Sept. 24, 2004

As part of its on-going commitment to Title IX compliance, the Baylor University Board of Regents has directed its NCAA Division I-A intercollegiate athletics program to add women's equestrian as the school's 18th varsity team effective with the 2005-06 academic year, the school announced today. The Regents concluded a two-day meeting on the school's campus Friday.

"Today's resolution by the Baylor Board of Regents builds upon the institution's history and continuing practice of program expansion for women's athletics and its strong commitment to Title IX compliance," said Regent chairman Will Davis.

The addition of women's equestrian by Baylor, coupled with two other elements of a resolution approved Friday by the Regents, is expected to achieve substantial proportionality with respect to the male/female ratio of student-athletes in comparison to its male/female ratio of undergraduate students.

The Baylor Athletics Department, which was determined in 1999 to be compliant with Title IX after the addition of softball and women's soccer three years earlier, has also been directed by the Board of Regents to implement a roster management program for the 2005-06 academic year. As part of its roster management plan, Baylor will cap the number of students participating in select men's intercollegiate athletic programs beginning next year. Further, the Regents directed the Athletics Department to announce an 11th women's intercollegiate athletics program in the 2009-2010 academic year that will begin competition in the following academic year.

"After examination of the relevant factors, it is clear that Baylor University and its students will be very well served with the addition of women's equestrian," said second-year Director of Athletics Ian McCaw. "Equestrian is experiencing strong growth, not only on a regional and national level, but within the Big 12 Conference. The State of Texas will provide strong feeder programs as we develop this program in the coming years."

Women's equestrian was selected by Baylor in large part based on the significant interest in the sport as reflected by the participation numbers in various organizations, not only in Texas (which is home to 81.7 percent of the Baylor student body), but nationally, too. In addition, equestrian was selected based on the school's ability to become nationally competitive in the sport; the sport's status as an emerging sport within the NCAA and its growth in the Big 12 Conference and Texas.

Currently, 36 institutions sponsor women's equestrian as a varsity sport, including 13 at the Division I level, and the NCAA allows for a scholarship limit of 15. Big 12 institutions that sponsor women's equestrian are Oklahoma State, Texas A&M and Kansas State, and all three programs have between 60 and 82 student-athletes on their teams. Baylor becomes the third Big 12 school to add equestrian since 1999.

Baylor currently sponsors 17 intercollegiate athletics teams, nine for women and eight for men, and women's equestrian will be the school's 10th women's varsity program added since Title IX became a federal law in 1972. The school has not added to its current roster of men's varsity sports since 1921 when it added men's golf.

McCaw said a search for a qualified head coach for the women's equestrian program would begin immediately.