State senator questions UC Davis' sports cuts

By Hudson Sangree 

Published: Tuesday, Jul. 13, 2010 - 12:00 am

In a Capitol hearing Monday, a state senator questioned the chancellor of the University of California, Davis, about a controversial decision earlier this year to eliminate the women's rowing team and three men's sports teams.

Sen. Dean Florez, D-Shafter, chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Gender Discrimination and Title IX Implementation, expressed skepticism about the university's commitment to gender equity in collegiate sports.

"We have in my view a very flawed process here," Florez told Chancellor Linda Katehi as the hearing started. The large meeting room was packed with dozens of athletes and their families.

Florez, the only lawmaker on the dais, said the decision to eliminate the teams lacked transparency and was announced in April without sufficient warning to student athletes or opportunities to explore alternatives.

"It doesn't seem like we're getting closer to proportionality," Florez said.

The university has been sued multiple times under Title IX, a federal law that requires schools receiving government funds to provide athletic opportunities for male and female students in proportion to their overall campus numbers.

A federal appellate court ruled in February that the university's decision in 2000 to cut women's wrestling was symptomatic of its poor performance complying with Title IX.

Under a settlement agreement reached last year in a separate lawsuit, university officials promised to provide additional opportunities for women to play intercollegiate sports.

Katehi, university athletics director Greg Warzecka and other top officials agreed to participate in Monday's hearing at Florez's request.

They defended their decision to cut the women's crew team and the three men's teams – swimming, wrestling and indoor track – as necessary in a time of drastic budget cuts.

They also said it was intended to preserve as many sports as possible. "Our whole strategy was to try to minimize the impact," Warzecka told Florez.

Katehi said the university has been forced to make $228 million in budget cuts since July 2008 and has eliminated more than 1,000 staff positions.

That has meant fewer courses, larger class sizes and a reduction in student services, she said.

University officials said they needed to close a $2.4 million budget deficit in intercollegiate athletics.

The decision to eliminate the four sports teams complies with last year's lawsuit settlement and with Title IX, Katehi said.

The university will continue to sponsor 14 women's teams with 339 participants and nine men's teams with 280 members, she said.

Katehi said she has long been committed to ensuring equal opportunities for women in higher education.

When Florez asked her if the elimination of the teams complies with the university's philosophy of providing wide opportunities for students to participate in sports, Katehi shot back, "There is philosophy and there is reality."

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