Staff Writer

Equality in high school sports may soon be documented.

U.S. Sen. Olympia Snowe of Maine and Sen. Patty Murray of Washington introduced the “High School Sports Information Collection Act,” a bill to Congress Feb. 25. If passed it would require high schools to disclose information to the state department of education in regard to equity in sports and report participation of sports by race, gender and ethnicity, as well as expenditures, such as travel expenses, equipment and uniforms.

Snowe said the bill would ensure Title IX, which is legislation banning discrimination in both academics and athletics.

“Since my first day in Washington in 1979, I have been a stalwart supporter of Title IX, which has been the driving factor in allowing thousands of women and girls the opportunity to benefit from intercollegiate and high school sports. Let there be no mistake what this 37-year-old landmark civil rights law is all about – equal opportunity for both girls and boys to excel in athletics. In fact, prior to Title IX, only 1 in 27 high school girls – fewer than 300,000 – played sports. Today, the number is more than 2.9 million, an increase of over 900 percent,” Snowe said.

Title IX refers to a section of the “Educational Amendments Act of 1972” and 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.”

Snowe said she first introduced the act extending Title IX to high schools to the 108th Congress in 2003-2004 and has continued to reintroduce the legislation each Congress.

University of Southern Maine Assistant Athletic Director B.L. Elfring said all college athletic programs follow the Equity in Athletics Disclosure Act (EAD), which requires athletic directors to break down information of sports programs and expenditures.

Elfring said the EAD Act tests the proportionality of programs compared with the number of students attending a school. He said it also gives a history of how the school has adjusted its programs to the changing numbers of students who go to the college over time. 

Saint Joseph’s College Athletic Director Brian Curtin said data is reviewed by the number of athletes participating at the school, along with the gender of both players and coaches. He said information is also required for operational expenditures of each sport and the operational expenditure average of each student. 

Curtin said for colleges that give athletic scholarships, the number of scholarships per sport must also be reported. 

“It’s a nice snapshot of where your money is going,” Curtin said. 

Elfring said some sports appear uneven in numbers, such as football, because football teams typically have 75 to 80 players, and there is no women’s program with the same amount of players. He said baseball would also be different from softball, as baseball teams carry more pitchers because of the arm motion and stress on a baseball pitcher’s arm.

Kennebunk High School Athletic Director Martin Ryan, who is also the director of the Maine Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association, said the association wrote to the National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association opposing the bill and said the group thinks it would involve more work than necessary.

Ryan said collecting data would take a day to a day and a half to put together. He said all colleges have compliance officers to help with data collection and forms, while athletic directors at high schools must complete the work themselves. He said while some states throughout the country might be in need of the High School Information Collection Act, Maine does not need the act.

Calls to athletic directors at Bonny Eagle, Scarborough, South Portland, Gorham and Thornton Academy were not returned, while Sanford Athletic Director Gordie Salls referred to Ryan.

“I believe this measure will continue the tradition of giving women and girls an equal opportunity to participate in student athletic programs by allowing us to assess current opportunities for sports participation for young women and correct any deficiencies,” Snowe said. “With this new information, we can ensure that young women all over the country have the chance not only to improve their athletic ability, but also to develop the qualities of teamwork, discipline and self-confidence that lead to a successful life off the playing field.”