By Juliette Bournay
It is a typical game day for the Kalamazoo College Women’s Soccer team as they anticipate their 7 p.m. kickoff at Mackenzie Field. The bleachers quickly fill with family, friends, roommates, and all else until the fans are spilling out of the stands. An intense group of soccer dads loom on the sidelines and close friends of the players sit almost touching the turf, while a large “K” flag waits to fly in between halves. There are only a few missing pieces, however. The ball shaggers usually posted at each end of the field are nowhere to be found, and the announcer is missing from the press box.
Only 200 feet behind the soccer field sits Angell Field, packed with even more fans to watch the Kalamazoo College Football team. The once absent announcer is now found in their press box instead, leaving the soccer team without their usual support.
The inequalities faced between men and women in athletics are no secret, nor specific to K either. Incorporated as a federal law in 1972, Title IX of the Education Amendments states that “No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.” Specifically, in athletics, it requires equal treatment of male and female student-athletes in providing equipment, game and practice schedules, travel services, allowance, coaching, locker rooms, facilities, training services, publicity, and more. However, female student-athletes at K feel ignored even after the passion that former Athletic Director, Becky Hall, shared for gender equity.
Senior Emma Stickley of the Women’s Volleyball team believes that K’s visible inequalities are not a lack of trying, but just the nature of sports. “As much as we want women’s and men’s sports to be equal, historically, men’s are held with such a higher weight, which carries over to K,” she said. Stickley’s Senior Integrated Project, or S.I.P., focused on the budgets of NCAA Division 3 schools, which supported her interest in this topic, aside from being a student-athlete herself.
She noticed that the post-game summaries for men’s games are often more thorough than women’s, a component of unfair advertising. Additionally, the amount of athletic gear provided for men’s teams sets them apart, she said. “When you are looking around on campus and see all the men’s teams in their gear, they are able to support their team, their brand, more than us.” While individual team budgets and the way that coaches allocate money play a significant role, it still falls back to the basis of equal opportunity.
When male student-athletes were asked about the same issues of inequalities, they simply pinpointed the idea of how many people are physically at each sporting event. They acknowledged that women’s teams do not get as much support as men’s, suggesting an incentive to get more fans interested.
Stickley believes that the first step in resolving these issues includes an open line of communication with the people in power. “When you see something, say something,” she said.
Katie Miller, the Assistant Athletic Director for Compliance, Senior Woman Administrator, and Chair of the Physical Education Department reflected similarly, informally proposing a reporting process for athletes. “The more that student-athletes are willing to give us information, then the better we can act on these changes,” Miller said.
Tanya Jachimiak, the Title IX Coordinator and Director of the Office of Gender Equity and Access, agreed that there are gender inequalities at all schools, not just K. She shared that since her short year and a half in her position, the athletic department did a self-review with Title IX in 2021 to evaluate areas that they believed were unequal. They made changes to the locker rooms, uniform access, and strength and conditioning coaches. “There are lots of things that need to be done,” Jachimiak said, “and the athletic department is proactive rather than reactive.” Even so, there are still financial constraints that begin to overrun this established battle of the sexes.
Fundraising accounts for a large part of the athletic budget, which occurs through the Hornet Athletics Association of Charitable Giving, direct mail pieces, annual jamborees, and the formation of direct connections with donors. As explained by Andy Miller, Associate Vice President for Development, and Lindsay Donohue, Senior Director of Constituent Programs and Annual Giving, alumni are at the core of the giving base for Division 3 athletics, due to the lack of television revenue and corporate sponsors that would be recognized in Division 1. Friends and family are secondary donors but are still limited to smaller amounts dedicated to a specific sport, not the whole athletic program.
Past fundraisers have supported renovations of the varsity weight room, Anderson Athletic Center, and the golf lab. Miller and Donohue shared that it is very important to think creatively when curating relationships with donors in order to secure gifts that will benefit men’s and women’s teams. “It is important that we not exacerbate the problems by raising more for the men’s programs without making sure that women’s teams are having equal experiences,” Miller said, “At the end of the day, that’s what Title IX is all about.”
Allocating money equally seems like an easy solution to the problem, but Jenna LeRoy, the Director of Finance in the Business Office explained the budgeting process that determines each team’s specific spending. The business and fundraising offices ultimately work hand in hand managing where money is being spent once it is received. This process begins with the department heads, such as the athletic directors, requesting a dollar amount for their spending, which is normally too high for the school to meet. These requests go to the vice president overseeing area reviews who passes them on to the business office and finally works with the president’s staff to assess what they want to fund.
Essentially, being able to issue equal funds to athletic teams is based on their larger spending initiatives, such as travel for away games. “This process always begins with collaboration between the departments,” LeRoy said, “we try to make it as united as possible.”
Current student-athletes, specifically women’s teams, hope to see continued changes towards these inequalities. While the budget is a never-ending barrier in this process, it is important that they feel adequately represented for their success, whether on the track, court, or field.
Leave a Reply