City College athletics have met official compliance standards, according to a Title IX presentation by the athletic department, but acknowledge there is more work to be done.

Title IX measures men’s participation compared to women’s based on enrollment at any given community college.

City College is at a perfect 50/50 ratio for full-time undergraduate enrollment.

Even with perfect enrollment ratios, the 2011-12 Title IX Gender Equality presentation showed City College women’s participation at 33.07% while men’s participation was at 66.93%. That is one woman for every two men participating in Vaquero athletics.

“In our athletic program we are basically about 68/30,” said Ellen O’Connor, assistant athletic director and chair of the California Community College Athletic Association Gender Equity Committee. “We have more male athletes than we do female athletes.”

Antony Marchiando, Photo Illustrator

In the March 26, 2013 report from the Gender Equity meeting, it says, “there has been no significant improvement in Title IX compliance.”

This report reviews three years of data (2009-12) from all California Community Colleges.

It shows 60% of Association member colleges report that their intercollegiate athletic program is ‘under review.’ This means that they do not meet any compliance tests as defined by the Office of Civil Rights.

“Essentially you have three opportunities to be compliant,” said Ryan Byrne, athletic director. “Test One, we fail. Our intercollegiate participation is not equal with our full-time enrollment in terms of male and female. You don’t have to pass all three tests. You just have to pass one test.”

Although City College failed Test One and Two on the statement of compliance, it passed Test Three, which gauges local interest, available competition and ability to maintain a sports program.

In test two, City College failed because no women’s sports had been added in the last five years. Bringing in women’s aquatics meets the qualifications for test two for the 2012-13 statement.

“There’s two ways you can expand your program,” said O’Connor. “Most colleges will add numbers of teams but you can also add numbers of participants.”

The 1990’s were considered to be City College’s growth decade. The athletic department added men’s and women’s soccer, softball and women’s golf.

The college looks at three issues when adding a team: does the college have enough to field a team, have enough competition and is there enough ability.

“We try to capture the interest of any student that is coming to City College,” said O’Connor. “When we looked at our survey, swimming has come up at least the last three years as the No. 1 sport that women were interested in participating in that we didn’t offer. We’re looking at water polo, adding that.”

City College saw a decrease in interest for men’s tennis, which was one reason behind the decision to cut the men’s tennis team in Spring 2013.

“I think that our intercollegiate offerings really do reflect the interest level,” said Byrne. “Women’s swimming is already added and women’s water polo is in the works right now.”

“That’s kind of where we are in the process. If you were to look around the state at all community colleges, I would say we’re a model for that,” said Byrne.

In an effort to accommodate women’s aquatics in the future, City College is looking at building an aquatics facility for a price of $10,554,000. This is No. 10 on the college’s priority list of projects that may be put on the Nov. 2014 ballot.

Along with the aquatics facility, City College is looking to modernize or completely replace the Sports Pavilion for a price of $34,117,747 to $45,433,000.

The athletic department is under review and current numbers are due on Nov. 1, 2013. Until the Government Shutdown is completed, the athletic department is working on putting the report together but will not be able to submit the information to the state.

“There are things that we have done all the way through to provide equal access and equal opportunity,” said O’Connor. “You can fill out the reports all you want.”

“But the bottom line is that we’ve put all the steps in place to put the team in the water.”