Where Is The Line With Title Nine?

Sophomore women’s basketball player, Maggie McFerrin, walked on to the Lady Rebels for the 2010-2011 season. After becoming a starter towards the end of the year, there was buzz about McFerrin receiving scholarship money for her contributions to the team.

After meeting with head coach, Renee Ladner, McFerrin was informed that she would not be receiving any scholarship for the 2011-2012 season. Onlookers wondered why, and linked this case to the recent violations of Title IX in the NCAA.

Title IX states: “No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.”

Ole Miss Executive Associate Athletics Director, Lynette Johnson, said “It’s nothing about women, it’s about the under represented sex. It doesn’t say the word ‘woman’ anywhere in the law. It is about equality for all student athletes.”

Equality for all student athletes isn’t based on numbers, but percentages. The Ole Miss Sports website posts their EADA (Equity in Athletics Data Analysis) report annually. After doing some simple math, one can see that Ole Miss does a nearly perfect job in carrying out Title IX.

Within Title IX, it states there must be equality from the recruiting process up to the scholarship offer, and beyond.

“There are two types of scholarships: an equivalency scholarship, based on percentages, and a headcount scholarship, based on each individual,” Johnson said. “Scholarships are decided by the coaches based on their assessment of a student athlete’s performance.”

The women’s basketball team can offer 15 full scholarships. With 10 females on the 2010-2011 roster, and three graduating, it’s hard to say why McFerrin still didn’t receive scholarship.

However, McFerrin is relentless. “Quit? That’s not an option; I love the game, that’s why I play. If I don’t receive money for one year, I’ll try harder and hopefully get it the next.”

As far as Title IX is concerned, Johnson is adamant that it has improved athletics. “It is vital.” She said. “I wouldn’t be here today if it weren’t for Title IX. I’m a woman and look at my office! It tremendously helps the under represented sex, as well as many other student athletes that are often overlooked.”

http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/ole/genrel/auto_pdf/EADA2010.pdf