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Letter from Jim Scherr, CEO of the USOC:
October 10, 2006
Mr. Linwood H. Rose, President
James Madison University
MSC 7608
Harrisonburg, VA 22807
and
Mr. Jeff Bourne, Athletics Director
James Madison University
Godwin Hall 206-A
MSC 2301
Harrisonburg, VA 22807
Gentlemen:
This letter is being sent to you on behalf of the United States Olympic Committee and our National Governing Bodies in response to the recent decision by James Madison University to eliminate 10 sports from its intercollegiate athletic program beginning in 2007:
• men’s and women’s archery
• men’s cross country
• women’s fencing
• men’s and women’s gymnastics
• men’s indoor track
• men’s outdoor track
• men’s swimming
• men’s wrestling
This decision is particularly troubling to the United States Olympic Committee and our National Governing Bodies because all of the sports you have chosen to discontinue have a direct connection to the Olympic Movement.
It is well documented that the spirit of the Title IX law is to ensure opportunities for participation in sport are proportional and fair for men and women. The intent of the law is not to discontinue sport programs for men or to eliminate Olympic sports from a university’s athletic program.
James Madison University has a long and honorable tradition of supporting a diverse range of intercollegiate athletic opportunities for its student body. We have seen universities across the nation inappropriately use Title IX as an excuse to justify the elimination of sport programs, and far too often the programs dropped are Olympic sports. In a society that is faced with critical challenges such as character development, alarming rates of obesity and an increasingly sedentary lifestyle among America’s youth, should we not be looking for ways to increase sport activity, rather than curtailing it?
Your decision may allow James Madison University to get closer to its proportionality goals, but it does great harm to the hundreds of student-athletes who currently represent your university so proudly as they participate in these sports. In addition, your decision damages the hopes and dreams of the next generation of athletes who aspire to one day represent our country in the Olympic Games.
The more we limit opportunities for our youth, the more difficult it will be to instill the positive values that are derived from participation in sport. On behalf of the United States Olympic Committee and our National Governing Bodies, we respectfully ask that you reconsider your decision to drop these sports. The leaders of the National Governing Bodies for the sports you plan to discontinue, in addition to the United States Olympic Committee, would welcome the opportunity to work with you in identifying viable alternatives to keep these intercollegiate sports alive at James Madison University.
We appreciate your attention in this matter and look forward to your response.
Sincerely,
James E. Scherr
Chief Executive Officer
Rich Bender
Executive Director
USA Wrestling
Brad Camp
Executive Director
USA Archery
Craig Masback
Executive Director
USA Track & Field
Michael Massik
Executive Director
U.S. Fencing
Steve Penny
CEO
USA Gymnastics
Chuck Wielgus
Executive Director
USA Swimming
cc: Peter Ueberroth, Chairman of the Board
USOC Board of Directors
National Governing Body Executive Directors
Letter from Kari Jill Granville, USA Archery College Program Chair:
Over the past fifty years, there have been three powerhouse teams in collegiate archery: Arizona State University, Texas A&M, and James Madison University . When I say powerhouse… think University of Florida and USC in football, or North Carolina , UCLA, and Villanova in basketball… that's what JMU is in the sport of archery. And until the announcement last week cutting JMU archery's varsity status (essentially eliminating the program from campus)… it didn't look like JMU was in any danger of relinquishing that role for a good while longer!
JMU has held individual and team local, regional, and national championship titles. In fact, on a grander scale, JMU archers have held world records and proudly represented the US in collegiate AND US team international tournaments (aka world championships). In the sport of archery, JMU is a juggernaut (modern pop culture reference aside).
So why would the athletic department cut the varsity status (allegedly under Title IX… though the men's AND women's teams were eliminated) of the most successful team the school has ever known? Administration… Are you guys nuts? Have you read your own press on the JMU archery program?
The beautiful thing about archery is that anyone can participate. Collegiate archery plays host to men and women of all shapes and sizes. We even have a few Paralympic shooters in the college ranks. These athletes tend to also be excellent scholars, as they have mastered the internal control which allows them to manage time, emotion, and information.
Again to the Administration… recant this foolish error.
Students… Don’t let this travesty happen. Speak out to keep this program (both for the men and women). Your current team, and generations past, has/have represented your school with honor, elite physical and mental prowess, and pride. They truly have been and are the best that collegiate sporting has to offer. Archery is a non-traditional sport; but, especially where JMU is concerned, it does not mean that it has no school value.
FIGHT FOR THE JMU ARCHERY TEAM!
Kari Jill Granville, JD
USA Archery College Archery Program, Chairman
Arizona State University, Program Coordinator - Archery |
