As the Univ. of Oregon evaluates its Title IX compliance and the trends across the nation and Pac-12 Conference, the school is "considering the addition of sand volleyball as its newest varsity sport," according to Andrew Greif of the Portland OREGONIAN. UO Senior Associate AD and Senior Woman Administrator Lisa Peterson called adding the sport a "no-brainer." However, she noted that the decision to add it "is not final." But Greif reported it is an option "attractive enough that multiple sources say mockups of multiple Nike uniforms were shown" during a recent meeting with UO's Intercollegiate Athletics Committee. Sand volleyball in '10 "joined rugby and equestrian as one of the NCAA's 'emerging sports' for women." That began "a 10-year clock for at least 40 schools between all NCAA divisions to sponsor the sport." By this June, "30 schools had officially sponsored it and more -- including Arizona and Arizona State -- will play starting with this school year." Peterson said that the expansion of women's sports "is always on administrators' minds in an effort to comply with Title IX." USC was the first Pac-12 school to add sand volleyball, and other conference schools sponsoring the sport include UCLA, Stanford and Cal. Because "six schools are sponsoring the sport within the conference, the first Pac-12 sand volleyball championship is expected to be held in 2015" (Portland OREGONIAN, 8/21).
