By Joel Fuzo / Jambar Contributor
Youngstown State University currently has eight athletics programs for men and 11 for women, with the possibility of expanding to add more programs in the future.
Ron Strollo, executive director of Intercollegiate Athletics, said there are several important factors to consider when adding a new team.
“First and foremost it’s the interest of our students. The next evaluation would be Title IX, gender equity. As you know, we continue to strive to achieve that. [Another consideration is] do we have the facilities for it to work?” Strollo said.
According to the U.S. Department of Education, Title IX is a federal law, which prohibits colleges and universities that receive federal funding from discriminating based on sex, including within their athletic programs.
The criteria for equality in athletic programs includes how schools award athletic scholarships or financial assistance. In other words, schools must afford the same amount of money for men’s and women’s athletics.
Strollo said a team club sport’s participation and popularity can be a way to assess student interest in a new team.
“Club sports are a great way to figure out where your student interests are because they are home grown,” Strollo said. “Gathering together to play that sport and going through the challenges of fundraising, setting schedules and finding coaches then you know there is a real interest there.”
Andrew Cvetkovic, president of YSU’s men’s soccer club, said many of his team members want an official soccer team.
“I know there’s a lot of people in my club that are extremely talented who wish there was a team and are capable of walking on and proving their worth to the club and maybe YSU as a whole,” Cvetkovic said.
Strollo said finances are also a factor with the implementation of a new sports team.
“We gotta make sure if we bring a new sports team to our campus, it’s going to add to our enrollment and the rest of the mission of the university,” Strollo said.
Chet Cooper, NCAA faculty athletics representative at YSU, said Title IX impacts the school’s decision of adding new teams.
“We have to create a women’s team so we can balance out the men’s team and that’s a little difficult to do,” Cooper said.
According to Strollo, this time of year would be the timing if the school were to decide to create a new team.
“You would probably want that first year to hire a coach, and give them a full year to recruit, so a lot of the time you would be making those decisions now,” Strollo said.
Strollo noted the importance of mindfulness during the recruitment process.
“It’s usually right after their season and you want to spread the word that you’re in that community of coaches that you’re getting ready to add a sport and hopefully drum up some interest and do some recruiting,” Strollo said.
With the House v. NCAA court case resolution, Strollo said many schools will be adapting and changing. In some cases, schools may be dropping sports.
Schools can now directly share revenue with players by compensating them for their name, image and likeness.
“This is a tough time for schools to be adding sports because of this litigation. That will be a factor within the next two, three years on how people decide to manage their athletics programs,” Strollo said.