Title IX: Myth that Wrestling is Singled Out

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While it is easy to write page after page about the tragedy that is Title IX and the quota system that doesn't make any sense beyond sounding nice and fair in a middle school classroom, there is a myth that Wrestling is a sport that is singled out.

After all, we are wrestlers and extremely angry about Title IX and for good reason. We have successful programs eliminated and an extremely low amount of scholarships available because Title IX regulations loom. By regulations in simple terms: everything you give the boys you must give the girls. Because after all girls want to play sports as much as the boys do....right? We wrestlers also get upset because we simply can't start a program even when money isn't a factor. You can (and this has happened) walk in to an athletic office of a D1 university and show them an endowment that'll fund a Wrestling team till the end of days, and they will turn you away. You would have to create a successful women's program as well, because things need to be equal or proportionate to the student body.  

Getting back to the point I'm trying to make before ranting for ten pages, it's a common myth that Wrestling was singled out in this process. Everyone wants to point to the elimination of programs that happened, but Wrestling isn't alone. Did you know that Wrestling is one of only four men's sports that all Big Ten teams sponsor? Football, Basketball, Wrestling, and Golf are it. There are seven fully sponsored women's teams in the conference and often their male equivalent is not fully sponsored. It's crazy to contemplate that there are 12 men's cross country to 14 women's teams, 9 men's soccer to 14 women's soccer, 0 Men's rowing teams (2 schools do sponsor teams in a different conference) to 8 women's and 10 men's swimming teams to 13 women's teams. So you have the pool facilities obviously, but Title IX counting Football scholarships against all other sports means you cannot have a Men's team. 

The Big Ten is not alone in this. The SEC does not sponsor any Men's Soccer, Gymnastics, and has less men's teams in cross country, swimming, tennis, and indoor & outdoor track & field. This is all due to the quota system that makes up the requirements to meet Title IX. 

My point is that it's not just wrestling that Title IX has hurt. There is a common misconception that because wrestling does not have a female equivalent it is automatically cut. As you can see from sport sponsorship among major conferences, this is not true. Many other Men's sports are hurt and less sponsored than Women's sports. 

I don't have any magical solutions to include here other than not counting football. Football is a "cash cow" and should not be held against other men's programs. Of course ending Title IX's quota system would be fantastic all together. Women should be allowed protection from discrimination on a case by case basis and Title IX is there for that, but the quota system is too far to where it even hurts Women's teams in sports schools care most about (to then thin funds to less cared about sports for the quota). 

Let's actually come up with logical conclusions based on interest. Give schools the autonomy to provide the programs with resources they feel best about providing. Repealing Title IX would not cause some crazy windfall. It's not like any university in their right mind would suddenly eliminate all Women's sports teams. It would hurt their enrollment and Title IX would protect them anyway.