Temple University in Philadelphia recently announced the elimination of seven varsity sports teams. Five men’s teams and two women’s teams will be eliminated. The women’s teams facing the axe are in softball and rowing.
At that time the university stated that it “does not have the resources to equip, staff, and provide a positive competitive experience for 24 varsity sports,” it also admitted that the elimination of five men’s teams was made in part due to “the need to address Title IX spending imbalances.”
However, now the Office for Civil Rights of the U.S. Department of Education has informed the university that it has launched a Title IX investigation of the university’s athletic programs. The department informed the university that it is looking into whether the university “is failing to provide equal athletic opportunity for female athletes compared to male athletes, with regard to locker rooms, practice and competitive facilities, housing and dining facilities and services, and in the area of athletic financial assistance.”