The reason that I've raised the points I have is that I think that many colleges are using Title IX as a scapegoat for balancing their budgets by cutting programs. Yes, according to Title IX, it's probably more difficult to cut expenses by eliminating a women's program when you don't have proportional representation in your athletic department -- but the point is that it's the overall financial situation causing the elimination of the programs -- not Title IX.
The latest numbers I've seen say that 81% of college football programs lose money and 1/3 of Division I-A programs lose money. Does this mean that these schools should cut their football programs? Let's say no -- that there are other considerations at play. Okay...that's fair...but it's fundamentally unfair to blame Title IX (i.e., the proportional clause) for other men's programs being cut when in fact it's the fault of the overall athletic department financial management.
My personal "hot button" are large organizations that want to avoid criticism by pointing their finger elsewhere. I see a lot of that in the Title IX debates that seem to continue to rage.
Finally, please understand that these financial shenanigans are hurting women's sports as well. Women's soccer was recently was denied a lifting of the number of available scholarships at an NCAA meeting -- it was the Division II schools that predominantly voted against it.
