$250K Initiative Buys Peace In Battle Over Women's Sports

The price may have been steep, but a quarter of a million dollars has bought a temporary peace in the controversy over the athletic department's treatment of women athletes.

In October, the department announced a three-year initiative to expand the opportunities for women athletes by enlarging the department's annual budget for women's sports by about $250,000. That shot-in-the-arm represented an increase of more than 20 percent in the amount Harvard spends on female teams.

The move-which came after months of department statements claiming that nothing more needed to be done for women's athletics-was a surprise considering the tight budgets of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS) and the athletic department, which falls under FAS.

But the $250,000 gift, which according to Director of Athletics William J. Cleary Jr. 56, came from "generous donors," was as much a ransom as a token of generosity.

Many Harvard women athletes have charged in the last few years that the department's support for female teams was inadequate. Some alleged that the University's lack of support for women's sports constituted a violation of Title IX, part of a 1972 law which mandates "equal athletic opportunity for members of both sexes."

In fact, 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, according to a February 1993 Crimson report.

Women athletes said men's teams received better support for training, recruiting and practice time. The Radcliffe crew, in the spirit of solidarity and protest, christened one of their shells "Title IX" in honor of the law.

The first murmurs of a Title IX lawsuit which would have followed legal action by women athletes at Brown and Cornell last year, were heard.

Several athletes and coaches were widely known to be developing records to help a possible suit. Women's Lacrosse Coach Carole Kleinfelder, one of Harvard's most successful coaches, kept a file in her desk labeled simply, "Title IX."

Allocation

In allocating the money, Harvard officials insisted that they had always been in compliance with Title IX and were not responding to public pressure.

"This has been a long term project on the part of the department, in terms of trying to develop a program which would improve women's athletics," said Dean of the College L. Fred Jewett '57, a member of the standing Faculty committee on athletics which helped develop the plan.

Whatever the reason for the plan, it has satisfied players and coaches at least for now. "I think it's wonderful when women get the same opportunity,"said women's basketball coach Kathy Delaney Smith.

"I see the whole [plan] as more symbolic of attitudes changing, and the fact that Harvard has taken a step shows that it is becoming sensitive to these issues" said Radcliffe heavy-weight crew captain Tilde Hajek '94.

The women's lacrosse and basketball teams--two of the most well-funded female teams--were given money to hire additional coaching staff.

But the new plan largely benefited three specific women's teams: ice hockey, softball and volleyball. Each was promised an elevation from "Level |II" to "Level I" status, meaning an expanded competition schedule and more funding for coaching travel and player recruitment.

The softball team received a junior varsity program and a tougher schedule with more NCAA Division I opponents.

But it is the women's volleyball team, which was the first to be promoted to "Level I," that has been the first to see the tangible effects of the extra backing.

Women's Volleyball Coach Jennifer Bates, for example, got a fulltime position and the opportunity to devote all of her energies to the team. Her predecessor, Wayne Lem, had to run a business while he coached "part-time."

In addition, transportation to games was upgraded from buses to vans, more money became available for recruiting and uniforms showed up on time, for a change.

"It's definitely an improvement," Bates said after the change was announced last fall. "Besides the actual funding, you know, the athletes have always been working hard, and for them to get this is just a real confidence booster."

"The bottom line is that with an increased budget comes increased benefits," said co-captain Rachel Heit '95.

Positive Mood.

The most important effect of the $250,000 may be the spirit it has inspired even among those teams that did not receive part of the pay-off.

"The mood of the athletes right now is pretty positive," women's crew coach Holly Hatton said in a recent interview.

And Hatton said that now that the conversation about women's athletics has started, no one will be able to stop it.

"Just the conversations about it made people more aware," Hatton said of Title IX. "These conversations should be ongoing. We should keep re-evaluating."

Now that the plan is in place, the athletics department may be banking that the money will quell complaints about its support of women's athletes.

There are already signs, however, that the spell of silence cast by the $250,000 may be wearing off. The football; men's hockey and men's basketball teams--all well--funded-could remain objects of resentment for some.

"[This plan] is a good first step," Hajek said last fall. "But I don't think there's equity now, and I don't think there will be even after the new plan is implemented."