At the three Ivies faced with Title IXchallenges, the school's own women athletes havesued their universities because of what theyperceive as a lack of institutional support.Circumstances vary, but in each cases, athletesfrom low-profile teams were the ones who tooktheir cases to court.

. At Brown, members of the women's gymnasticsand volleyball teams, which the school cut forlack of funds, filed suit. In April, a federalappeals court ruled in favor of the students andordered Brown to reinstate the teams. Theuniversity is appealing.

. Members of Dartmouth's softball team field afederal complaint, now being investigated by theU.S. Department, charging that while baseball is avarsity sport in Hanover, softball is only a clubsport.

. Nine Cornell University athletes, all of themmembers of the women's gymnastics and fencingteams, filed suit saying that the schooleliminated their teams unfairly and that womenthroughout the university are not given ampleopportunity to participate in sports.

While there has been no clear legal victory inthe battle over Title IX, gender equity seems tobe winning the war for public sympathy. Lastmonth, Jeff Millar and Bill Hinds, creators of thesports comic strip Tank McNamara, made fun of thecoaches of men's sports, many of whom fear thatthe movement for gender equity will hurt theirteams.

"Nothing in particular inspired me to mentionit," says Millar, who writes the comic strip."It's just one issue that's going around thesports industry that I thought was worthy ofmention."

In the strips, officials representing thefootball program of the fictional school "ESU"take the media on a tour showing examples of howgender equity has hurt the football program. Inone, the media receive "wheat thins and nacho dip"instead of the "nice catered lunch you're used togetting" because of cuts prompted by Title IX.

"The basis for most humor is exaggeration,"Millar explains.

Harvard, in particular, has not been thesubject of ridicule, but the Department ofAthletics has been dogged by wome athletes andcoaches who criticize the way the departmenttreats them. Foremost among the critics has beenthe department's most successful coach, CaroleKleinfelder (see related story, below).

Department administrators, including Cleary,maintain that their department provides the sameopportunities to all sports and gives nopreferential treatment to men's teams.

But an internal department report obtained byThe Crimson last spring showed that more thantwice as much money is spent on men's sports as onwomen's. The report also details discrepanciesfrom team photography to practice time at BrightHockey Center.

Department officials have refused to comment onthe report on women's sports, which is providedannually to the Faculty's standing committee onathletics.

This fall's version of the report promises tobe a flashpoint in the growing battle over TitleIX at Harvard. Several coaches have requested tosee the report.

The report does not answer questions about thebest-kept secret in the athletics department: thebudgets for individual teams. Toland, the athleticdepartment's top administrative officer, refusesto release those numbers. The lack of thatinformation has fueled suspicion that individualmen's teams receive far more University money thantheir female counterparts.

It promises to be a big controversy, spurredentirely by a little, 21-year-old law.