To whom it may concern:

I am a male who wants to hear your thoughts on an issue I have. I was an athlete in college for a division 1 school, but I had to help fund my team because I was not a woman. At my school there are 4 club level sports for males in which a varsity sport is not offered. For my sport in particular, the females are fully funded by the school, and receive NCAA recognition. They compete in the same events that we do, against the same teams as we do, the only difference is that we pay for it ourselves.

Am I incorrect in saying that the NCAA is a sexist institution because they favor women over men? Why should I not be provided the same opportunities women in my school/sport? The men's team was started in 1967, the women's team was started in 1988. I feel that in my sport in particular men receive the worst punishment from the NCAA, but other sports receive the same treatment. The men's water polo team has been competing at the club level against varsity teams for 25 years. In 1995 they helped create a women's club level team. The women's team is now varsity, the men's team is still club. The men's hockey team was considered a varsity team until 1998 when their varsity status was removed to make room for the 3 year old women's water polo team.Is the NCAA sexist?

Please let me know your thoughts.

Regards,

Brad

Dear Brad,

I don't feel that I know enough about NCAA rules, requirements, etc.. to determine the extent to which it is sexist. I do believe that what is happening on many campuses when it comes to defunding certain sports teams -- male and female -- has caused a misunderstanding in the goals or priorities of Title IX, which states that there should be equal amounts of funding in all school programming for men and women -- this includes all extra-curricular activities, not just sports. So, for example, a women's sports team gets blamed for the elimination of a men's wrestling team, when in fact, it's really the fraternities they don'twant to cut. This is all to say that in determing whether or note the NCAA is sexist, I think you have to look at the bigger picture.

Good luck,

-- Amy