[The following report was presented to the UTK Faculty Senate on July 21, 1975.]
Athletics Committee
May 19, 1975
The committee reviewed the latest developments of the Title IX guidelines as of February 10, 1975. Mr. Ron Ledbetter, Staff Attorney, led a discussion and answered questions concerning the legal interpretations of these guidelines as they relate to intramural and intercollegiate sports.
The development of the women's intercollegiate sports program was presented to the committee by Dr. Nancy Lay, coordinator of the women's intercollegiate sports program at UTK, as a background for further study. She pointed out that the program has been in existence for twelve years, on a more limited basis, and financed primarily by the participants, the coaches, and through the aquatic center club program for part of this time. Since the beginning of the 1973-74 school year, the women's intercollegiate athletics program has been funded. The present program is administered by the women's physical education division reporting (fiscally) to Vice Chancellor Aldmon. The funding has been minimal but adequate. With rising costs of gasoline, food, lodging, equipment, uniforms, etc. the cost of operating the program has continued to rise. Since the advent of the Title IX guidelines, more and more colleges and universities are offering athletic scholarships for women. Although some women physical educators are philosophically opposed to athletic scholarships, the University of Tennessee at Knoxville will probably have no other alternative except to offer some type of scholarships for superior women athletes within the next year or two.
There has been improvement of opportunity for superior athletes on the UTK campus to compete in intercollegiate sports but this support should be accelerated over the next three year period. However, this does not mean that the women's program should parallel the men's.
The Chancellor has appointed a UTK Task Force to study and plan for the future of women's intercollegiate athletics at UTK. The senate committee on athletics would like to lend support to this Task Force and submit the following recommendations:
1. A study should be made of women's intercollegiate sports programs at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville and other schools of comparable size in the U.S. to include: purpose of program, governance, funding (amount and source), budget, coaching, recruiting, number of sports, and scholarships.
2. The purpose of the women's intercollegiate sports program at UTK should be determined and clearly defined: should the major focus be to provide opportunities for the participation of the superior woman athlete; or should the objective be to provide entertainment for the spectators with whatever public relations values may accrue. This difference in focus should determine the degree to which athletics are stressed and whether women's sports should be housed in an academic or non-academic department.
3. Women's athletics at UTK should be governed by women either through the Physical Education Division, the Athletic Department, or as a separate unit. This should be dependent upon the purpose and direction of the program.
Committee: Helen B. Watson, Chairperson; Dozier Cade, Kathleen Conlon, Hugh Granade, McDonald Gray, Harry T. Mathews, Harvey Wilkerson; Students: Laura Ellenburg, Janice Fowler; Ex Officio: Howard Aldmon, George Brady, Walter Herndon, Arthur Jones, Bob Woodruff.
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