The U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights, informed the University of Colorado at Boulder's chancellor last week that CU's athletic department has satisfactorily met the Corrective Action Agreement provision on recruitment expenditures for men's and women's teams and no further reporting is required.
In a letter to Chancellor Richard L. Byyny from Lillian Gutierrez, director of the OCR Denver Office, dated April 4, Gutierrez stated, "the university is allocating recruiting budgets proportional to the unduplicated number of men and women athletes, and expended funds are equivalent in effect and adequate to meet team recruiting needs.
"On behalf of my office, I wish to thank the staff and coaches of the athletic department for their many efforts addressing the gender-equity provisions of the CAA, not the least of which is the addition of two new women's sports, golf and soccer, to the intercollegiate program," Gutierrez wrote.Ìý
"I add our appreciation to Mr. Richard A. Tharp, athletic director, for his leadership and guidance supporting these achievements," she continued. "The flagship reputation of the university in academics, postgraduate education and wide-reaching research seems conveyed as well in the worthwhile opportunities and experiences it offers all student athletes."
"This is excellent news," said Byyny. "Since I became chancellor, we have worked hard to ensure full compliance with Title IX and gender equity. It is good to have the final issue regarding expenditures on recruiting resolved."
The finding concludes monitoring of the university as a result of a Feb. 23, 1994 Corrective Action Agreement. In August 2000, the university issued a report to the OCR detailing compliance with all of the concerns showing CU to be in full compliance with Title IX.
One final issue -- CAA Provision No. 12(a) regarding recruitment expenditures -- has now been resolved. The issue involved differences in expenditures that existed in both the men's and women's programs. The differences were the result of discretionary decisions by coaches to not spend recruitment funds that they believe did not support the programmatic goals of their teams and their efforts to pursue athletic championships.
Male and female participation in athletics at the University of Colorado at Boulder is considered to be proportional to the student population at the university. In 2000, 51.7 percent of the students were men, 48.2 percent female. Athletes were 56.7 percent male, 43.3 percent female.
In her letter, Gutierrez also commended the university for "its thoughtful recognition of the 30th anniversary of Title IX by awarding 45 former women student-athletes with varsity letters and the hosting of a reunion for them."