Bonnie Erbe

Delaware State Axes Equestrian Team, Possibly Violating Title IX

March 15, 2010 RSS Feed Print

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By Bonnie Erbe, Thomas Jefferson Street blog

Now here's a Title IX lawsuit after my own heart. The Women's Law Project, a Philadelphia-based group suing in behalf of women's rights, has filed suit against Delaware State University for deciding to eliminate its equestrian team at the end of this school year.

This suit resonates with me because I, too, compete in equestrian sports and I know what an incredible confidence-builder it can be for young women. But here's where the plot thickens. Delaware State is a Historically Black College/University or HBCU. African-Americans participate in the kind of equestrian sport in which I participate, hunter-jumper shows--in percentages much lower than their representation in the general U.S. population. So why Delaware State would have an equestrian team is somewhat of a mystery to me.

Apparently the sport was important enough to DSU to recruit and give out 20 scholarships to female students who were already accomplished equestrians. At the same time as those 20 positions were cut, so were six tennis scholarships for men. But according to one legal analyst points out, these cuts put the school even further out of whack with the proportionality in spending on men's and women's sports required by Title IX:

Student body breakdown, based on the EADA stats, is 40 percent male and 60 percent female. Proportionality requires a similar breakdown of athletic opportunities. Before the cuts, athletic opportunities were distributed 56 percent men, 44 percent women, a 16 percentage point disparity. The cut of tennis (6) would bring the total number of male opportunities from 226 to 220, 58 percent of total. Cutting equestrian (20) brings women's opportunities from 177 to 157, 42 percent of the total. Now the disparity is 18 percentage points, nowhere close to substantial proportionality. So, since none of the three prongs are satisfied, DSU's decision to cut equestrian is a clear violation of Title IX's requirement for equity in the number of opportunities.

The school is blaming budget cuts for the elimination of men's tennis and women's equestrian sports. But questions remain: why would DSU create a women's team in a sport not very popular with African-American women (perhaps to draw more of them into the sport)? And why would a school already apparently so out of compliance with Title IX, make greater cuts in women's sports in times of economic trouble, than in men's sports?

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kikus of AL 7:16PM June 12, 2010

Terry and RL: NCAA only recognizes Women's Equestrian as a sport. Other colleges and universities have club teams that participate in the IHSA (Intercollegiate Horse Show Association). NCAA has a fixed number of scholarships associate with each sport - 12 for Equestrian, which can be split across as many riders as the coaches choose. IHSA schools may or may not provide scholarships. NCAA Equestrian teams are fully funded by the school - there are no fees to the students for participation, other than the time they put into practice, fund raising, and required community service activities. IHSA teams are typically funded by the students, through membership fees, lesson fees, travel expenses, etc., and fund raising/sponsorships.
The "home barn" aspect is mostly due to it being a relatively new team. It's hard to recruit riders to a new program, so local talent tends to be used. There are several riders from SW Virginia, and at least one from NJ and PA. Next year's freshmen would have included athletes from Florida, Canada, and potentially a couple of Europeans
College Sports Council: You know that Title IX doesn't mean quotas. There are three prongs that can be used to satisfy the participation requirements. There are still financial and other components of Title IX that have to be satisfied, too. Is there any reason why you don't post comments to your diatribes? I've commented on three of them and know other that have submitted comments that have never seen the light of day.
Michael: I agree with you that schools should focus more on prongs 2 and 3. The CSC recommends prong 3 - determining interest through model surveys. This would be a great way of it was done correctly, but there are far too many holes in it to be truly representative. The Equestrian team at DSU has lost support from other athletes because their coaches have told them to stay out of it, with the implied risk of losing their scholarships. Are these students going to participate in a survey that their name is attached to? I doubt it. An existing team, with incoming recruits, is proof of interest. What more do they want or need to show this?

joe of MD 2:54PM April 07, 2010

After reading this I'm naturally in a defensive mood. Yes, the fact that an equestrian team at a hbcu is very uncommon but is the author of this article implying that an African-American cannot ride a horse? Personally, the reoccurring comment of equestrian team at a hbcu is uncommon is irrelevant especially if you're trying to prove an educated point. The question isn't, why Delaware State have an equestrian team? It is why have the faculty members of this university did not provide a secure financial plan for those students affected by their decision? Obviously, the students who were granted a scholarship will leave Delaware State if the university cannot reinstate the team. See if you would of done your research instead of being dogmatic and stereotypically in your thoughts and opinions you would of known that Delaware State University has proven to be unique and diverse compared to other historically black colleges and universities. For an example, in majors such as pre-veterinary science and aviation, as well as, extracurricular activities. So the fact that Delaware State having an equestrian shouldn't be so surprising.

Vanessa of DE 12:14AM March 31, 2010

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