This is the third story in a series examining the Title IX issue on the SIUC campus.

Although there are budgetary discrepancies between the SIUC men’s and women’s athletic departments, the reasons for these differences may have more to do with scheduling and other factors than gender-related issues, according to Charlotte West, SIUC associate athletic director.

There are several non-gender specific differences, West said. But they show up on the budget.

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West used basketball, in which there is a $130,000 contrast, as an example to illustrate some of the differences between the men’s and women’s sports budgets.

The Missouri Valley Conference sets the schedule for both basketball squads. The men are slated to play more mid-week games than the women. This requires more charter flights, upping the budget for the men’s team.

The women’s schedule allows them to participate in a travel-partner arrangement on the weekends, in which they play two different teams in the same weekend, cutting spending almost in half.

The men’s basketball squad also has to pay one-third more for officials, because there are three referees in men’s basketball as opposed to two referees in women’s basketball.

There is a little more leeway for the men, West said. When the women start to draw more crowds and for example need more security for the games, the budget will go up accordingly. As of now, the women have the more flexible schedule.

West said she has worked hard on comparability in the budget. Tennis, swimming and golf all receive the same amounts, and the track/cross country amounts between women and men are almost equal.

This hasn’t been a one or two-year effort, she said. It is a long-term commitment, and we are just now seeing the fruits of our labor.

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SIUC men’s basketball coach Rich Herrin mentioned two ways teams can acquire funding.

Everybody has got to go out and raise moneyeither by donations or selling tickets, Herrin said. That’s what we’ve been

see BUDGET, page 11