The Dartmouth men's volleyball team received notification this summer that the College converted it from unfunded varsity status to a club sport, a move which players say will effectively destroy the team.
The Dartmouth Athletic Department made the change because of administrative burdens and issues related to Title IX of the Educational Amendments of 1972, according to a letter from Director of Athletics Richard Jaeger to the team's captains.
Title IX is an educational amendment that prohibits institutions receiving federal funding from discriminating on the basis of gender in any of their programs or activities.
Last January, the College elevated the women's volleyball and softball teams to varsity status in response to two Title IX complaints filed respectively by the two women's teams.
"We have made assurances to the Office of Civil Rights that we would carefully monitor the number of men and women participating on our various varsity teams and move to improve the ratios that are involved," Jaeger wrote.
"We are obligated to follow through on a number of steps designed to make our participation numbers more equitable and in line with Title IX expectations and have already made good on our promise to them that we would trim a number of team rosters," the letter stated.
Jeremy Longinotti '96, co-captain of the team, said, "The news of the change in status was a surprise to us this summer, and in fact, we have only been able to inform the members of the team on campus about the decision."
"I had already scheduled 14 of the 19 required games of the season under the auspices that we were a varsity sport," Longinotti said.
Upon receiving word of the decision, Longinotti and his co-captain, Rick Fasani '96, submitted a six-page proposal to Jaeger on Aug. 30, asking that the decision be deferred for two years.
Jaeger denied the team's request in a letter dated Sept. 15 that outlined three reasons for the decision.
First, "It is definitely our intention to limit the category of 'unfunded varsity' only to teams that are making a carefully planned transition to funded varsity status," the letter stated.
Second, "Unfunded varsity teams really do require considerable administrative support. We do not have the time or personnel to keep adding to our already heavy menu of responsibilities in these areas," the letter stated.
The status of club sport and unfunded varsity carry the same financial weight from the Athletic Department. They are both given a $1,000 budget to work with.
The difference exists in the administrative assistance that the unfunded varsity is given and the club team is not.
In comparison to funded varsity teams whose expenses are paid by the College, unfunded teams must raise most of their own money to pay for various expenses such as coaches and travel.
Title IX considerations were the third reason, said Jaeger, who would not comment on the complaint until after he meets with the team today to discuss the decision.
"It's mainly just an open dialogue with the team and the coach about the decision," he said.
According to the proposal submitted to Jaeger by Longinotti and Fasani, the decision to change the status of the men's team was made more than a year ago, prior to the decision about women's volleyball and softball.
"It is imperative," said Longinotti, "that a form of varsity status be retained in order to maintain a competitive schedule."
"A change to club status will virtually guarantee that all past participants from the last several years will cease scheduling Dartmouth and that the progress we have made in becoming a member of the top division of the Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association will be lost," he said.
But Jaeger's letter rejects the claim that the team would lose competition time. His letter stated, "Given the number of men's volleyball club teams in the New England area, our men's club will be able to schedule a good number of matches that will provide a satisfactory blend of fun and competition."
But Longinotti insists that other schools will be turned away by Dartmouth's new status. "Many of the coaches I spoke with said that they would not be willing to schedule Dartmouth if we were converted to a club sport because matches against club teams do not count toward the 19 required matches," Longinotti said.
Only games played against varisty teams count toward the number of league games required for post-season play.
The team was started three years ago and has excelled since then according to Longinotti.
The team's 1993-94 record was five and 10. They beat Harvard twice and placed second in the Roger Williams University Tournament.
Longinotti made perfectly clear that neither he nor the team have any hard feelings toward the women's team.
"It's not their fault, a lot of them are behind us. I'm totally psyched that they got funding," he said.
