Iowa Athletics Under Investigation For Not Providing Equal Opportunities

The Univ. of Iowa is "facing a wide-ranging federal civil rights investigation into allegations that its athletics department does not provide equal opportunities for female athletes." The Office for Civil Rights of the U.S. Department of Education is "looking into gender bias allegations in 13 areas, including how the department counts participation levels, awards scholarships, schedules practices and games and delivers services such as tutoring, medical attention, housing and dining" (AP, 2/12).

Meanwhile, a lawsuit filed by six former female students against the Univ. of Tennessee last week "argues its athletics department has long condoned a 'hostile sexual environment' stretching back to the mid-1990s, citing nearly a dozen instances of former student athletes accused of sexual assault" -- including Broncos QB Peyton Manning (Nashville TENNESSEAN, 2/14).