The Optimist
  • Home
  • About
    • Advertise
    • Policies
    • Staff Contacts
    • Jobs
  • News
  • Sports
  • Opinion
    • Columns
    • Editorials
  • Multimedia
    • Photo Galleries
    • Videos
  • Features
  • Print Edition
    • The Pessimist
    • Special Projects
  • Police Log
  • Classifieds
You are here: Home / Opinion / Editorials / Another women’s team-easier said than done

Another women’s team-easier said than done

September 14, 2005 by Optimist Editorial Board

Women athletes have one fewer teams than the men in the Athletics Department-but worse things have taken place.

Students, faculty and ACU supporters often look at these numbers and instantly decide that gender prohibits women from fielding the same number of teams as the men.

Wildcat sports fans often fail to notice the issues of money, scholarships and planning that come into effect with every discussion of a new women’s team.

Hardin-Simmons University and McMurry University, the other two Christian colleges in the city, both seem to cater to more female athletics than ACU does. Hardin-Simmons has an even six-to-six male-to-female sports ratio, and McMurry offers two more women’s sports than ACU’s Athletics Department.

Why do Division III universities with fewer resources than ACU field either more women’s teams or an equal number of teams for each gender than a program funded at an athletically successful Division II university?

We offer two possible answers.

First, ACU focuses so much on improving its current sports lineup that it doesn’t have the time or resources to add another team.

Second, more factors go into starting a team at a Division II university than critics realize. Fans see the greater number of female teams at McMurry and the even number of teams at HSU and assume the athletic director can start a team by making a phone call.

Different mindsets and philosophies must be taken in making decisions for a D-II program. D-III universities have miniscule amounts of money to give to athletes for scholarships, so the ones that play there are playing for less, and, many times, these smaller schools offer sports as a means of boosting enrollment, so they can add a high number of teams at a low cost.

Jared Mosley, director of the Wildcat Athletics Department, said ACU is seriously considering female golf and soccer teams because other teams in our region compete in these sports.

However, most Division II schools in our region don’t offer a sport like swimming, which makes the economics of competition with distant universities too pricey.

Division II athletics programs like ACU’s are more organized and are provided to bring talented athletes to our campus, providing quality resources for athletic endeavors in addition to boosting enrollment numbers. Funds are more limited at ACU, because of the better quality players who expect more scholarship money.

ACU wants to start more women’s teams, but is waiting for ripe circumstances (money, players, ideas, etc.) before it moves into this expensive procedure.

The university’s women athletes have been successful in the past. ACU’s volleyball team won the Lone Star conference championship last year to finish with a 31-6 record, and the women’s tennis team won the Division II Central Region tennis title last year and advanced to nationals in Florida.

Women’s sports at ACU are excelling and an even brighter future looms-just give the Wildcat women time.

Filed Under: Editorials

Other Opinion:

  • Tariffs are the last thing struggling students need

  • Gen Z won the election for Donald Trump

  • A Swift rebuke: When it comes to politics, celebrities just do not get it

About Optimist Editorial Board

You are here: Home / Opinion / Editorials / Another women’s team-easier said than done

Other Opinion:

  • Tariffs are the last thing struggling students need

  • Gen Z won the election for Donald Trump

  • A Swift rebuke: When it comes to politics, celebrities just do not get it

Follow us online

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Optimist on Twitter

Retweet on Twitter The Optimist Retweeted
ashleyh1607 Ashley Henderson @ashleyh1607 ·
3 Jun

My second year at ACU was full of opportunities that grew me as an individual and a journalist.

In my first year as editor in chief of @acuoptimist, we published six print issues, filmed a 3-hour live election show, and revamped our newscast, all while producing news weekly.

Reply on Twitter 1929734328445178254 Retweet on Twitter 1929734328445178254 1 Like on Twitter 1929734328445178254 1 Twitter 1929734328445178254
Retweet on Twitter The Optimist Retweeted
optimistsports Optimist Sports @optimistsports ·
2 Jun

The Optimist reached out to ACU Athletics, who provided the following statement.

Reply on Twitter 1929676060947632336 Retweet on Twitter 1929676060947632336 1 Like on Twitter 1929676060947632336 1 Twitter 1929676060947632336

Optimist on Facebook

The Optimist

12 months ago

The Optimist

Video

View on Facebook
· Share

Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email

The Optimist

2 years ago

The Optimist
"Ending my college education early was always the plan for me, but the things that I have been able to see, experience and examine about ACU’s community were not. I have found immense growth in ACU over the past three and a half years, but ACU still has a long road to climb if it wants to keep catering to students as the world changes around them." To read more of this article visit acuoptimist.com or click the link in our bio. #acu #abilenechristianuniversity #privatechristianuniversity #collegestudentopinion #acuopinion ... See MoreSee Less

Photo

View on Facebook
· Share

Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email

Videos

Optimist Newscast Feb. 28, 2024

Our top stories today include a recap of The Musical Comedy Murders of 1940, the ... [Read More…]

  • Optimist Newscast Feb. 21, 2024
  • Optimist Newscast Feb. 14, 2024
  • Optimist Newscast Jan. 24, 2024

Latest Photos

  • Home
  • About
    • Contact
    • Subscribe
    • Policies
    • Advertising Policy
    • Letters to the Editor and Reader Comments
  • News
  • Sports
  • Opinion
    • Columns
    • Editorials
  • Multimedia
    • Videos
    • Photo Galleries
  • Features
  • Advertise
    • Paid Advertisement
  • Police Log

© 2025 ACU Optimist · All Rights Reserved