U's review of gender equity in sports, begun in 2013, is still incomplete

In March 2013, Kimberly D. Hewitt, the University of Minnesota's director of equal opportunity and affirmative action, was concerned enough by what she saw in the athletic department's annual report that she recommended the school conduct an internal review of gender equity in sports.

That review began in October 2013, but no findings have been announced. Hewitt, who oversees campuswide Title IX compliance, was under the impression that a February meeting stood as a final report on equity in Gophers athletics, but university officials said this week that the review is "ongoing."

Hewitt said two things that stuck out to her originally were team spending and participation percentages, major pillars of Title IX compliance.

"We wanted to look at the difference in budgets [between men and women's sports] — equipment budgets, scholarships, travel budgets," Hewitt said earlier this month. "And also we were concerned about the participation numbers, so we thought we could use some help there."

Since the review was recommended by Hewitt and the university subcommittee for equity in athletics, the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights (OCR) launched its own investigation. OCR officials are on campus this week, examining claims raised in an anonymous 2014 complaint that Gophers athletics discriminates against women. With what university President Eric Kaler called "the gold-standard process" taking place, the school feels no urgency to release its own findings.

The federal investigation was discussed during Thursday's Facilities and Operations Committee meeting, even though it wasn't on the agenda. In an interview after the meeting, regent Dean Johnson made it clear that Title IX is a critical component for the regents. "We take it very seriously as does President Kaler," Johnson said. "And if the perception is that we're not subscribing or we have a problem, then we have to work toward fixing it."

University officials say the school's first step was initiating a Title IX review of its own.

Originally, the university told the media and some donors to expect a final report. An April 2015 statement from the university read, "[Our] self-initiated review is ongoing, and we expect to get the results, determine any corrective actions that may be needed, and make them public this spring."

Deborah Olson, a Department of Athletics Leadership Council member and donor, said she and others were told last summer that they would receive a report in the fall of 2014. "They kept saying 'Oh, it'll be another month or two,' " she said. "And then they just kind of went silent on it."

Last week, Chris Werle, senior associate athletic director for strategic communications, told the Star Tribune: "I don't know that there is ever going to be any findings."

Said Kaler: "We're trying to move forward and not create a parallel process now that the OCR [complaint] has been filed. Generating two reports of essentially the same problem doesn't feel like a good use of time to me."

In October 2013, at the subcommittee's recommendation, athletic director Norwood Teague hired Janet Judge, a Maine-based attorney for Sports Law Associates LLC, to conduct the internal review.

Judge is currently working with the university's athletic department in both processes. A 2013 university contract for her services obtained by the Star Tribune via a public data request shows she is paid $350 an hour, with a cap of $20,000. She is to "perform a gender equity review of athletics … for the purpose of advising the university regarding legal compliance and risks." University officials said the project is still within budget but no invoice has been received yet.

After the federal investigation began, Judge signed a second contract in January, for "legal consultation regarding [the] OCR Title IX investigation." Her $350-an-hour rate remained the same, although the second contract had no budget cap. Judge's first contract is still active, university officials confirmed.

Hewitt said Judge made recommendations based on findings in a February verbal presentation to a group of administrators she attended. She said although Judge might follow up with the athletic department, she personally hasn't had any contact with her since that meeting.

The Feb. 27 meeting's agenda, obtained by the Star Tribune, confirms a session in which Judge presented from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., including a two-hour focus on scholarships and "participation opportunities." The Star Tribune made public data requests for that presentation and meeting minutes; the university has not provided them, saying they are protected under attorney-client privilege.

"We haven't received anything in writing from our consultants," deputy athletic director Beth Goetz said. "We've met with them. They've been on campus and met with all of our constituent groups, and we're working back through some feedback. … We haven't gotten to a place where we have a conclusion yet."

Judge did not respond to repeated calls and e-mails from the Star Tribune this month.

Women's hockey coach Brad Frost was among the women's coaches on campus who expressed satisfaction with the athletic department's gender-equity culture last week. "Quite frankly, I feel real good about where we're at; one, as a department, but certainly even more so as a hockey program. We have the best-supported hockey program in the country and our players receive everything they could ever want or need to help them be successful."

Johnson mentioned the OCR investigation during Thursday morning's meeting, asking if a new track facility would "resolve the Title IX issues."

Kaler said, "Title IX evaluations are actually much more complicated than you might imagine initially. There are participation rates, there are competition opportunities, there are resource allocations and there are facility considerations.

"So I think it is fair to say that given the number of female track athletes that we have, a competition track facility for them, proximal to campus, will help us in being compliant with Title IX. Will that be enough for us to do? We will see."

Staff writer Joe Christensen contributed to this report.