LINKS
PETITIONPlease sign our petition to save dropped OU sports. Click here. If your current circumstances or position with Ohio University do not require anonymity, we request that you sign with your name rather than as "Anonymous" as some have. Thank you and thanks to the Women's Lacrosse blog for setting up this petition.MORE LINKSBobcat Attack Message BoardOhio University Alumni AssociationOU Students have an active discussion going on in FaceBook.Com. Click here to go to FaceBook.Com and join in.OU Student Newspaper "The Post Online"www.EquityinAthletics.orgSave James Madison University Sports.orgTaking Inside Higher Ed to the MatEMAIL CONTACT FOR THIS SITE: SaveOUSports ATgmailDOTcom |
PARALLEL EFFORTS AT OTHER UNIVERSITIESStudent Athletes, Parents, and others from other universities suffering the same fate are fighting to save their teams. On this page, we will attempt to stay current and document their efforts.Equity In Athletics.OrgAn organization dedicated to reforming Title IXJames Madison University - Harrisonburg, VirginiaA recent email from Save JMU Sports.org:PoliticalOn Feb 7th there was a meeting at the VA House Ed Committee, below is a report from Jim Snyder a committed men's track parent who attended. VA Delegates continue to be engaged in this fight.Hi everyone. I want to give you an update on today's meeting with the VA House Education Committee. Mike Moyer (National Wrestling Assoc) and I were able to make it to Richmond, in the snow! Delegate Tata had arranged for David Black from the OCR to explain to the Delegates about Title IX. David Black was there, and did explain Title IX to them. It was very interesting how this was supposed to strictly be an informational meeting about Title IX and generic, to not mention any particular university. After about 2 minutes the name James Madison University came out, and it stayed out in the forefront for the entire 1 1/2 hour meeting!Delegate Tata "steered" the meeting toward specific questions. Those questions were the ones we wanted answered, such as:1) Was this JMU's only option (proportionality)? (No)2) Was David Black invited to give assistance prior to the decision? (No)etc.3) Why not prong 3?David Black explained the 3 prongs to the committee. The Delegates asked "many" questions. They really showed a sincere desire to want to know the facts. Of course they really tried (and successfully in many cases) to shoot holes in Title IX; About it's intended purpose vs. today's reality and impact etc.The discussion brought up the "big" football picture and the impact on Title IX. How Title IX needs to be looked at and reworked. There was very good dialogue and discussion.Delegate Tata then asked if I would like to address the Committee. So I did. I spoke from the position of:"we've heard all kinds of ideas and problems with Title IX. How it needs to be addressed, etc. But we haven't spoken much about the impact this decision has had on the 144 student athletes." I explained how their lives and their families, have been turned upside down by this horrible decision. I shared with them our total dismay as to how JMU could be allowed to do what they did. No public input (at a public university!) No input from anyone. A very secretive and suspect plan.I told them that we tried to create dialogue with the university but they totally refused to want to discuss any of it with us. I told them of the scarce number of replies we received from the Administration and the BOV. I also told them that is was said: "After a while, they will go away." And I explained that "we would not be going away!" Delegate Tata did state that they (Administration/BOV) were given direction by the VA Attorney General's Office to not respond to our pleas for dialogue. I told them how saddened and disappointed we were with this tactic.I proceeded to tell them how the freshmen kids were recruited, while at the same time the Administration knew that these cuts were going to take place. I expressed our collective total dismay to this action and the impact it has had. I told them that this was simply unacceptable and totally wrong! Then I asked them, "who does JMU have to answer too? It seems to me they can do as they please, when they please, with no one "monitoring" their moves. Do they answer to the taxpayers?" That comment stirred some interest. Delegate Lingamfelter immediately replied: "We control the purse strings! And maybe this is where we need to go to make sure situations like this don't happen in the future. Maybe we need to tie strings to the money that is sent to JMU. Forcing them to be open with their intentions." The pressure of not receiving funding for some of their grandiose plans may change the university thinking. I have to say their were a lot of positive faces from the Delegates when that statement was made. I think they got the message that there needs to be some accountability from the universities within their jurisdiction.I told them what a great institution JMU was. Except that this decision would most definitely affect the image of the university. They agreed, and showed sincere concern.I very adamantly expressed that the right thing to do would have been for the administration to notify the athletes being recruited last year about the elimination of the teams over the 4 years of their competing. And that all student athletes should have been given the opportunity to complete their athletic careers at JMU.I expressed our recommendation that we have talked about: to allow for the "play out" while Title IX was being "reworked. Insist that they implement Prong 3 - Student survey, and create a Task Force made up of students, athletes, faculty, community members, and administrators to monitor and guide the athletic programs at JMU.I was happy to "finally" have an opportunity to express to "someone" our feelings about this atrocity. I thanked them for being the first group to allow us to speak to them! I really think this meeting struck a nerve with the Delegates. The problem is that there is no way to generate legislation this late in the session. Dr. Rose knew this all along, hence the reason he kept "stringing" us, and Delegate Tata along (and Delegate Tata realizes it. He's not happy.) Delegate Tata did try to find a bill that would allow for the attachment of some type of legislation to assist immediately with this situation. It had to be a bill that had similar language. None to be found.I'm not sure what, if anything, will come from the meeting but, David Black did tell me at lunch that there were 3 people there from JMU. I have no idea who they may have been, and furthermore who really cares!But he assured me that Dr. Rose would know what was discussed by this afternoon. There were several reporters there from the Richmond area.Interestingly enough these was an article posted the next day on the JMU web site, check out the spin in the last paragraph.+++++++++++++++++++++Public RelationsThere are letters being written contacting the VA Attorney Generals office and also an online petition being signed that addresses the BoV and the VA General Assembly. We currently have 2580 current signatures and need your help in this.Please do the following to sign and get others to sign this petition:> Sign the petition and forward to your network of friends to sign> Forward to your student and request them to also forward to their network of friends attending JMUVery importantAs you sign be sure to indicate if you are a VA resident, JMU alum, current JMU student and/or any other affiliation with JMU or VA.Link to the petition++++++++++++++++++++++Legal FrontThe side of the fight is not dormant, more to come in the next week or two...+++++++++++++++++++What can I do to help continue this fight again JMU?> If you are a VA resident, contact your Delegate expressing your opinion over the JMU cuts and network with other VA residents to do the same.> Sign the on-line petition and forward it to others, ESPECIALLY VA residents and JMU alumsBest Regards,DonDon Smullen
The JMU Coalition to Save our Sports
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DROPPED TEAMS
2006 Women's Lacrosse Team
Women's Save Ohio Lacrosse Blog
LaxPower.com message board discussion on OU LAX
Women's Lacrosse web page at OU website
Swimming and Diving
Save Ohio Swimming and DivingandSave Ohio Swimming
Swimming and Diving web page at OU website
Save Ohio University Swimming Discussion Forum
Track and Field
Bringing Back Ohio Track Blog
Track and Field web page at OU website
YouTube video put together for the Track and Field Team
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Copyright 2007 - 2008 by SaveOUSports.org - Email: SaveOUSports AT gmail DOT comSaveOUsports.org is a non-profit group devoted to action that will reinstate discontinued varsity sports at Ohio University.
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