Title IX keeps LSU men's club soccer fighting to stay alive

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By Chris Shearman

Despite the recent success and growth of the LSU women's soccer team, the abundance of men's talent is left to compete at the club level. On top of that, with the recent addition of the Baton Rouge Capitols, the lack of a college men's team forces the city's own pro soccer team to look at other colleges for recruiting purposes. The absence of a men's soccer team at LSU is mostly due to Title IX, which, ironically, is supposed to be equal opportunity promoting legislation.

Title IX is a federal statute that provides that "no person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any educational program or activity receiving federal financial assistance."

In 2004, Eric Bentley, a third year law student with a master's degree in sports management, wrote about Title IX in the Journal of Law and Education, citing the consequences of the federal statute: "How can a law that is supposed to protect us from being denied participation on the basis of our sex cause a university to drop a sport because it's a men's team?"

Jamie Krebs of Southern Illinois University's student newspaper, "The Alestle," reiterated Bentley's concerns: "While 5,800 athletic opportunities have been added for women in the past ten years, more than 350 National Collegiate Athletic Association programs involving about 21,000 male athletes have been terminated since 1991. That's roughly ten percent of the male athletes participating in that period."

Because of Title IX, LSU men's club soccer is one of the several club sports that has little opportunity. According to the team's web site, the LSU men's club soccer team is run by LSU students who are also members of the team.

Gustavo Viro, a recent LSU graduate in biological sciences, played club soccer during all five years of his college career.

"The status is not so good. Over the past five years, club soccer has progressively gotten worse," said Viro.

"When I was a freshman in 2004, it was extremely legitimate. Every kid on the team wanted to practice, and it was well organized," said Viro. "Lately, it has not been so. I think that it just is too much responsibility for the president [of LSU men's club soccer] to handle by himself. I think that someone besides a student, who also plays, needs to help to run the team. Having a coach would also prove to be very helpful."

Viro says that there is much soccer talent in the Louisiana and believes that LSU would benefit from the addition of a men's soccer team.

"It is extremely disappointing that LSU, one of the biggest athletic schools in the country, does not have an NCAA men's [soccer] team," said Viro. "It is especially disappointing to have played against extremely talented players only to have them leave the state because of the fact that we do not have a legitimate team. We have produced incredible talent such as Joseph Lapira and Jason Gary."

"I do not know what can be done, but I guarantee you that if LSU actually wanted to have a team, it could be done," he added. "The team would also be very competitive due to the fact that the South does not have many teams."

Through the LSU men's club soccer and the many programs that the Baton Rouge Soccer Association offers, the passion for soccer in Baton Rouge continues to grow and thrive. For more information on LSU men's club soccer, visit the team's Web site at www.lsu.edu/student_organizations/menssoccerclub.

Originally Published: Issue 802 - June 3, 2009

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