Harvard's athletic department took a clear step Thursday toward equalizing opportunities for men and women when it released plans to expand women's sports at Harvard.

Some players and coaches, however, have adopted a wait-and-see attitude with a department that they say has thus far preserved inequitable funding. While pleased about the expansion, they dispute claims by Athletic Director William H. Cleary '56 and others that this plan is merely a continuation of current policy.

When fully phased in, the expansion will cost the athletic department about $250,000 per year, Cleary said yesterday.

That bill represents roughly a 20 percent increase in the women's budget, with the bulk of the increase slated for the coaching and recruiting budgets of the volleyball, ice hockey and softball programs.

The changes come amid a fierce national debate on gender equity in college sports programs. Spurred by recent court affirmation of Title IX, the 1972 federal statute mandating equal opportunity for men and women in athletics, a series of successful lawsuits have already reached Brown, Cornell and Dartmouth.

But now, Harvard has become one of the few universities in the country to launch a major equity initiative without a direct court order.

In an interview yesterday, Athletic Director William H. Cleary '56 said this plan does not represent a knee-jerk response to the threat of a Title IX lawsuit. But novice crew Coach Holly Hatton said Thursday she thought there was a connection.

"I think they saw that it was in their best interests to pay attention to this law," Hatton said. "It's clear that based on the track record of recent Title IX lawsuits, the [athletic department] had to take the law seriously."

The athletic department has been targeted by heavy criticism in the last year, as published reports showed a significant disparity in participation and funding between male and female sports.

Since the announcement, the changes have given rise to two dis- tinct views that provide insight into thecomplexities of the current gender-equity debateat Harvard.

On one side are those who have been critical ofHarvard sports for its alleged lack of equalopportunity. While athletes like field hockeyco-captain Francie Walton and coaches like Hattonapplauded Thursday's announcement, they stoppedshort of declaring that the fight for equality isover.

But many support the athletic department'sassertion that it has strived consistently forgender equity, and that the new plan simply marksanother step in that progression.

Cleary maintained yesterday that "we've beendiscussing these [changes] since I first becameathletic director [in 1990]."

Conciliation between the two groups--or lack ofit--will define the success or failure of the newplan in the coming months.

Cleary made his position clear yesterday.

"We're really trying to do the best foreveryone," he said. "Ultimately, they can talkabout [Title IX] compliance, or whatever they wantto call it, but to me the most important thing isthat we do what is right and what is fair foreveryone and allow anyone who wants to to play asport."