Bucking national trends that show further increases in the number of women attending college, San Diego State University has seen its numbers of enrolled female undergraduates drop in the past few years. The decrease (to just under 57 percent of the total enrolled undergraduates) means SDSU's plans to add two women's sports have changed. The university planned to add women's lacrosse and sand volleyball in order to decrease the gap in scholarship dollars between male and female athletes (based on the percentage of undergraduate enrollment). Like all CSU institutions, SDSU must remain in compliance with the 1993 Cal-NOW settlement that requires equitable distribution of scholarship dollars (or grants-in-aid) within 5 percentage points.
But with the decrease in women attending the university*, plans for the addition of sand volleyball have been shelved. The athletic department believes it can close the gap by adding only women's lacrosse. A coach has already been hired.
* Might be a good time to remember the investigation into the allegations that some colleges are discriminating against female applicants in an attempt to keep their undergraduate population even(ish).
