Brave New World: The Impact of "Reform" on Big-Time College Athletics Tuesday, October 21, 2014 | 7:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.

The Tucker Center for Research on Girls & Women in Sport will host its Fall 2014 Distinguished Lecture on Tuesday, October 21, at the Hubert H. Humphrey Center on the West Bank Campus from 7-9:00 pm. This free lecture, titled “Brave new world: The impact of ‘reform’ on big time college athletics,” examines the many current changes, reform efforts, and pending legal decisions that are having an effect on college sports—from unionization, to pay-for-play, to conference realignment. The world of college sport is rapidly and inevitably changing. What are some problems with the current model of college sports? With some cases decided but some still pending, what do these legal changes mean for institutions, administrators, and student athletes? And what are the implications of these decisions for women's sports and Title IX? Join distinguished panelists Sandy Barbour, Erin Buzuvis, and the U of M’s Beth Goetz this fall on October 21 at Cowles Auditorium in the Hubert H Humphrey Center at the U of M to bring you up to date and help explain how the future might unfold for women in collegiate athletics.

 

Sandy Barbour is the new Athletic Director at Penn State University. She also served as the Athletic Director at the University of California for more than nine years, during which time she guided Cal Athletics through one of the most successful periods in school history. Named one of the “100 Most Influential Women In Business” in the Bay Area, Barbour was also the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics 2008-09 Regional Athletic Director of the Year and was also chosen as the 2006 National Association of Collegiate Women Athletics Administrators (NACWAA) Division I-A National Administrator of the Year. Barbour has served on the NACDA Executive Committee, the NCAA Diversity Leadership Strategic Planning Committee, the NCAA Women's Basketball Discussion Group and the WBCA Defensive Player of the Year Selection Committee.

 

Erin Buzuvis currently serves as the Director of the Center for Gender & Sexuality Studies at Western New England University School of Law. Buzuvis teaches courses on Title IX, administrative law, employment discrimination, torts, and property. Her research includes gender and discrimination in sport, the interrelation of law and sports culture, intersecting sexual orientation and race discrimination in women's athletics, retaliation against coaches in collegiate women's sports, the role of interest surveys in Title IX compliance, participation policies for transgender and intersex athletes, and Title IX and competitive cheer. Buzuvis is the co-founder of and a regular contributor to the Title IX Blog, an interdisciplinary resource for news, legal developments, commentary, and scholarship about Title IX's application to athletics and education.

 

Beth Goetz is currently in her second year as the University of Minnesota's Deputy Athletics Director and the department's Senior Woman Administrator (SWA). Goetz arrived at the U of M via Butler University, where she was an Associate Athletic Director from 2008-13 and served as the Assistant Athletic Director and SWA at University of Missouri-St. Louis for eight years. She has expertise in many facets of athletic administration including oversight of various sports, student-athlete services units, budget and finances,Title IX reviews, eligibility, compliance, developing and monitoring a gender equity plan, and managing university program evaluation of APR, GSR and EADA. As a former college soccer player and soccer coach, she holds multiple perspectives on college athletics.

 

The Borghild-Strand Distinguished Lecture series is given twice yearly and exemplifies the Tucker Center’s commitment to community outreach and public education by making links to the Twin Cities metro and outstate areas. It provides a venue for the most influential individuals in women’s sports to share their knowledge and expertise. 

 

The lecture is free and open to the public. More information about the event is available at the Tucker Center website: http://www.tuckercenter.org, or by contacting Dr. Nicole M. LaVoi at nmlavoi@umn.edu, 612.626-6055.