Since the re-introduction of competitive girls sports in the late 1960s, many of Michigan’s girls sports have been played in nontraditional seasons. For example, girls' basketball was played in the fall and girls' volleyball in the winter. However, questions arose of whether having nontraditional seasons allowed girls in the state the same recruiting and recognition opportunities as boys and spurred the initial lawsuit nine years ago.

A Grand Rapids-based group called Communities for Equity (CFE) filed the suit, claiming the nontraditional seasons did indeed affect Michigan’s female student-athletes. In the suit, CFE charged the MHSAA with:

"Unequal accommodation of the interscholastic interests and abilities of females by how they select and offer sports and levels of competition,

Forcing females to play sports in non-traditional, shorter athletic seasons,

Scheduling females at inferior days and times,

Providing, assigning and operating inferior facilities for females for the MHSAA sanctioned games,

Forcing females to play with rules and conditions that are abnormal, and

Allocating more resources and support to males, than to females.”

The U.S. District Court agreed with CFE in 1998, and since then the MHSAA has appealed the decision six times. Now that the Supreme Court has declined to hear the latest appeal, Michigan high school administrators, coaches, student-athletes, and others associated with athletics in the state have some major adjustments to make.

For example, many coaches who currently work with multiple sports will have a tough choice under the new alignment. Roger Doorn, Head Football Coach at Britton-Deerfield (Mich.) High School, will no longer be able to coach the jv volleyball program.

“Coaching volleyball was something I enjoyed doing," Doorn told the Lenawee, Mich., Daily Telegram. "This was my first year doing it as a coach. I'm a little indifferent about the whole thing (season change), but my main focus is being the football coach.”

The availability of game officials to accommodate the change in seasons has also become a concern. Referees are being asked not to choose between boys' and girls' games, but to take on both instead. Veteran official Jeff Schram says getting volleyball officials will be especially difficult since a lot of them also work football games in the fall. As a result, Schram says girls' sports may draw from a less experienced pool of officials.

“It is really going to affect the caliber of officiating on the girls' side," Schram told the Escanaba, Mich., Daily Press. "It is really going to hurt it. I would rather do a top-notch boys' game than a girls' game. Unfortunately girls may get not-ready-for-primetime people and they are going to get short-changed.”

One athlete who is happy with the decision to have girls' basketball moved to the traditional winter months is Andria Nyenhuis, a freshman on the girls' team at Gladstone High School. Prior to the decision, Nyenhuis authored an essay for her english class on why the change is needed in Michigan.

"Many boys' basketball teams are able to play teams of harder competition across the state line," Nyenhuis wrote. "Girls' basketball teams can not do this because they are the only ones playing the game of basketball in the fall... The biggest problem with the arrangement of the female sport seasons in Michigan is the effect it has on the process of trying to secure a scholarship."

In other Title IX news around the country:

UNC Coach Headed to Court
A federal court has said a nine year-old case dismissed in 2004 should be heard. A former University of North Carolina women’s soccer player sued Head Coach Anson Dorrance under Title IX, claiming his harassment kept her from participating in college sports.

Men's Team Files Title IX Complaint
The Office for Civil Rights usually takes Title IX complaints from female groups, but the recently-cut Ohio University men’s swimming and diving team has launched a Title IX complaint.

Ohio Colleges Lag
A soon-to-be-completed study of Ohio colleges is finding that the state’s NCAA institutions are far behind others in the proportion of and dollars spent on scholarships awarded to men and women.

Documenting Title IX
A new film, “Generation IX,” tells the story of the first generation of female athletes to grow up under Title IX. The story is told from the perspective of University of Washington women basketball players, administrators, coaches, and parents.

New Plan Ahead
Since the expiration of its five-year plan, Ball State University is in the process of developing a new approach to Title IX compliance.

Links Cited Above
MHSAA’s Appeal Denied, Prep Seasons to Switch
Communities for Equity
Michigan Gender Equity Team
Several Area Coaches Impacted By Change
Shifting Could Mean Ref Scarcity
Nyenhuis Offers Views on Gender Equity Case
Federal Court: Jury Should Hear Case Against UNC Soccer Coach
Title IX Complaint Filed Over OU Athletics Cuts
Ohio Colleges Drop Ball On Title IX, Study Finding
Documentary A Winning Look At Female Athletes, With a UW Perspective
Athletic Department Hopes To Have Policy In Place By Summer

Abigail Funk is an Assistant Editor at Athletic Management. She can be reached at: afunk@MomentumMedia.com.