Egad, where to start with this. Well let's start with this loaded quote:

"I think this is what college athletics needs%u2026take football and men%u2019s basketball out of D-I and II college athletics altogether and a great deal can be gained."

1) D-II? really? What have the likes of Albany State and North Greenville ever done to contribute to the corruption of college football?

2) I assume what you really meant was FBS ad FCS, becasue D-I football dissolved many years ago, but what do details matter to someone with an agenda. And back to point 1, FCS? what have the likes of North Dakota State and Lehigh ever done to contribute to the corruption of college football?

3) I'm guessing your motivation is directed at the transgressions of a handful of FBS schools, of which there are 119 teams. Add FCS 124 and D-II 282, and you basically want to eliminate 525 football teams because of the sins of a small group of individuals.

4) A great deal can be gained? By who? I'm sure the President of the University of Michigan would be delighted to see his 110,000-seat stadium collect dust all year. And I'm sure the local business owners of Ann Arbor would gladly part ways with tourist revenue knowing that D-II "criminals" like Doane college have been eradicated. And what about the tens of thousands of young men who participate in the two most popular sports? ah, screw em, I'm sure they'd just grow up to sell helmets for tatoos. And of course I'm sure the millions of fans would just smile and readily move their allegiance and spending to the swim and track teams.

5) That's a lot of men's scholarships you propose cutting (98 between football and basketball). Even adjusting for some current imbalances and adding a couple minor sports for the men, you're still looking at slashing numerous women's scholarships to bring Title IX into balance. Given any thought to that?

Friday, December 2, 2011 at 10:30pm EST

Let's continue:

"Doesn't a university have ... an obligation and responsibility to put the well-being of children ahead of potential scandal and shaming high profile men's programs and their coaches?"

- Well, yes. But unfortunately for your sad argument, only one school is guilty of such matters, that would be singular, not plural. but I guess you may as well throw the other couple hundred "men's" programs into the guilt pool while the opportunity is hot. Let Penn st football burn for what they did, no one will apologize for them, but to say the entire sport needs to go away as a result reeks of lack of perspective and pre-determined agenda.

Saturday, December 3, 2011 at 2:07am EST

Normally Dr. LaVoi does a better job of camouflaging her true intent in her posts. Not so much this time is seems%u2026"the current model of "sport" (i.e. meaning the male model of win at all costs, big business, professionalization) is broken".

So I guess according to LaVoi it isn%u2019t really even a football or basketball problem, its a "male" problem. Its quite interesting how her views so closely align with those of her coworker Dr. Kane who also contributes here. Similarly another frequent contributor, Pat Griffin, advised in her 2002 Education Kit for the "It Takes A Team!" initiative that one of the "Benefits" of this Billy Jean King funded venture was to "Redefine Masculinity". Feel free to google it as the white paper is out there in PDF format for your reading pleasure. I guess I assumed contextually that was their objective I just didn't think they'd have the stones to actually publish it.

I'm a former college scholarship athlete myself but frankly never had more than a passing interest in women's athletics until a few years ago when my nieces became interested in playing volleyball and basketball and my sister started asking my advice. So I launched myself into a two year exercise in trying to understand women's athletics better so I could speak intelligently about it when my sis was asking for input. It%u2019s been interesting to say the least.

In spite of the obvious and well documented success of Title IX, Dr. Lavoi and friends will never be satisfied until they are able to destroy what they see as the "Male Model" of sports. It is no small coincidence that most of the folks promoting this agenda exist only in academia, where they are allowed to promote gender feminist ideology at the expense of logic and truth without question and protected by tenure. This is less an athletic agenda and much more about their vision of what our society should become.

She well knows that her concept of getting rid of football and basketball has less than zero chance of happening. Maybe this post is her way of venting. That might explain why she posted a picture of the Tampa Bay Storm cheerleaders that someone photoshopped Texas Tech logos onto and claimed it to be the Tech swim team. Google Texas Tech Bikinigate for the true story about that photo. So I guess the real question is did LaVoi already know the photo was a fake when she threw it out there as proof of the evil patriarchy or was she just being lazy?

On a more positive note this blog has helped me find a few very cool role models for my nieces in Elena Delle Donne and Jenn Shelton. I also wouldn%u2019t have read Mike Sokolove's great book "Warrior Girls" and been able to warn my sis about the ACL injury risk to her girls without this blog. So Thanks to this community for that info.

I just think the gender feminists should keep their propaganda where it belongs which to my way of thinking isn't here.

Saturday, December 3, 2011 at 1:09pm EST

Thanks for the counter points. My purpose was to stimulate dialogue, and provide one perspective. I know there are holes in the argument, and it isn't meant as a "solution" but to consider reform of college sports in general, much of which is needed. I didn't know about the "bikinigate" so thanks for pointing that out! Finally, where other's perspectives are called "propaganda" that does little to forward dialogue, collegiality, or promote critical thinking. I always value other's perspectives, am willing to admit if I have something wrong, but to attack and call names is unproductive. Finally, to discuss only the transgressions of one (or two) big time men's programs as bad decisions made only by a few men within a few teams, is to ignore and erase the entire structure of college sports which creates a climate in which those "decisions" are made, and at worst protected and covered up. My big picture point is that college sport as it currently exists is broken and is in need of reform...and that starts with the sports that are most highly visible, valued, and promoted. -nml

Saturday, December 3, 2011 at 6:42pm EST

Fair enough. We agree that reforms are needed, just think removing football and men's hoops all together is quite extreme.

To me, basketball would be the easiest to fix. If the NBA structured itself as MLB does, i.e. create a minor league system. This would give those players who have no interest (or quite frankly, don't belong) in higher education a differnt path to pursue their professional goals. In fact, it would probably improve play on both levels as it would eliminate many of the the one-and-done players in college and allow the NBA to more fully groom its youth.

Football, much more difficult. I do think we're heading in the direction where the top 60 or so programs set off on their own, leave the ncaa, and form their own governing body. This won't solve the corruption at the larger programs (in fact, perhaps exacerbate them) but it would largely separate the smaller programs from that type of culture and structure. It wouldn't necessarily "solve" the issues, as much as just "isolate" them.

Sunday, December 4, 2011 at 12:16am EST