And the advent of the winter sports season filled the new basketball, hockey and wrestling teams with hope. But the opening of winter sports, particularly basketball, also brings into sharp focus the often-tense competition within high schools and colleges between men's and women's sports for facilities, crowds, press coverage and prestige. It is a competition that can become ugly without cooperation and some grace on the part of those involved. Sports administrators, coaches and sports writers generally approach the topic with extreme caution and lowered voices. So, assume this is being whispered.
Women seem to get better treatment and coverage that way.
But at the college level, and in most high schools, the seasons occupy the same time frame. And there is room for friction. Comparisons of practice times, budgets, column inches of press coverage and won-loss records can be both legitimate and divisive. Women's teams ask for equal, or at least fair, treatment. Men's teams are tempted to cite superior athletic skill, tradition or simple machismo for not wanting to share center stage with their women counterparts.