Finally the big voice has spoken. Yesterday James Scherr, the CEO of the United States Olympic Committee delivered a letter to the President and Athletic Director of James Madison University calling for the institution to reconsider its decision to eliminate ten sports.

The letter marks the first time the USOC has has spoken out regarding such cuts, and addresses the issue of Title IX directly.

The letter reads, "It is well documented that the spirit of the Title IX law is to ensure opportunities for participation in sport are proportional and fair for men and women." It continues by stating that, "The intent of the law is not to discontinue sport programs for men or to eliminate Olympic sports from a university's athletic program." The cuts, announced two weeks ago, seek to cut costs within the department while strengthening existing programs. While eliminating these ten sports, JMU intends to reinvest resources into the remaining eighteen sports. The department's efforts stand in stark contrast to schools that have eliminated a sport only to reinvest the monies into administrative salaries or existing revenue-producing sports, and other schools which have retained their programs, but eviscerated them in the process.

"Your decision may allow JMU to get closer to its proportionality goals," the letter reads, "but it does great harm to the hundreds of student-athletes who currently represent your university so proudly."

Several supporters of the program have called into question the data JMU has used to justify the programs elimination. They cite inconsistencies in the number of male athletes reported by an outside consultant with the reality on campus. In one example, the consultant's report cited thirty-six members of the wrestling team, when in reality there were just twenty-eight in a sport that was capped at thirty. According to figures provided to the Department of Education there were 371 male athletes and 326 female athletes, a 53.2-46.8% ratio. This is a ratio that has withstood the scrutiny of previous DOE investigations.

It also points to the real reason, many suspect, the teams were eliminated - money. According to figures provided by the DOE, the department can recoup $40,701 in operating expenses from the elimination of men's swimming. This does not, however, account for coaches salaries, (which average $90,005 for head coaches and $59,081 for assistants) at JMU or pool operations expenses. Both expenses will remain despite the elimination of the team.

Read Full Letter Here

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