GW recently announced plans to increase the number of varsity sports teams in its athletic program. In three years, five new teams will enter intercollegiate competition – women’s squash, lacrosse, softball and water polo, and a men’s squash team.

The new additions to GW’s athletics department put the University well above what is required by law under Title IX – universities are required to spend money on athletics in proportion to the number of males and females on campus. GW is already compliant with Title IX – the most recent decision marks a smart move in anticipation of future demographics. But the University needs to begin building these programs now if the teams are to be competitive when they begin play.

With the integration of Mount Vernon College into GW, there will be a 60:40 ratio of women to men on campus. The plan to increase the number of women’s varsity sports signals that the University is anticipating what the campus will look like at the turn of the millennium.

The new programs present an opportunity to attract more women athletes who might have looked past GW in favor of schools that offer a larger array of women’s sports. GW will be able to actively recruit promising high school athletes to the new sports and perhaps increase the University’s visibility in intercollegiate athletics.

But the University cannot simply create these new teams and leave it at that – the athletics department must give the new teams the support they need. For the new varsity teams to be competitive, the hiring of coaching staffs and recruiting of players must begin as soon as possible.

The creation of these new teams is meaningless if they are formed only to adhere to the laws, they must prove a forward-looking move toward improving GW’s athletics programs.