The courts have landed on a 3 pronged test to determine compliance with Title IX - in #1 down below the athletic scholarships must be in proportion of men and women students at the school. But 2 and 3 are known as the 'excuse' clauses bc they state if you cannot meet #1 it's okay as long as you can prove #2 or #3. Other benefits must also be proportionate and equal such as travel, facilities, PR, etc. although NCAA schools and the NCAA directly have historically spent far less on women's sports and you need look no further than last years Basketball tournament PR fiasco which forced the NCAA to conduct it's own Gender Equity review which resulted in the women getting guarantees for more equal treatment and getting use of the marks for the Final Four and March Madness which were only used for the men's tournament.
Clemson and Radakovich cut their men's track and cross country programs in Nov 2020 under the guise of necessary expense savings as a result of covid but later reversed its decision after being threatened with a Title IX lawsuit and ultimately hired an external firm to conduct a Gender Equity review of their program. Also as a result of that review they announced plans to add an add'l women's team in the 'near future' which would likely be field hockey if I were to bet. Clemson also has land readily available.
So Radakovich is intimately familiar with the steps needed to be taken here. Clemson currently has 11 women's and 8 men's sports. Miami has 9 and 7 respectively but as a private university has a much lower enrollment. But it is no small feet to add a sport especially sports with unique facility needs like softball. LAX or field hockey are a little easier bc you can share the soccer field although locker rooms and coaches offices would be needed. Where are you going to build a state of the art "Mark Light" for softball on campus bc that is what it would take to comply? Not arguing against it mind you, I fully support it, just pointing out the nuances.
3-pronged compliance test
1) Whether intercollegiate level participation opportunities for male and female students are provided in numbers substantially proportionate to their respective enrollments;
(2) where the members of one *** ... are underrepresented among intercollegiate athletes, whether the institution can show a history and continuing practice of program expansion which is demonstrably responsive to the developing interest and abilities of the members of that ***; or
(3) where the members of one *** are underrepresented among intercollegiate athletes, and the institution cannot show a continuing practice of program expansion...whether it can be demonstrated that the interests and abilities of the members of that *** have been fully and effectively accommodated by the present programs.
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