The Center for American Cricket (CAC) announces today that the first issue it will study is women’s cricket in the United States, giving specific attention to how Title IX might be leveraged to kick start the women’s game at the collegiate level.
The failure to develop women’s cricket in America has been a particular loss to the game here, as we have deprived ourselves of a gateway to over half of the population. It can also be assumed that a strong women’s national side would make comparatively faster progress against international competition than would a men’s side, and that this success, just as it has done in American soccer, could be a springboard to popularizing cricket across all demographic groups.
While Title IX effectively eliminates the possibility that the men’s game alone could bring scholarships to our athletes, it simultaneously enhances that possibility for women, so in this case, we need to stop looking at the glass as half empty. Jim Isch, chief operating officer of NCAA, said at the ICC Town Hall Meeting in Chicago, “The only way is if [cricket] is offered as a women’s sport. Women’s has to come first.” It’s time to look at how we can make that happen.
A successful women’s cricket program will also attract more positive attention than would the same success coming form the men’s side, and will have a ripple effect through youth cricket and both national and local sponsorship. In short, women’s cricket may be the key to making America a cricket playing nation.
The Issue Team will be comprised of:
Atul Huckoo
Michael Johnson
Jon Marthaler
David Mutton
Diane Palmquist
Erik Petersen
Dr. Atul Rai
Dr. Gangaram Singh – Issue Team Leader
Ranjeet Singh
Shantha Suraweera
Sebastian Walker
Dr. Gangaram Singh, Issue Team Leader said, “I appreciate the opportunity to lead this research team. The goal is to provide a manuscript, with an analysis of the historical roots of Title IX, its role in protecting and promoting gender equality, evidence of its effectiveness in a cross-section of sports, and the likelihood that Title IX can do the same for cricket.”
The CAC will issue periodic updates on the progress of the Issue Team, and will ultimately project a release date for its report, which is not anticipated until sometime in 2016.
