Student athletes are some of the most dedicated people at Ball State -- or any university for that matter. They not only participate in hours of practice, preparation and games but they also perform (and often excel) in their classes. They represent a higher standard we should all work toward.
Unfortunately, there is a problem. It's a big problem. It doesn't just occur here, but across the country. The problem has caused smaller or poorer universities to terminate their sports programs. Some have cut programs just to continue existing.
The problem is Title IX.
For those unaware of Title IX, it is the statute that forces public schools to provide equal funding for sports programs regardless of sex. For every male athletic scholarship, there must be one female athletic scholarship. It sounds great: equality for all. Social justice at its finest -- but the law of unintended consequences has had quite the field day with this statute.
Sometimes it is hard to find female athletes, or the money, to keep the balance.
Ball State has been lucky. Without having to cut programs, we have been able to maintain the balance of scholarships and keep within the confines of compliance. Unfortunately the cost to stay there is not justifiable.
For example: Our women's field hockey team. Talk about a great team. There is no doubt that Ball State chose wisely when it picked the players to make up its team.
The problem is that none of them is from Indiana.
Indiana's taxpayers, Indiana students and a publicly funded university have provided an entire team of female athletes with scholarships, and none of them is from the Hoosier state.
That bothers me, and it should bother you too.
I have no beef with the athletes. Obviously, they are skilled players possessing a talent that most do not have. Unfortunately when Ball State has to recruit players from as far away as Zimbabwe just to comply with a law of equality, it seems to have gone far beyond its original intent into foolishness.
I support equality in all its forms. But the law was written to prevent discrimination, and has now turned into a hunt for athletes that apparently spans the globe. Perhaps the law needs some rethinking.
Maybe the scholarships need to go beyond athletics. Perhaps those scholarships could be used for female students studying sports medicine. Perhaps they could just be designated for female students attending college. Perhaps academics could actually be a substitute for athletics.
I don't have the solution to this. It's a complex problem that has been debated across the country. But this makes a blatant point: Indiana taxpayer dollars should go to Indiana students.
Just because a student possesses a talent shouldn't mean that she is somehow more sought after and more important than those who are attending college for the principle and fundamental reason of academics.
Equality is the point, isn't it?
Write to Russell at rlg@temporalfront.com
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