Introduction
The Office for Civil Rights (OCR) advocates for a substantial and proportionate female and male enrollment in participation in sports. As presented in the school data of sports participation compared to the students’ enrollment, universities have not met the requirements to ensure equality in athletics (Maher, 2013). This report analyzes equality in athletics data from the University of Mississippi (Division I) and Allegheny College (Division III).
Substantial Proportionality
Men account for 44.04% of the total undergraduate enrollment while women account for 55.96% in the University of Mississippi. 56.58% of the total participation in sports are men while women have 43.42% opportunities (EADA, 2015). However, at Allegheny College, 54.42% of the total enrolment are women while 45.58% are men. Further, 57.54% of total participants are men while 42.46%. While the two universities enrolled a higher number of women than men, fewer women participate in sports than men. It is important to note that both universities have met the 2 to 5 ratio of men to women enrollment that the Case Law for Title IX compliance requires.
The difference between the male and female representation in sports is 12.16% and 15.08% at the University of Mississippi and Allegheny College respectively. Hence, it can be concluded that more males than women participate in sport in both universities. Therefore, additional opportunities for women in sports should be provided to ensure equality (Maher, 2013). It would be recommended that both universities should introduce baseball teams for women to attract more women to participate in sports. A baseball team that comprises of at 30 women would increase participation of women in sports. To diversify the women games, the University of Mississippi can include a football team for women as well.
Coaching staff and salaries
The University of Mississippi has 6 head coaches and 27 assistant coaches for the men’s team and 8 head coaches and 20 assistant coaches for the women’s team. The men’s team has 8 head coaches and 23 assistant coaches while the women’s team has 9 head coaches and 16 assistant coaches at Allegheny College. The University of Mississippi men's team has 33 coaches, and the women's team has 28 coaches in total while Allegheny College has 31 coaches for the men’s team and 25 coaches for the women’s team. The coaching staff is proportionate to the number of students’ participants.
The data provided on coaches’ salaries has a huge disparity because the men’s team coaches earn higher than women’s team at the University of Mississippi. Head coaches for the men’s team at the University of Mississippi earn approximately $1,172,858 annually per head while the women’s team coaches earn averagely $164,170 annually per head (EADA, 2015). The assistant coaches earn $204,469 and $66,474 average annually for the men and the women’s team respectively. However, at Allegheny College, the salaries are reasonable where head coaches’ annual average salary is $43,362 and $37,954 for the men and women’s teams respectively. These figures show that the men’s team coaches are paid highly compared to the women’s team coaches at the University of Mississippi (EADA, 2015). The figure shows that the means team head coaches are paid almost ten times annually compare to what the women’s team head coaches receive as well. The university needs to increase the salaries for the women’s team coaches to match that of the men’s team. However, salaries at Allegheny College have a slight difference, which could be explained by the number.
Revenues and Expenses
Allegheny College
Based on the data, both universities favor the men’s team because the expenses are higher than that used on the women’s team regardless of the games. However, the University of Mississippi spends extremely high on the men than the women’s team. The scholarships offered by the university are 59% and 41% for men and women respectively, at the University of Mississippi (EADA, 2015). OCR states clearly that, the difference in financial aid should be 1% or less. However, the university favors men, who get (18%) more financial aid than men. Therefore, the University of Mississippi does not comply with financial assistance requirements.
Are you surprised by your findings?
The findings of this analysis show that in large institutions such as the University of Mississippi, equality is not considered. I did not expect to get such findings. More men and women are taking part in sports while the staff continues to earn more salaries. However, institutions in the lower division such as Allegheny College are doing better in promoting equality. I would recommend that the both universities should increase staffing for the women’s team. To motivate and encourage more women to participate in sports, the University of Mississippi should increase the average annual salary for the women’ team coaches.
References
Maher, C. (2013). School Sports Psychology: Perspectives, Programs, and Procedures. London: Routledge Press.
EADA. (2015). The University of Mississippi.
http://ope.ed.gov/athletics/#/institution/details
EADA. (2015). Allegheny College.
http://ope.ed.gov/athletics/#/institution/details
