Gavilan will not face sanctions despite a glaring inequity
between the men’s and women’s athletic facilities, because the
college is working with sufficient diligence to correct the
disparity, an oversight agency reported.
Gilroy – Gavilan will not face sanctions despite a glaring inequity between the men’s and women’s athletic facilities, because the college is working with sufficient diligence to correct the disparity, an oversight agency reported.
The report is the culmination of a two-year investigation into a complaint that the women’s softball team at Gavilan College had inadequate facilities compared to the men’s baseball team. The office for civil rights – a division of the California Community College’s chancellor’s office – did not punish the college despite acknowledging the complaint’s validity because it determined the college’s current plan to improve the facilities would fully address the inequities.
“They know we’re remedying that situation,” said Steve Kinsella, the college president “I’m pleased to see they’re acknowledging that.”
The inequity in team facilities was the unexpected result of a joint-use agreement between the college and city, said Ron Hannon, director of athletics for the college. This 20-year deal dating back to 1984 – and renewed for another 20 years in 2004 – had the college and the city sharing the softball and soccer facilities. They were located on the college grounds, maintained by the city and utilized by both the college’s female teams and recreational leagues organized by the city.
While the agreement presented a cost savings, it resulted in substandard facilities for the college’s female teams, said Hannon. The softball and soccer fields overlapped and the city maintained the fields to a quality associated with recreation leagues while college leagues typically need to be groomed to a much higher level. By contrast, the men’s baseball facilities were not shared and did not have any of these problems.
Based on the differences between the softball and baseball facilities, the office for civil rights found that the college was in violation of Title IX – a federal statute mandating, among other things, that educational institutions provide equally for men’s and women’s athletic programs.
However, the office did not impose sanctions on Gavilan because the college was already working toward addressing the inequality, the report stated.
The person who lodged the complaint in April 2005, former softball coach Tim Kenworthy, could not be reached for comment.
The office’s findings did not surprise the college, said Kinsella.
As early as 2001, “it was known that there was some deficiencies in the women’s program,” he said.
The college has instituted policies since then to correct the deficiencies, starting with the hiring of Hannon, said Kinsella. The college also developed a task force and a strategic plan in 2003, which outlined inequities in the athletics programs.
The breakthrough for Gavilan came when the city agreed in 2005 to give up its 20-year, 2004 renewal and instead enter into a two-year contract. The city’s sports complex was coming online and Gilroy no longer saw a need for the facilities at Gavilan. At this time, the college took over maintenance and groomed the softball field to a level similar to the baseball field.
When the break with the city occurred in January, the female college teams gained exclusive use of these facilities. The college also separated the soccer and softball fields, is constructing a fence around the softball facility and is installing a scoreboard.
The steps taken during the past two years have been significant and have convinced second-year softball coach Nikki Dequin-Thompson that her team is a valued part of the institution.
“I haven’t noticed any preferential treatment toward baseball,” she said. “As far as facilities go, we have a great facility.”
For the college, the report was doubly satisfying because in addition to not having sanctions imposed, the office did not state that it planned on revisiting the campus to check on the college, Kinsella said.
“I’m pleased to see there’s no follow-up action because it’s my understanding that these things can go on for a very long time.”
