Kleinfelder. "Nobody gets together and talksabout things."

Last week, the department presented an annualreport on Title IX progress at Harvard to theStanding Committee on Athletics. But Kleinfeldersays she was not asked to contribute to thereport.

"I've never been asked to comment--I didn'teven know it existed," she says.

Caples, however, insists that communicationwith the department has been "good." Last month,she says, she was asked by departmentadministrators whether her team's needs were beingmet.

Kleinfelder says that what the department needsto do is "to encourage people to come forward, notto suppress."

"Vision and change should come from the topdown, not from the bottom up," she says.

Steven A. Engel B. Goodale, Lorraine Lezamaand Joe Mathews contributed to the reporting ofthis article.CrimsonEric P. WilfordCrimson File PhotoField Hockey Coach SUSAN CAPLES (at right)says that women's teams do more fundraising thanmen's teams-- she herself sells t-shirts in thesummer to raise money for the team. `We do thebest with what we have,' says Caples.