New Plan Bolsters Women's Sports

The Department of Athletics last night announced a major, three-year initiative to expand and improve the women's athletic program at Harvard.

When fully phased in, the move will enlarge the annual budget for women's sports at Harvard by more than $200,000, or roughly 20 percent, officials familiar with the program said.

The initiative comes after women athletes and their coaches complained publicly last spring about what they said was unequal treatment. It also follows lawsuits by women athletes at Brown University and Cornell University who charged their schools with violating a federal law mandating equal athletic opportunities for male and female students.

According to a press release, the new program includes the immediate elevation of the women's volleyball team from Level II to Level I status, meaning an expanded competition schedule and more funding for coaching, travel and player recruitment.

Harvard will add a junior varsity softball team, enhance the travel roster for the varsity softball team to include more NCAA Division I opponents, and hire additional staff to assist coaching of both women's lacrosse and basketball.

Practice times at the University's indoor sports facilities will be extended for both ice hockey and softball, the press release said, while practice schedules of other sports will be "adjusted," presumably to equalize the amount of time the facilities are available to teams of both sexes.

Next year, the women's ice hockey and softball programs will also become Level I sports. Additional medical and physical training staff will likely be added by the 1995-96 academic year.

All told, the changes will result in Harvard maintaining 13 men's and 13 women's sports at Level I status, and eight men's and seven women's sports at Level II status.

The press release did not specify who would provide the additional funds necessary for the initiative. Members of the Standing Committee on Athletic Sports last night referred all questions on funding to Director of Athletics William H. Cleary '56 and McKay Professor of Computer Science Harry R. Lewis '68, chair of the standing committee. Neither Cleary nor Lewis could be reached for comment.

Committee member Elizabeth S. Nathans, who is dean of freshmen, suggested that "the program [was] the beneficiary of very generous donations."

The announcement was remarkable both for its scale and because it was entirely unexpected. Sports Information Director John Veneziano said the program was revealed late in the day because Cleary wanted to inform coaches of the move before it was made public.

Contacted late last night, the coaches of several women's sports expressed surprise at the initiative. "I think that's really exciting," said women's crew Coach Holly Hatton. "I didn't know a thing, but I think it's stuff that had to happen."

The move came less than a year after an article in The Crimson raised questions about whether Harvard treats women's and men's sports equally. At the time, several athletes and coaches suggested that the University could be in violation of Title IX, part of a 1972 law which mandates "equal athletic opportunity for members of both sexes."

In addition, a Crimson investigative report revealed in February that Harvard's funding of men's sports--nearly $2.3 million in fiscal 1992--was more than double what it spent on women's teams. Critics of the athletic department said the financial figures were tangible evidence of Harvard's bias in favor of men's sports.

But University officials countered that the disparities represented necessary differences in the cost of maintaining expensive men's programs,

Expansion Highlights

. Women's Ice Hockey will receive expanded indoor practice time this year. In 1994-1995 the team will be elevated from "Level II" to "Level I" status.

. The softball program will add a junior varsity team this year, and play against more NCAA Division I teams. Next year, softball will become a "Level I" sport.

. In this academic year, the women's volleyball team will be elevated to "Level I" status.

. Additional coaching support will be given to women's lacrosse and basketball.

. The University anticipates the need for additional medical and physical training personnel beginning in 1995-1996 to support the enhanced programs. like football, and noted that the fundinglevels roughly reflected participation rates.

According to the press release, the initiativewas the result of the athletic department'sregular, biennial review of the women's sportsprogram and was implemented with the approval ofDean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences Jeremy R.Knowles. Neither Knowles nor President Neil L.Rudenstine could be reached for comment lastnight.

Members of the standing committee said thechanges reflect the long-term goals of theathletic department. "This has been a long-termproject on the part of the department, in terms oftrying to develop a program which would improvewomen's athletics," said Dean of the College L.Fred Jewett '57. "It's not something that's justcome up overnight."

But some committee members conceded that theinitiative may have come at least partly inresponse to the concerns expressed earlier in theyear.

"Certainly there's no question that somecoaches and some athletes raised questions, andI'm sure they looked at those things," said formerdirector of athletics John P. Reardon Jr. '60.Still, according to Reardon, who is now executivedirector of the Harvard Alumni Association, "It'snothing new to be looking at this stuff."

Meanwhile, Reardon and other committee membersdenied that the new program was an effort to bringHarvard into compliance with Title IX.

"I feel that we are in compliance and I feelthat we have been for a long time," Reardon said."The problem with that is that it's impossible todefine exactly what compliance is."

"I think it's basically to try as best you canto offer the same opportunities for women as youhave for men," Reardon added. "I have always feltthat it doesn't mean you have to spend exactly thesame amount of money [on men's and women'steams]."

Nathans agreed, suggesting that Harvard, whichhas more intercollegiate sports than any otherNCAA Division I university, is already a nationalleader in supporting women's athletics.

"The level of women's participation here, andthe support that women's athletics receives, sofar exceeds that of any other program in thecountry that it's hard to conceive how Harvardcould not be in compliance," Nathans said. "Mysense is that there's never been any feeling ofresponding to pressure, but rather a feeling ofmoving ahead with commitments that the Universityhas always felt very strongly about and simplyneeded to find the money to make into reality."

Meanwhile, coaches of several women's sportsexpressed satisfaction with the initiative lastnight, with women's basketball Coach Kathy DelaneySmith calling it "great news."

"I think it's wonderful when women get the sameopportunity," Smith said.

Holly Hatton, an assistant coach of theRadcliffe crew team, suggested that the move cameat a good time for the University, before anystudents initiated legal action to force higherfunding levels.

"It's clear that based on the track record ofrecent Title IX lawsuits, the [athleticdepartment] had to take the law seriously," saidHatton. "This shows that they've assessed theprogram and are moving in the right direction.

According to the press release, the initiativewas the result of the athletic department'sregular, biennial review of the women's sportsprogram and was implemented with the approval ofDean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences Jeremy R.Knowles. Neither Knowles nor President Neil L.Rudenstine could be reached for comment lastnight.

Members of the standing committee said thechanges reflect the long-term goals of theathletic department. "This has been a long-termproject on the part of the department, in terms oftrying to develop a program which would improvewomen's athletics," said Dean of the College L.Fred Jewett '57. "It's not something that's justcome up overnight."

But some committee members conceded that theinitiative may have come at least partly inresponse to the concerns expressed earlier in theyear.

"Certainly there's no question that somecoaches and some athletes raised questions, andI'm sure they looked at those things," said formerdirector of athletics John P. Reardon Jr. '60.Still, according to Reardon, who is now executivedirector of the Harvard Alumni Association, "It'snothing new to be looking at this stuff."

Meanwhile, Reardon and other committee membersdenied that the new program was an effort to bringHarvard into compliance with Title IX.

"I feel that we are in compliance and I feelthat we have been for a long time," Reardon said."The problem with that is that it's impossible todefine exactly what compliance is."

"I think it's basically to try as best you canto offer the same opportunities for women as youhave for men," Reardon added. "I have always feltthat it doesn't mean you have to spend exactly thesame amount of money [on men's and women'steams]."

Nathans agreed, suggesting that Harvard, whichhas more intercollegiate sports than any otherNCAA Division I university, is already a nationalleader in supporting women's athletics.

"The level of women's participation here, andthe support that women's athletics receives, sofar exceeds that of any other program in thecountry that it's hard to conceive how Harvardcould not be in compliance," Nathans said. "Mysense is that there's never been any feeling ofresponding to pressure, but rather a feeling ofmoving ahead with commitments that the Universityhas always felt very strongly about and simplyneeded to find the money to make into reality."

Meanwhile, coaches of several women's sportsexpressed satisfaction with the initiative lastnight, with women's basketball Coach Kathy DelaneySmith calling it "great news."

"I think it's wonderful when women get the sameopportunity," Smith said.

Holly Hatton, an assistant coach of theRadcliffe crew team, suggested that the move cameat a good time for the University, before anystudents initiated legal action to force higherfunding levels.

"It's clear that based on the track record ofrecent Title IX lawsuits, the [athleticdepartment] had to take the law seriously," saidHatton. "This shows that they've assessed theprogram and are moving in the right direction.