Bringbacktitanfootball.com is a website dedicated to the reinstatement of the Cal State Fullerton Football Team to active and competitive status. No matter if the team was winning championships or experiencing a difficult season, many students, alumni and fans were supportive of the program up until its cancellation. We believe that reinstating the Cal State Fullerton Football Team will provide a greater sense of pride and cohesiveness among current students, alumni and the community at large in the greater Orange County, California area. One of the main arguments for the elimination of the Cal State Fullerton Football program in 1992 was overall apathy and a lack of fan support. We believe that fan apathy towards the Cal State Fullerton Football Team no longer exists in today's climate. By reading this passage and by visiting this website you have taken a positive step forward towards eventually bringing back the Titan Football program.
Getting to Know Title IX
Whenever the question of why Cal State Fullerton no longer fields an NCAA football team is raised, many explanations abound. Fan apathy, a poor win/loss record, lack of support from the administration, exorbitant costs to maintain the program and inevitably, Title IX are some of the reasons offered. The truth is there is not just one reason why the Cal State Fullerton Football program was dropped. Now that the climate is warming to the idea of bringing back the Titan Football Team in some capacity, one of the main obstacles will be Title IX compliance. For those that are unfamiliar with with Title IX, known as the Patsy T. Mink Equal Opportunity in Education Act or the “Gender Equity Law,” here are some resources to help understand the history and the potential pitfalls resurrecting the Titan Football team faces.
Simply put, Title IX is a 37-word United States law enacted on June 23, 1972. It states: “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.” Despite the fact that no where in the text of the Title IX law does it mention gender equity as it pertains to athletic competition, that is predominantly where the battles were waged and continue to be fought for gender equality.
Since the passage of Title IX, the law was open to interpretation widely until the U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare under Jimmy Carter’s administration issued a policy interpretation for Title IX in 1979. This policy interpretation has become known as the “three-prong test” of an institution’s compliance. A recipient of federal funds can demonstrate compliance with Title IX by meeting any one of the following three prongs.
1. Providing athletic opportunities that are substantially proportionate to the student enrollment, OR
2. Demonstrate a continual expansion of athletic opportunities for the underrepresented gender, OR
3. Full and effective accommodation of the interest and ability of underrepresented gender.
In regards to bringing back the Cal State Fullerton Football team, the administration and invariably the lawyers assigned to represent the California State University system will have to agree on which prong they believe needs to be followed in order to be in compliance to avoid costly lawsuits.
If the first prong is the one that Fullerton administrators and attorneys choose to follow, bringing back Titan Football would mean two to three new sports exclusively for women would need to be created. Since the student population on Cal State Fullerton’s campus is 60% women and 40% men, complying with the first prong would mean that all athletic teams fielded by Cal State Fullerton need to have 60% of the athletes be women. Past history has shown that the CSUF administration has chosen to follow the first prong closely.
This article is not intended to express an opinion on which way Cal State Fullerton should view and interpret the Title IX law. It is merely intended to provide some background and history in regards to the Title IX compliance and potential options to remain in compliance while still resurrecting the Titan Football team.
For more information on Title IX, please visit the following resources:
Title IX explained by Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
December 15th, 2007 at 7:23 am
Here’s the solution. Have a women on the team, making it a female sport, too. Problem solved. Let me know what else you need me to break down.