President Neil L. Rudenstine yesterday defended the Harvard Department of Athletics and said he believes the College is in compliance with federal regulations that mandate equitable athletic opportunity for men and women.

"I think there's been a good track record," Rudenstine said. "I think we've got more teams in women's sports than at practically any other university. We've maintained them very well."

Rudenstine said Harvard's performance should be judged relative to other schools that became co-educational within the last several decades, adding that he thinks the College has done well comparatively.

The president's comments during an interview yesterday came in the wake of a report in The Crimson earlier this week that revealed discrepancies in the athletic department's support for men's and women's teams.

On Tuesday, coaches of several women's teams met with Department of Athletics officials to discuss the College's compliance with federal Title IX regulations mandating equal opportunity for men's and women's athletic programs. Several coaches said after the meeting that the officials had acknowledged a need to treat Harvard's teams more equitably.

According to an internal athletic department document, Harvard spent more than twice as much money last year on men's sports than on women's.

The Crimson report quoted the document's figures and noted that the department spent $2,285,862 on expenses related to men's teams and $1,114,816 on women's teams. In addition, the report detailed discrepancies in practice times and facility use between some men's and women's teams.

In the document, the department justified funding differences by noting that the percentage of funds spent on women's sports approximates the percentage of female student-athletes in the College. High-profile sports that produce revenue justify higher budget allocations, according to the document.

But Rudenstine said yesterday that Harvard's compliance with Title IX regulations cannot be judged solely on the basis of such numbers.

"I don't think the great percentage numbers or the great dollar numbers by themselves can tell you anything," he said. "Now obviously if one were nine times the other, then you would have a good prima facie case for wondering what the devil is going on. But if you're anywhere in the same range, then you've got to go sport by sport and level of participation by level of participation."

Rudenstine said the department makes its funding decisions based on a "mind-boggling" array of factors, including the cost of maintaining the teams and the level of participation by gender.

"I really think the thing you have to look to see is, are we really working hard to make it clear that women or men have good athletic opportunities," Rudenstine said. "Are we trying to make sure that the facilities are right... that the equipment is comparable? Do we look for the right kinds of teams to play? And if you come out to that, then you're making a good-faith effort to do everything you can."

Rudenstine said he asked for reports on the athletic department's operations last spring. And he said he has been generally pleased with what he has found.

"I've read [the reports] over...and they seem to indicate a really strong effort to have equal opportunity in place," he said. "I think that the people do care and they're working hard at all those things.