The NCAA lawyers argued that the association itself was not a federal aid recipient and that athletes should take up discrimination complaints with the individual schools. This showing, without more, is insufficient to trigger Title IX coverage. Before anyone gets too excited about the decision, it should be noted that the Supreme Court left open the door for Smith to continue her case in another fashion. A common misconception by the media is that the sport of wrestling is in decline in the United States because of the loss of many college programs caused by Title IX and other college economic factors. However, the fact is that wrestling is an active and growing sport in the United States on virtually every other level.
College wrestling grapples with serious decline.
Although the article accurately explained the challenges on the college level, the headline was clearly a bit misleading. The story provided statistics to support its claim. Even more troubling for wrestling supporters is that their world is shrinking. Since 1972, more than 350 wrestling programs have been dropped. Loverro cited Title IX as a major contributing factor for the reduction.