Expansion Highlights

. Women's Ice Hockey will receive expanded indoor practice time this year. In 1994-1995 the team will be elevated from "Level II" to "Level I" status.

. The softball program will add a junior varsity team this year, and play against more NCAA Division I teams. Next year, softball will become a "Level I" sport.

. In this academic year, the women's volleyball team will be elevated to "Level I" status.

. Additional coaching support will be given to women's lacrosse and basketball.

. The University anticipates the need for additional medical and physical training personnel beginning in 1995-1996 to support the enhanced programs. like football, and noted that the fundinglevels roughly reflected participation rates.

According to the press release, the initiativewas the result of the athletic department'sregular, biennial review of the women's sportsprogram and was implemented with the approval ofDean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences Jeremy R.Knowles. Neither Knowles nor President Neil L.Rudenstine could be reached for comment lastnight.

Members of the standing committee said thechanges reflect the long-term goals of theathletic department. "This has been a long-termproject on the part of the department, in terms oftrying to develop a program which would improvewomen's athletics," said Dean of the College L.Fred Jewett '57. "It's not something that's justcome up overnight."

But some committee members conceded that theinitiative may have come at least partly inresponse to the concerns expressed earlier in theyear.

"Certainly there's no question that somecoaches and some athletes raised questions, andI'm sure they looked at those things," said formerdirector of athletics John P. Reardon Jr. '60.Still, according to Reardon, who is now executivedirector of the Harvard Alumni Association, "It'snothing new to be looking at this stuff."

Meanwhile, Reardon and other committee membersdenied that the new program was an effort to bringHarvard into compliance with Title IX.

"I feel that we are in compliance and I feelthat we have been for a long time," Reardon said."The problem with that is that it's impossible todefine exactly what compliance is."

"I think it's basically to try as best you canto offer the same opportunities for women as youhave for men," Reardon added. "I have always feltthat it doesn't mean you have to spend exactly thesame amount of money [on men's and women'steams]."

Nathans agreed, suggesting that Harvard, whichhas more intercollegiate sports than any otherNCAA Division I university, is already a nationalleader in supporting women's athletics.

"The level of women's participation here, andthe support that women's athletics receives, sofar exceeds that of any other program in thecountry that it's hard to conceive how Harvardcould not be in compliance," Nathans said. "Mysense is that there's never been any feeling ofresponding to pressure, but rather a feeling ofmoving ahead with commitments that the Universityhas always felt very strongly about and simplyneeded to find the money to make into reality."

Meanwhile, coaches of several women's sportsexpressed satisfaction with the initiative lastnight, with women's basketball Coach Kathy DelaneySmith calling it "great news."

"I think it's wonderful when women get the sameopportunity," Smith said.

Holly Hatton, an assistant coach of theRadcliffe crew team, suggested that the move cameat a good time for the University, before anystudents initiated legal action to force higherfunding levels.

"It's clear that based on the track record ofrecent Title IX lawsuits, the [athleticdepartment] had to take the law seriously," saidHatton. "This shows that they've assessed theprogram and are moving in the right direction.