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Woman Arrested for Disrupting a Softball Game 7/30/10 A Worth woman was recently charged with disorderly conduct
and trespassing after she disrupted a softball game by entering the field and
swatting the ball away from players in Peaks Park in Worth, police said. Source: Chicago Tribune Pitcher Injuries from "hot bats" in Baseball Too 7/29/10 Bjorn Sandberg and Scott Schlesner live 2,000 miles apart and have never talked, yet they could tell each other's stories of anguish and fear in details that would unnerve any parent of a youth baseball pitcher. They've each had a son on the verge of dying after being struck on the head by a batted ball and suffering a skull fracture that required emergency surgery. Gunnar Sandberg, 16, was in a coma for three weeks; Cole Schlesner, 15, spent four days in a coma and remained in a hospital for another six weeks.
Both baseball-loving fathers have lost count of how many sessions of physical, occupational and speech therapy their sons have attended, and they're still not certain when, or if, each will regain full use of his faculties. Sandberg and Schlesner think the number of these incidents has increased in recent years, though it's hard to find reliable statistics to confirm that notion, and they're skeptical of bat companies and studies that show metal bats to be no more dangerous than wood ones. Moreover, both want to see improved safety measures in the youth game -- Sandberg a return to wood-only bats, Schlesner the use of helmets by pitchers -- for one common reason. "We just don't want anyone to have to go through what we've been through," Sandberg says of his family, which lives 10 miles north of San Francisco, in words echoed by Schlesner, from just outside Cincinnati. "(I'm for) anything that will make it safer." How that can be done is the subject of a debate that gets rekindled whenever such traumatic injuries occur in a sport that is statistically regarded as very safe. According to data collected by Fred Mueller of the National Center for Catastrophic Injury Research, whose annual report covers only high school and college sports, there were 52 catastrophic injuries in baseball from 1983 to 2009, with three of them occurring last year. By comparison, there were 43 in football in 2008. The report defines "catastrophic" as any injury involving a fatality or permanent or temporary severe functional disability. "There's really no good data out there to tell you the metal bats are the cause of these injuries," says Mueller, adding the numbers have remained steady over the report's 27 years. Despite the low figures, the issue of bat safety in youth baseball -- which is winding down its summer circuit but continues to be played nearly year-round in warm-weather states -- has reached the point of legislation in some jurisdictions. North Dakota is the only state to ban metal bats, but Illinois, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Montana and New Jersey have considered similar measures, the latter after 13-year-old Steven Domalewski suffered brain damage when his heart stopped after he was hit in the chest by a line drive off a metal bat in 2006. The next year, New York City outlawed non-wood bats. After Gunnar Sandberg's highly publicized injury during a high school scrimmage March 11, California Assemblyman Jared Huffman introduced a bill that calls for a moratorium on the use of metal bats in the next high school season while their safety is reviewed. The bill, still several weeks from being brought up for vote on the state Senate floor, is actively opposed by the Sporting Goods Manufacturers of America. The trade association, according to its website, represents more than 1,000 sporting goods manufacturers and retailers and has representatives from metal bat producers Easton, Louisville Slugger and Wilson on its baseball committee. It says the bill is unnecessary. "What's fueling this baseball issue is anecdotal comments," SGMA director of communications Mike May says. "People talk about these studies that are funded by the industry. They're not. People make these comments like bats have turbo engines. They're not." According to May, the bat manufacturing industry generated $201 million in wholesale revenue last year, and 95% of the bats sold were not made out of wood. Scott Schlesner says bat makers are so concerned with profiting from high-performing bats, they've forgotten about safety. He says banning metal bats altogether would be impractical, but he thinks their performance should match their wood counterparts. And he advocates youth pitchers using helmets, as his three other sons do now. In disputing studies cited by the industry that say exit speeds off metal bats exceed those of wood bats by only 5-6 mph, Schlesner makes these arguments: "Metal bats have a "trampoline effect," the result of the bat compressing and bouncing back when hit by a baseball. Wood bats don't compress as much because they're not hollow. "Some metal-bat barrels are as much as half-an-inch wider in diameter than wood, increasing the size of their "sweet spot." "Metal bats are lighter and have more of their weight on the handle, which makes them easier to swing faster. "In unregulated travel-team tournaments, such as the one where his son got hurt, there are no restrictions on bat performance. Before the 2001 season, the National Federation of State High School Associations required high schoolers swing bats in which the differential in weight (in ounces) and length (in inches) is no greater than 3. The previous standard allowed a differential of 5, meaning players could swing bats (one example is the popular 34-inch, 29-ounce model) that provided ample plate coverage without sacrificing bat speed. "The bat that hit my son was a 30-inch bat that instead of weighing 27 ounces like the high schools dictate, this was a 20-ounce bat," Schlesner says. "If your bat is that much lighter, think about the difference in your swing speed." Life forever changed Cole Schlesner, injured in a game of the Cincinnati STIX traveling team on May 17, 2009, was taken by helicopter to the city's Children's Hospital, where he had surgery to remove part of his skull, making room for his swollen brain. When he awoke from his coma, he could not talk or walk and his right side was paralyzed. Despite up to nine hours a week of outpatient rehabilitation, he has difficulty walking and lacks full use of his right side. His cognitive development has improved to where he can function in school with some accommodations, but recently he has lost the ability to articulate some syllables and words. His father estimates the cost of his care so far at between $750,000 and $1 million, with 80% to 90% covered by insurance. "He will be forever changed," Scott Schlesner says. "Short of losing one of your kids, this is probably the worst nightmare I can imagine anyone having to go through." By comparison, the Sandbergs have been fortunate in that Gunnar is further along in his physical recovery. He has regained most of the 40 pounds he lost from an already slim frame and deems himself 85% to 90% back to normal.
Schoolwork, however, remains a challenge, and his parents are uncertain he will be able to complete his upcoming senior year at Marin Catholic High and go to college the following fall. "Some of the stuff is hard because I forget a lot of what I've learned," he says. Both his short- and long-term memory have been affected, and he had seizures after the reattachment of the portion of his skull that had been surgically removed, so he's on anti-convulsant medication. Like Cole Schlesner, Gunnar Sandberg now gets easily exhausted and requires extra sleep. "He's been an athlete forever," his father says. "It's different when he says, 'I don't think I can do that today.' It's a big change." Gunnar's league switched to wood bats after he got hurt, and a few other leagues have taken a similar tack for various reasons, but they're in the minority. For one, there's a powerful economic incentive to continue using non-wood bats, which range in price from $20 to about $370 -- with a popular youth model going for about $120 -- but don't break. Wood bats do, so even though they're cheaper -- $15-$85, with the majority closer to $50 -- the cost for them adds up. The competitive reasons for sticking with metal bats also are compelling: They perform better because they're easier to swing and control, plus, hitters don't have to worry about an inside pitch shattering them. Many players and coaches also think non-wood bats hit the ball farther and faster, but that might not be accurate, according to Dan Russell, associate professor of applied physics at Kettering University in Flint, Mich. "You might be able to put more balls in play. You might have a higher batting average," Russell says. "You might hit the sweet spot more often with a metal bat. You might hit more balls at their maximum velocity you can get off your bat, but that doesn't necessarily mean you're going to hit the ball faster than a wood bat." Russell acknowledges some of his work has been funded by bat manufacturers and that he has consulted for them. However, he says they have not influenced his articles. He is one of the five members of USA Baseball's Bat Advisory Committee, which is in charge of examining data gathered in a current study conducted by Trey Crisco, director of the bioengineering lab at Brown University in Providence. USA Baseball, the game's ruling body at the amateur level, is looking into bat performance standards below the high school and college levels, which have the same guidelines. Youth travel teams are not ruled by those standards, so the use of so-called "senior-league bats" -- shorter and more powerful non-wood bats -- is common among them. "We're going to get data back on these bats, and we're going to find out, from a scientific perspective, is there a product on the market that is unsafe or do they meet standards?" USA Baseball executive director Paul Seiler says. Some parents and coaches face a moral dilemma in picking sides on the bat debate. They want their kids to swing the bats that will produce the best results; however, they'd like to protect the fielders, especially the pitcher, who is most vulnerable. "It's ironic," Russell says. "For every comment I hear from parents concerned about safety, I get maybe five or 10 comments from other parents who are asking, 'What bat can I buy?' or, 'What can I do to my bat to help my kid hit more home runs?' " Jim Fox of Florence, Ky., found himself switching sides because of a traumatic event. As the coach of his son's select travel team, Fox purchased two $300 composite bats, which are typically made of fiberglass or carbon fiber and yield better results with increased use. One bat was manufactured by Easton, the other by Hillerich & Bradsby -- which last year was ordered by a Montana court to pay $850,000 to the family of Brandon Patch, a teen player killed in 2003 by a line drive off a metal bat. Both bats have 2¾-inch barrels, larger than allowed in high school and college baseball. They are also minus 10 bats, also illegal in high school and NCAA ball, where composite bats will be banned in the coming months. "When you go look at the advertising each year, you look at sweet spot and you also see, 'This is the new metal alloy that's the hardest, yet the lightest,' " Fox says. "I never gave much thought to the ball hitting the pitcher." Fox's son Aaron, who turns 13 Monday, was pitching during an April 15 practice when a teammate -- using one of those composite bats -- hit him on the right side of the head with a liner. Aaron Fox spent nine days in a coma and had a flap of skull cut out, but he has made a remarkable recovery. Last weekend, he returned to the field. Still, the experience has left his father wondering, "Can't they make metal bats the equivalent of wood bats?" The answer is yes, and new regulations that kick in next year at the college level and in 2012 in high schools aim at that purpose. The better question might be, "Will that end the debate?" Softball ump Lykins: man in charge to end 7/28/10 A close friend of Jim Lykins tells this story: It was Friday, not 24 hours after Lykins had undergone surgery for lung cancer, when he telephoned about the potential for canceling softball games because of rising temperatures. The games were to be played in a 16-to-18 age division Saturday, but Lykins was worried the elements would pose too great a health risk for those expected to play and umpire.
"Here he was, not a day after having half a lung removed, concerned over games he hadn't even scheduled, games he had nothing to do with," said Sally Commerford, the Amateur Softball Association's Junior Olympic Commissioner for Nevada. "I said, 'Are you kidding me?' But, you know, that was Jimmy. That was part of who he was. He was never off the clock. Ever." The earthly clock stopped ticking for Lykins on Sunday morning, his death of complications from the surgery, taking a man who spent three decades as umpire in chief for ASA in Nevada, who saw firsthand the exponential growth of a sport here that at the youth level is larger and better than it has ever been. Lykins was 66. I don't know if his parents placed a mask and small brush in his crib at birth, but I wouldn't blink if they had. Another day passed Tuesday and we were fed the typical sports stories we come to expect this time of year -- Terrell Owens landing with a new team, the major league baseball trade line approaching, nobody thinking UNLV football will be a factor in conference play. Lykins never made headlines. His passing wasn't part of any ESPN ticker. His friends like to joke that Jim was born in either Kentucky or Ohio, depending on the story. He was just a guy who loved his job like no other, who demanded those under him adhere to certain standards, who lived to teach the proper technique and temperament of an umpire, who would fret over the complexities of a task and yet always manage to finish it on time. Harry Truman joked that he couldn't see well enough as a boy to play baseball, so they made him an umpire. It's a lonely job. It really is a thankless one. There are good umpires and bad, approachable and uncommunicative, sensible and illogical. Jim Lykins wanted nothing more than those under him be competent. "We knew not to piss Jimmy off -- that definitely put the fear of God into you," said Chuck Stanley, an umpire of 37 years who worked the last 20 under Lykins. "Jimmy told it like it was. He never held anything back. Officiating is about judgment, and if your judgment sucked, Jimmy let you know that in no uncertain terms, he expected better. "More than anything, Jimmy taught the professionalism of officiating. He taught you confidence, how to manage a game and be in control. This was his love. He was a mentor to us. A friend. As a former high school teacher, I always said the excellence of someone is not only the positives you hear from colleagues but also going into the restroom and seeing your name on the bathroom walls. That was Jimmy. He had a strong whip but made you better. If you didn't work hard, you didn't work." The softball world Monday evening said goodbye to its greatest player, its greatest ambassador, the face of its national team for the last decade, in watching Jennie Finch play her final game for the United States. Here, in a far quieter way Sunday, Nevada lost a figure, who while certainly not as celebrated and prominent within the game as Finch loved it as much. Jim Lykins was a Vietnam War veteran who began playing softball while in the Air Force, who was an alternate umpire at the 2000 Olympics, who in 2005 received his 40-year pin for calling ASA games, who the last two years served as rules interpreter for the NIAA, who leaves behind a wife and three children, a stepson, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, a softball community of friends that stretches across the country. Who when you saw him at tournaments either sitting in his chair or tooling around in a cart, you knew he was a man in charge, a man who just loved his job and did it admirably for decades, impacting the lives of countless others. Guys like that don't usually make headlines. Maybe they should more often. "His final decisions were always from the heart," Commerford said. "I have no idea how we are going to fill his shoes." Source: Las Vegas Review-Journal
Softball Tournament Sponsor and City Named in Injury Lawsuit 7/28/10 When the The Medford Civic Club went on hiatus last year,
club officials cited financial strain and declines in membership but they
didn’t mention that the club and the City of Medford have been named as
defendants in a lawsuit stemming from an incident in 2003 which left a child
with permanent injuries to his skull. Source: Owatonna People's Press Editors Note: This trial by jury is on Minnesota Third Judicial District calendar for April 2011. ASA Announces Northern National Schedule for 14U-A and 16U-B 7/27/10 The 2010 ASA^USA Softball 14-Under Class A and 16-Under Class B Girls Fastpitch Northern National Championships will be held at Caswell Park August 5-8, 2010. Come see 50 of the top teams from all over the Midwest compete in the most prestigious event of the season. What team will take home the title? Join us at Caswell Park in North Mankato, MN and see for yourself! TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
Seven Minnesota teams go into action including:
Participating Teams arriving from the following states: Illinois, Chicago Metro, Kansas City Metro, Missouri, Wisconsin, Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota, Indiana Admissions: Adult Daily Pass: $8 Just like the old days 7/26/10
Park softball coaching legend Charlie Whitbred and former Park star players Jen (Bauer) Burke and Kate Schwartz coached the Team Minnesota All-Stars in the 2010 Border Battle with the Team Wisconsin All-Stars on July 6, in Eden Prairie. It was Whitbred’s third time coaching the Minnesota All-Stars in the Border Battle.
“I said I wouldn’t do it unless I could coach with Bauer and Schwartz,” Whitbred said. “It was awesome coaching with those two. Being with them was extra special. They’re very good kids, they’re very humble and they sure know their softball.” Burke and Schwartz were members of the Park state championship team in 1993 and currently both coach at Burnsville High School, which won the Class 3A state championship this past season. Whitbred said the three coaches ran the team just like the Park 1993 championship club. “We had the old signs from Park and ran practice just like we did in the old days,” Whitbred said. “Schwartz was just like she always was — she wants to win every game. Bauer worked great with the pitchers and catchers. She has so much experience and is just amazing with that. It couldn’t have went any better — winning two games and coaching the girls we did. We had some phenomenal players. It was a great deal.” Before stepping down at the end of last season, Whitbred, 60, coached softball at Park for 28 years, compiling a record of 525-165 at his alma mater — including 13 conference championships, 13 section titles, 13 state tournament appearances and the most-ever wins of any Class 3A coach in the state. The Park softball team owns one state title — in 1993 — along with four second-place titles, three third-place titles, one fourth-place finish and one consolation title. Whitbred was voted Minnesota Coach of the year in 1993 and was the section coach of the year 12 times. This past year, Whitbred helped his son, Charlie Whitbred, IV, coach softball at Mora High School. Whitbred, IV, graduated from Park in 1996. In the 2010 Border Battle doubleheader, Team Minnesota defeated Wisconsin twice — 1-0 and 5-1 — to claim the title. Team Minnesota was built from 15 high school players from Class A, Class 2A and Class 3A. Team members were: Megan Arndt of Hopkins, Jenelle Trautmann of Hastings, Brooke Selisker of Burnsville, Sam Holien of Forest Lake, Bailey Bowman of Pipestone, Megan Erickson of Big Lake, Sara Moulton and Bree Blanchette of Eagan, Lindsay Spanton of Eastview, Amanda Skelly of North St. Paul, Megan Mullen of Hermantown and Sara DuPaul of Spring Lake Park. “We selected the players,” Whitbred said. “We had to take so many from A and so many from 2A and so many from 3A. The girls selected were some of the best players in the state this past season.” In addition to the games, Team Minnesota and Team Wisconsin spent a day at the Mall of America in Bloomington. “It was a great day,” Whitbred said. “Of course, the girls had to shop. Then we practiced and had a couple of games. It was a great experience.” Source: South Washington County Bulletin
ND State Head Softball Coach Darren Mueller Receives Three-Year Contract Extension 7/23/10
North Dakota State University head softball coach Darren Mueller has agreed to a three-year contract extension, formalizing the university's commitment to his coaching success, leadership and professionalism. Details of the contract are being finalized. The announcement was made today by director of women's athletics Lynn Dorn. Mueller led the Bison to their second straight NCAA Regional appearance and Summit League tournament championship during the 2010 season. He has compiled a 321-173 (.652) record in nine seasons as head coach including a 50-14 (.781) record in The Summit League. "We have had a lot of success and we're excited about our future. First and foremost, our players are the reason why we have been successful," said Mueller. "I want to thank (director of athletics) Gene Taylor and Lynn Dorn for their support and leadership. I am extremely fortunate to have a great staff in Jamie (Trachsel) and Brittany (Weil). I am excited about our future and the direction we are headed." Mueller, who has been with the program for 16 seasons, recorded win No. 300 against Wright State (3-12-10) at the Texas A&M Aggie Invitational. The Bison were 33-25 overall and reached 30 wins for the fifth straight season. "We are extremely pleased that Coach (Darren) Mueller has agreed to a contract extension as the head softball coach for the Bison. His leadership in the success of our softball program is immeasurable," said Dorn. "Additionally, Darren's commitment to the academic achievement of the student-athlete and to the overall philosophy of the Bison athletic program is significant. Associate head coach Jamie Trachsel and pitching coach Brittany Weil compliment Coach Mueller, and as a trio, I am confident that the success of the softball program will continue." A 1994 NDSU graduate, Mueller and the staff earned the 2009 National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) co-Midwest Coaching Staff of the Year award. That coaching staff directed the Bison to The Summit League tournament championship, the NCAA Division I Norman Region championship and berth in the NCAA Division I Super Regional in the program's first year of Division I postseason eligibility. A native of Fargo, N.D., Mueller earned 2008 Summit League Coach of the Year honors, and was also named the 2007 and 2006 Division I Independent Coach of the Year. Since 1995, five players have been named CoSIDA Academic All-Americans and 32 players have earned NFCA Academic Scholar Athlete awards. Mueller has authored many articles for the NFCA and produced four videos on hitting. He has coached internationally in Holland and Australia with USA all-star teams that have competed against the Dutch National and numerous all-star teams. Mueller has been active on the local softball scene for more than a decade, and was named to the North American Fastpitch Association all-world tournament team in 2000. He also earned All-American honors in 1996. Olympic gold medalist Jennie Finch plans to retire next month and bring an end to a 10-year career in which she helped the sport blossom in the United States. The dominating pitcher announced Tuesday that she will play her final games with the U.S. national team this week at the World Cup of Softball in Oklahoma City. She'll then finish the rest of the National Pro Fastpitch season with the Chicago Bandits before calling it quits at the age of 29 to focus on her family.
The 6-foot-2 Finch was a standout at Arizona before becoming an icon with the U.S. team, going 32-0 her junior year and putting together 60 consecutive wins -- both NCAA records. She won gold at the 2004 Olympics in Athens and silver four years later in Beijing. Earlier this month, she helped the U.S. win its seventh straight world championship. "This whole career has been way more than I ever even imagined or dreamed," Finch said in an interview with The Associated Press. "The opportunities that I'd be able to enjoy and appreciate and be a part of, it's been incredible." Finch was much more than a pretty face as she took over Lisa Fernandez's place as the sport's most recognized player during a period when the following for the Women's College World Series and the national team experienced marked growth. Her 60-game run stretched over nearly two years and included the 2001 WCWS title. Her dominance carried over to the national team, where she combined with the likes of Fernandez and Cat Osterman to make up the world's best pitching rotation through the early part of the decade. Her dominance carried over to the national team, where she combined with the likes of Fernandez and Cat Osterman to make up the world's best pitching rotation through the early part of the decade. Coupled with her softball skills, Finch's beauty and charm landed her a place in pop culture. She struck some of the big leagues' best hitters in appearances on "This Week in Baseball," competed on "Celebrity Apprentice" and made the rounds on late-night talk shows. Finch, who will turn 30 in September, said it's time to turn her focus to her family. She and pitcher Casey Daigle, who has split this season between the Houston Astros and Triple-A Round Rock, have a 4-year-old son, Ace, and hope to have more children. The couple have spent about two weeks together at their Arizona home over the past year, Finch said, and the world championships in Venezuela meant 14 days away from her family. "I just feel like it gets harder and harder every year with Ace getting older and time away from my husband and even family events such as birthdays and friends' weddings and things that I've always just missed out on because of softball," Finch said. "It's getting a little bit harder to miss those moments in life." While many of her veteran teammates walked away from the game after the U.S. lost to Japan in the gold-medal game in 2008, Finch stuck around and helped with an unsuccessful bid to get softball added back into the Olympics after it was dropped from the 2012 and 2016 games. Finch said she plans to stay involved in softball, running her own camps and perhaps serving as an ambassador if asked to do so. She even suggested that eliminating travel and training will give her more time to help spread the sport. She didn't rule out a role in team ownership. "I hope to stay involved," she said. "It's been such a big part of my life and I can't imagine my life without it." Even now, Finch gets a rush out of putting on the red, white and blue and hearing a home crowd chant "U-S-A" -- something she'll experience a few final times at the World Cup beginning Thursday night. "Right now in my career, it's like I'm having more fun than I've ever had, so it's kind of like, `Man, I can't stop now,'" she said. "I'm playing first base and pitching and hitting. I feel like I'm almost better than I've ever been. It's like, `You're going to walk away like this?'" The Bandits' last regular-season game is scheduled for Aug. 22 at home in Elgin, Ill. US judge in Conn. says cheerleading is not a sport, rules against Quinnipiac in Title IX case 721/10 Competitive cheerleading is not an official sport that colleges can use to meet gender-equity requirements, a federal judge ruled Wednesday in ordering a Connecticut school to keep its women's volleyball team. Several volleyball players and their coach had sued Quinnipiac University after it announced in March 2009 that it would eliminate the team for budgetary reasons and replace it with a competitive cheer squad.
The school contended the cheer squad and other moves kept it in compliance with Title IX, the 1972 federal law that mandates equal opportunities for men and women in education and athletics. But U.S. District Judge Stefan Underhill disagreed in a ruling that those involved say was the first time the cheerleading issue has been decided by a judge. "Competitive cheer may, some time in the future, qualify as a sport under Title IX," Underhill wrote. "Today, however, the activity is still too underdeveloped and disorganized to be treated as offering genuine varsity athletic participation opportunities for students." Quinnipiac has 60 days to come up with a plan to keep the volleyball team through next season and comply with gender rules. "The athletes all look forward to getting back on the volleyball court for preseason in three weeks," coach Robin Sparks said. "As their coach, I feel fortunate to be able to work with such strong young women who are not afraid to stand up for their principles. It will be a joy to be back in the gym with them this fall." School officials responded to the ruling by saying they would start a women's rugby team, but they refused to answer any questions, discuss the future of other athletic teams or say whether they would continue offering scholarships to competitive cheerleaders. An activity can be considered a sport under Title IX if it meets specific criteria. It must have coaches, practices, competitions during a defined season and a governing organization. The activity also must have competition as its primary goal — not merely the support of other athletic teams. Quinnipiac and seven other schools recently formed a governing body, the National Competitive Stunts and Tumbling Association, to govern and develop competitive cheer as a college sport. Previously, competitive cheerleading championships were put on by two private organizations with ties to Varsity Brands Inc., which makes cheerleading apparel and runs camps. Bill Seely, the executive director of USA Cheer, a national governing body for both sideline and competitive cheerleading, said he believes the ruling represents only a minor setback for the efforts to make cheer an intercollegiate sport. "It's an opportunity to look at what hasn't worked and find what will work, so we are creating more opportunities for young women and not affecting other female sports," he said. "It's an opportunity to tweak some things." During the weeklong trial last month, Quinnipiac had argued that if it could not count competitive cheerleading as a sport it might be forced to shut the program down, eliminating 36 positions on the squad. Quinnipiac spokeswoman Lynn Bushnell said the school was disappointed its cheer team will lose varsity status. "We will continue to press for competitive cheer to become an officially recognized varsity sport in the future," Bushnell said in a statement. "Consistent with our long-standing plans to expand opportunities in women's athletics, the university intends to add women's rugby as a varsity sport beginning in the 2011-2012 academic year." The cheerleading issue was one of several Underhill was asked to decide as he considered whether the school had improperly manipulated it rosters. He also found the school was underreporting the participation opportunities for its male athletes and overstating the opportunities for women. Evidence presented to support an injunction a year ago showed the men's baseball and lacrosse teams would drop players before reporting data to the Department of Education and reinstate them after the reports were submitted. Conversely, the women's softball team would add players before the reporting date, knowing the additional players would not be on the team in the spring. School officials have said any improper manipulation of the rosters has stopped. Underhill said things have gotten better, but the school "is still continuing to deflate the size of its men's rosters and inflate the size of it's women's rosters." Underhill also agreed with the plaintiffs' argument that female runners who participate on school's indoor, outdoor and cross country track teams should be counted just once for Title IX purposes. The men have just a cross country team. He said the women's indoor and outdoor track teams were "in essence, an adjunct of the cross-country team." The judge had made the case a class action for all female athletes at the school, and the plaintiffs attorneys said it would have an impact far beyond Quinnipiac. "This is a victory not only for the student athletes and their coach, but for women's collegiate sports generally," attorney Jon Orleans said. "We look forward to discussing with Quinnipiac its plan for compliance with the court's ruling." Shawn Ladda, the president of the National Association of Girls and Women in Sports, said the ruling should send a message to schools across the nation that Title IX is not about matching numbers on a tally sheet. "It's about the spirit of the law and it's about providing real opportunities for women," she said. "Fairness is fairness and manipulating numbers is not going to be tolerated. We need more decisions like this to push institutions to do the right thing."
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