DETROIT - At least 30 colleges across the nation are not giving female athletes their fair share of athletic scholarship money, according to a report released Tuesday by the National Women's Law Center.

The difference between scholarship dollars given to men and women participating in athletics violates federal gender equity laws, the center said. If women comprise 40 percent of athletes, they should get between 39 and 41 percent of the athletic scholarships, the center said.

The center said women lost out on $6.5 million in athletic scholarships based on a one-year period at the schools in 24 states. The list does not include every school that might not be in compliance with Title IX, the law center said.

The schools will receive letters from the center, warning them of their possible violations of Title IX, the federal law that requires gender equity in schools receiving federal funds. The group also demanded that the schools rectify the inequities.

The law center released its report in celebration of the 30th anniversary of Title IX, which became law on June 23, 1972.

"Thirty years after Title IX our young women are still being shortchanged," said Marcia Greenberger, law center co-president. "Sex discrimination in athletic scholarships has a harmful and practical impact on female students and their families, who are trying to make ends meet while also paying for college tuition. We hope these schools will come forward to fulfill their legal obligation to their female athletes and treat them fairly."

At Michigan State University, one of the schools cited in the report, Terry Denbow, vice president for university relations, said the athletic department identified gender equity in athletic scholarships as an issue in 1997. Within the last two years, female athletic participation has increased in proportion to MSU's female enrollment, he said.

"We are working on scholarship proportionality and we are pleased with our progress," Denbow said. "We do have a plan and we are on target for closing the gap."

Denbow said he could not say how long it would take and declined to comment on the law center report.

The athletic scholarship gap represents the difference between the percentage of female athletes and the percentage of scholarships they receive. Title IX requires that the percentages of total athletic scholarship dollars awarded to male and female athletes to be within 1 percent, or one scholarship, of their total athletic participation rates.

The gaps for academic year 2000-01 ranged from 4 percent to 17 percent, or $993 to $6,545 per year, for a loss of between $3,972 and $26,180 during a female athlete's four-year college career.

Male athletes received an average of $7,875 and female athletes received an average of $5,744, a difference of $2,131 per year, according to the report.

At MSU, women received an average of $2,376 less per year than male athletes. At WMU, the gap was $993 between male and female athletes.

Although the University of Michigan was not named in the report, the scholarship gap between male and female athletes was $2,244, based on U.S. Department of Education data.

Neena Chaudhry, the law center's senior counsel, said hundreds of colleges and universities across the country were selected for analysis based on size, location and whether the institution was public or private to achieve a broad base of representation.

"Just because a school was not selected does not mean it is in compliance with Title IX," Chaudhry said.

While female participation in intercollegiate athletics has increased 400 percent since Title IX was passed, resources for women's programs continue to lag behind those for men, the law center said.

Megan McCallister, U-M associate athletic director, said the scholarship gaps do not reflect the limits on scholarships imposed by the National Collegiate Athletic Association.

At U-M, for example, officials are allowed to award 85 scholarships to the football team, which means 70 percent of the 122-member team receive scholarships, McCallister said. By comparison the largest number of scholarships allowed by the NCAA for women is the 20 scholarships awarded to the 94-member women's crew team, meaning only 21 percent of the team is on scholarship, McCallister said.

"The NWLC data does not represent what we are doing at Michigan in terms of aid," she said.

McCallister, 33, who benefited from the passage of Title IX, attended the University of Southern California on a volleyball scholarship, played on the U.S. National Volleyball Team from 1991 to 1993 and then began a career in athletic administration.

"Now it's part of the culture for women to aspire to college scholarships and professional careers," McCallister said. "In terms of professional opportunities, women are not close to men. But young women can wear the Michigan uniform, compete in Olympic games and have opportunities to play professionally."

At U-M, 13 of 25 sports teams are women's teams. Last year, the women's field hockey team won the national championship and this spring the women's softball team played in the world series.

Access to athletic scholarships at the college level is one of the issues behind a lawsuit filed by two Grand Rapids, Mich., mothers against the Michigan High School Athletic Association.

The group, known as the Communities for Equity, charged that the MHSAA discriminated against girls sports by scheduling them in nontraditional seasons, which limits college recruiters' access to the athletes.

In December, U.S. District Judge Richard Enslen agreed with them and ordered MHSAA to draft a plan to end the discrimination. A July 18 hearing is scheduled before Enslen on the MHSAA plan. MHSAA has appealed Enslen's discrimination ruling to the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati.

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(c) 2002, Detroit Free Press.

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Information Services.
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