Revisiting James Madison University

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to revisit one of the most highly publicized cases alleging Title IX harmed male athletes at James Madison University (JMU) following a decision that cuts would be made to the athletic program in 2006. Using budget data and publicly available information about the JMU athletic program, comparisons were made between the academic years 2006–2007 and 2010–2011. The authors conclude that the cuts in the JMU program were motivated far more by forces associated with the upward drift phenomenon in intercollegiate athletics, as evidenced in an institutional commitment to an expansion project costing $62 million for the football stadium in 2009 than concerns about Title IX. As the analysis reveals, despite public concern that Title IX had harmed male athletes, the athletic department restructuring at JMU did not increase opportunities for female athletes, did not result in the disappearance of men’s teams although those teams were demoted to club status, and did not inhibit the assumption of significant institutional debt to support the football program.