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them to be implemented. They were
housed under the Department of Physi-
cal Education. They first functioned
like intramural teams, but by the late
.1_960s, they competed against other
schools, though at a disadvantage, since
many other institutions had women's
varsity teams.
Canham made numerous trips to
Washington to "talk some sense" into
Ford. Schembechler traveled there at least
once. But despite his appeals to the presi-
dent as a former athlete on a men's squad,
Ford was resolute.
"Not applying Title IX to collegiate
athletics would not be consistent with
the law Congress passed," Ford said in
a written statement. "If Congressional
hearings suggest better approaches to
achieving equal opportunity in athletic
programs, I would support perfecting the
legislation."
But no one came up with a superior
plan, and women's varsity sports were
officially launched - theoretically.
Back in Ann Arbor
Canham was1
ut women at the Universi-
ty and around the country
knew that equal scholar-
ships would not lead to
equal support and oppor-
tunity - at least not in
those early years. Just as
trying desperately to keep
into vans and drive to Idaho in order to
compete. They were forced to miss about
a week of school and received just five
dollars per day for food.
The team wound up finishing in the
Top 20 nationally, but had to go to great
lengths to make it from meet to meet
throughout the season.
"I remember walking around outside
the football stadium selling apples to pay
for the gas so that we could get to our next
meet," former swimmer Robin Orr said.
"It was pitiful. And then we ran out of
gas. There was just no funding."
Even remaining in Ann Arbor present-
ed its own trials. The women's swimming
team originally held practices in a pool
in the basement of the Michigan Union.
After some time, Isaac and men's swim-
ming coach Gus Stager arranged for the
women's team to have a bit of practice
time in the pool at Canham Natatorium.
"We got the pool from 3 to 5 a.m.," Orr
said. "So we got up at two. My roommate
Title IX from passing, those on the wom-
en's team were living proof of this fact.
"The Athletic Department was doing
what it needed to do," said Isaac, Mich-
igan's first women's swimming coach
under Title IX. "But I didn't sense a pas-
sion that there was a pride in what they
were doing."
In 1974 - the first year that women's
collegiate nationals were held for swim-
ming and divine - the team had to pile
B
NEW COLORS. NEW STYLES.
SAME DURABILITY.
freshman year was scared of me because
I was always creeping in and out of the
room at such weird hours."
Outside on the track, the situation was
somewhat similar. Ken "Red" Simmons
had retired from coaching the nonvarsity
version of the Michigan women's track
team when he received a phone call in
1974 that would bring him back to the
University for an eight-year encore.
"My wife, Lois, and I did all the scout-
ing ourselves," Simmons said. "There
was no money, so we went to the dorms
and asked if anyone had run in high
school. Once we fielded a team, my wife,
the girls and their parents got together
and bought material to make their uni-
forms. Then they went to Kmart to buy
the shoes."
Simmons's team was not yet recog-
nized by the Big Ten, but he wanted to
take to Wisconsin to witness Big Ten
Championships and what the Wolverines
had the potential to become a part of.
"There was a parade (in Madison),
and we saw all the girls in their beautiful
uniforms," Simmons said. "And there we
were with our sewn-on M's. My wife had
tears in her eyes.
"But, four years later, we returned to
the same venue and won the Big Ten."
Indeed, the years from 1973 to 1976
were significant ones for women's athlet-
ics at Michigan.
"By 1976, we had paid coaches, full
locker rooms, real practices and they
paid our way to meets," said Kathy Knox
Hastings, another former swimmer. "By
1977, some of the freshmen were receiv-
ing scholarships."
The issue of coaching-salaries was a
sensitive topic during that period. For the
first few years, most coaches of women's
teams did not receive full-year appoint-
ments and were instead given six- or
eight-month salaries, with no benefits.
This forced them to look for work out-
side of the University, which is how Isaac
became involved with Speedo, where he
is currently vice president of sales and
marketing.
"Essentially, we got laid off for the
summer," Isaac said. "So a couple of us
applied for unemployment. The Athletic
Department was really embarrassed, and
we were full-time employees the follow-
ing year."
The implementation of Title IX also
hit close to home with some men who
were highly involved with men's sports at
Michigan - actually, it hit at home. Can-
ham's daughter was a cheerleader, which
was a varsity sport at the University -
the others being field hockey, swimming,
track, basketball and softball. Orr and her
sister, Jenny Orr Davis, were the daugh-
ters of Johnny Orr, the men's basketball
coach at the time.
"In our family, there were four women
and one man," Orr Davis said. "There
were a lot of hot issues. He was always
an advocate, and all four of us were very
competitive."
Orr Davis appreciated her father's
willingness to allow her to participate in
sports, particularly when she saw other
women, who were quite athletically tal-
ented, have their careers cut short by
overbearing parents.
"A lot of my friends' dads, when they
turned 16, would say, 'You're done."
It's true that Orr never put any restric-
tions on his daughters, but he was not
necessarilysupportive of women's var-
sity sports in his position as coach. It was
Orr who was coaching on that December
night when the women's game was cut
short.
"His job was to coach basketball, not
to be a booster for women's sports," Orr
Davis said. "I think there's a dissonance
that occurs in politics, and it also hap-
pened in my dad's case. You might want
something, but how do you run a depart-
ment like that? But really, his responsibil-
ity was basketball."
By 1978, Title IX was in full swing
at Michigan. The scholarship spend-
ing for the 1977-78 school year allotted
$240,000 to male athletes and $142,700
to the women. Equality was still a dis-
tant dream, but one that was becoming
increasingly attainable.
"They were exciting times to be a part
of," Davis Orr said. "It was satisfying. In
hindsight, we knew we didn't have this
or that, but we worked to make things
happen."
Today's Title IX
learly, Canham's dis-
mal, doomsday predic-
tion that the legislation
would effectively kill
college sports remained
unsubstantiated, and
athletics managed to
survive past that first year. Indeed, at
Michigan they appear to be thriving.
Thirteen of the 25 varsity sports at the
University are women's, and scholarship
opportunities are both equal and plentiful
- both men and women have the maxi-
mum number of scholarships allowed by
the NCAA.
"At Michigan, they've definitely been
fair with all their sports," women's water
polo coach Matt Anderson said. "I don't
feel that we're at a disadvantage at all."
This seems to be the consensus across
women's programs at the University.
"There are so many more opportuni-
ties now," assistant field hockey coach
Tracy Fuchs said. "Now you can see
through Title IX, how much more respect
women's teams are getting than they got
20 years ago."
But Title IX has never been as cut and
dry as simply creating a numerical bal-
ance between the genders.
Currently, the major criticism of the
legislation is that it has taken opportuni-
ties away from men's sports - particular-
ly the Olympic, or nonrevenue, programs.
Those in the world of men's swimming,
wrestling and gymnastics are crying foul
as they watch programs get sliced out of
the athletic picture at several institutions.
And they see Title IX as the culprit. The
Big Ten has witnessed the losses of the
Michigan State men's gymnastics team
and Illinois men's swimming team.
But their accusations are only par-
tially true.
Title IX does require equal scholarship
opportunities, but its stipulations regard-
ing how these scholarships are distrib-
uted across men's and women's sports are
vague. Thus, most schools tend to give a
huge number of scholarships to their foot-
ball programs, which puts an enormous
dent in the number of scholarships that
can be dispersed throughout the rest of
the men's program. Meanwhile, there is
no women's equivalent to football, and
though sports such as rowing tend to eat
up a large number of scholarships, this
quantity is nowhere near what football
demands.
This means that, for sports that have
POINT/C UNTERPOI NT
u TSuperman
Yup, I'm back. After Batman threw a
fit about being embarrassed so routinely
and needing a week off, we're back. And
trust me, I'm spitting venom all over our
flying rat friend.
It's Halloween, one of my favorite times of
year. It's really quite an honor to see so many
children dress up in your likeness. Usually when
people are dressing up like Batman, it's because
it's the only thing left on the rack at the costume
shop. But that's beside the point. What we're
talking about is tricking over treating.
I'm assuming this is an 18 and over audi-
ence. That said, it's obvious we trick over
treat. And for clarification, it's treat like
candy, not ass. If we were talking about
ass, it's definitely a night of tricking and
then getting some fine "treat."
Tricking comes with a rush. You work
your way from ding-dong ditching, to
illegal fireworks, to smashing pumpkins,
to getting so drunk you won't remember
what that coeed looked like. It's a rite of
passage, and it's all in good fun.
I'm known as quite the superhero/prank-
ster. Your boy the Riddler has nothing on me.
And when I can convince Lois Lane to dress
like a school girl, it's definitely worth it.
Batman, what have you ever done for
Halloween? You chase around people who
dress in costumes every fucking day, for
crying out loud. What could you possibly
do to any of them? Leave a myserious let-
ter with an exclamation point written on
it for The Riddler? Stack piles of winter
coats on Mr. Freeze's front porch? I could
go on all day, you know.
I know why Batman likes his candy. He's
got a sweet tooth but not the kind you can
quench with a Butterfinger. Bruce and his
pal Robin like to use all the candy they get
on this sacred night and melt it. The melted
candy then goes into a bucket with a little
whip cream for some kinky fun. Sorry Bat-
man, it had to be said.
Happy Halloween.
Ev Batman
Frget trick or treating, let's talk
stumes, which is what Halloween
is truly about. Your little pranks will
be forgotten soon after; a good cos-
tume can be legendary?
I've been trying to play nice until
now, but since the cape is clearly cut-
ting off the circulation to your brain
(you know, the place where you use
things like "logic" and "English syn-
tax"), I'm pulling no more punches.
So basically you've written some
more slanderous trite. More low
blows from the guy who has been
banging Lois Lane for years and still
can't pop out a super brat.
Guess you're not only stopping
bullets, but shooting some blanks
ones as well.
OK, so Batman is dark, sultry and
dangerous. Pretty much the holy
trinity of ingredients for a successful
costume. Over the years of actually
stop
(insi
al er
tume
style
kid
huge
Lo
unde
you
from
Mr.
W
lowe
extra
clear
and
time
You
read
mena
the I
Go
Trick or treal
With Superman and Batm
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10B - The Michigan Daily - Thursday, October 27, 2005
The Michigan Daily