UC Berkeley Web Feature
Athletic Director Sandy Barbour's statement on women's athletics at Cal
24 August 2007
Senator Florez and committee members, I appreciate this opportunity to make comments on behalf of the University of California, Berkeley intercollegiate athletics programs, regarding Title IX, gender equity and the overall state of the Cal program.
Please know that I have the opportunity today to testify before you in my role as Director of Athletics at Cal because of the existence of Title IX. I believe without a shadow of a doubt that I have an opportunity to make a living as an educator within an intercollegiate athletic program because of the far reaching implications of this federal law which came into existence just as I was preparing to enter high school. By 1981, when I was graduating from college, Title IX was starting to have tangible, palpable impact on opportunities for women in intercollegiate athletics, and enabled me to envision a future as a coach and ultimately administrator on the college level. In 1967, much to the chagrin of my Naval Aviator father, who steadfastly asserted my right (or what he thought was my right) to participate in Little League, I was denied the opportunity to play organized baseball with my male neighbors and school mates. In 1996, I was named the first ever female athletic director at Tulane University, and at the time was only the 5th woman ever in the history of NCAA Division I-A. What a difference 30 years and a federal law can make.
I accepted the job at Cal in 2004 because I was passionately drawn to its clear mission of excellence in every aspect of its intercollegiate athletics program. I was attracted to Berkeley because not only do we have quality programs overall as evidenced by our top 10 NACDA Director's Cup finishes, but in particular Cal has an industry reputation for national championship caliber women's programs. In the last 6 years alone, Cal has won three team National Championships in women's programs, produced 25 individual or relay champions, and placed over 30 women's programs in the top 10 in their respective sports. Finally, in the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Cal female student athletes garnered 5 gold, 4 silver and 5 bronze medals. Those are medal counts that many countries would be envious of.
It was clear to me then, and is even more abundantly clear to me today, that Cal has an unwavering campus commitment to our women's intercollegiate programs. Let me provide a factual basis for that assertion:
- At 370 female participants for the 2005-06 academic year (most recently published EADA data) — Cal provides the second most participation opportunities for women in the Pac 10 (behind Stanford University), and more than all but 3 schools in a survey of 20 public peers in BCS conferences
- At 15 intercollegiate programs, Cal is in the top 10 percent of total program offerings for women in NCAA Division I-A
- Cal offers basketball, crew, cross country, field hockey, golf, gymnastics, lacrosse, soccer, softball, swimming, tennis, indoor and outdoor track, volleyball and water polo for women
- Cal has finished in the top 10 in the NACDA Director's Cup four out of the last five years. In each of those years, points from women's programs have constituted over 56% (and as high as 66%) of the department's total points for men's and women's sports
- With 8 of our 13 head coaches for women's programs being female, Cal is amongst the leaders in Division I-A in providing women opportunities for leadership (Cal was recently given an "A" in the Penn State "Glass Ceiling Report Card" for its commitment to hiring women in intercollegiate athletics).
As evidenced by our 15 programs and our 370 participation opportunities, Cal maintains a large and robust intercollegiate program for women. By virtue of this robustness, we maintain that we comply with the provisions of Title IX's participation requirements through test III, full accommodation of interests and abilities. This test requires that we continually monitor and evaluate our accommodation of these interests and Berkeley is committed to this on-going process. To that end, our GEDC is exploring ways in which the campus can utilize the UC common application process, and its associated questionnaires, to assist in the assessment of the athletics interest of our applicant pool. In addition, late in the spring we received an application for varsity status from our women's rugby club, and we will be reviewing their request through our UAB and GEDC this fall.
As reported in our most recent EADA submission, Cal currently exceeds the Title IX expectations in the area of financial aid, as the percentage of female student-athletes currently receiving athletically-related financial aid is actually greater than the percentage of female participants in the Cal athletics program.
Finally, in the third area of Title IX requirements, the "Laundry List", we continually monitor all aspects of our day to day operations to insure that we are structurally operating in a manner that is equitable from both a programmatic and gender viewpoint. These areas include (but are not limited to) recruiting, travel, academic support, publicity, sports medicine, scheduling of games and practices, equipment and facilities.
Our on-going efforts to provide equitable circumstances for our student athletes, has led us to recognize two problem areas within our facilities program. In particular, we have identified inequities in the provision of locker room facilities for a number of our Olympic sport programs, which include seven women's programs (as well as five men's programs). The proposed Student Athlete High Performance Center previously referenced by Chancellor Birgeneau (currently stalled due to litigation with the City of Berkeley and two other plaintiffs) has been designed to address the locker room, meeting room and office inequities which we have outlined. We have raised in excess of $100 million for this project, and it is slated to get underway as soon as the litigation is resolved. In addition, we are in the planning and fundraising phase to build a softball stadium which will address our one identified practice/competition facility inequity.
None of this is to say that I'm satisfied with where we are. We can always be better. That's what Berkeley is about — never being satisfied, always striving for more for our students, faculty and staff. Adherence to the letter and spirit of Title IX requires constant and ever-evolving diligence and commitment. To that end, we are consistently seeking outside and expert feedback and advice as to how our programs are meeting the expectations of Title IX . Those of us who have dedicated our careers to providing a high quality and equitable experience to every current or future student athlete within our programs, know the complexities of administering athletics programs under Title IX. These include examining and analyzing recruiting practices and normal recruitment area, market data, availability of coaching, travel and per diem allowances, existence of competition within the normal competitive region, evidence of interest, and sufficient competition at an appropriate competitive level. It simply is not as easy as just producing proportional opportunities in line with your campus' student population. Intercollegiate programs at Cal are about an exceedingly high level of competition, between increasingly talented and driven young people. Not all students want to spend the considerable time and effort necessary to compete in a varsity sport, and for them we offer a robust program of intramural and club sports. However, in order to support our highest performing student athletes, the composition of our intercollegiate sports menu demands careful and meticulous analysis and planning, with an eye towards providing meaningful competitive opportunities for our students. In that light, I am particularly proud of data which came from a student athlete survey conducted by our NCAA Certification Self Study team last year, which indicated that our student athletes, of both genders, are having an extremely positive experience in the highly competitive environment we have established.
The University of California, Berkeley has responded to the demands and the evolution of Title IX, in a manner that is consistent with its institutional mission. While some have chosen to meet the letter of the law by impacting and reducing opportunities for their male student athletes, the Berkeley campus has consistently chosen to meet the spirit and the intent of the law through expansion and enhancement of the opportunities and programs for women. Although we do not meet strict proportionality, we do offer a number of participation opportunities for women on our campus that exceeds all but a relatively small percentage of all NCAA Division I-A institutions. It would be incongruous to me, to solely require that we meet strict proportionality which could be accomplished within the letter of the law by providing fewer women's opportunities than we currently offer.
In closing, I am proud to be the Director of Athletics at the University of California, Berkeley. I take great pride in the athletic and academic successes of our student athletes. As a women, I am particularly proud of our record of success in our women's intercollegiate programs. I am most heartened by the positive experiences that our student athletes articulate during and after their undergraduate days at Cal. We can always strive to be better. You have my unwavering commitment to do everything within my power to ensure equitable experiences for our female student athletes. I believe that your efforts, and this hearing, signal to the people of the State of California and the nation, the seriousness with which we approach the matter of fairness and equity. We are appreciative of the opportunity to outline our efforts towards that end and look forward to engaging in on going dialogue with you about this. Thank you, Senator Florez.
— Sandy Barbour
Athletic director, University of California, Berkeley