WASHINGTON, D.C. - March 6, 2002 - Adding momentum to what some are calling the strongest challenge ever brought against the way the federal government enforces Title IX, two major coaching associations joined a federal lawsuit today that seeks to protect collegiate athletic programs from being eliminated due to Title IX actions. Both the College Gymnastics Association and the United States Track Coaches Association are now plaintiffs in the suit to which the government must respond by March 15.    "The unintended consequences of proportionality - despite the successes Title IX has brought to women's athletics - have led athletic departments to cut men's programs to meet a quota," said Douglas Van Everen, head of the College Gymnastics Association. "The current interpretation of Title IX is wrong and needs to be changed, quickly. In 1972, there were 138 college gymnastics programs while today there are but 23, with several about to be cut this year."    "We are pleased to become part of the effort to bring common sense to the Department of Education's interpretation of Title IX," said Sam Bell, President of the U.S. Track Coaches Association. "The law clearly states that discrimination may not take place based on gender and the current actions of the Office of Civil Rights are obviously aimed at men. They have taken a very good law, misinterpreted it to reflect their own prejudices and have, in essence, rewritten the law itself."    The suit, filed by the National Wrestling Coaches Association, alleges that in 1996 the Department of Education unlawfully altered the way it interprets Title IX. That improper rulemaking and its enforcement have led to the arbitrary elimination of hundreds of athletic programs at schools across the country, costing student-athletes both scholarships and their dreams of competition. NWCA seeks to restore Title IX to its original intent - providing equal opportunity without discriminating against any student-athlete.    "The way that Title IX is being enforced today is discrimination, plain and simple," said Mike Moyer, Executive Director of the NWCA. "Students across the country are having their athletic dreams taken from them and their academic lives turned upside down."    Additional Background and Sources: www.savingsports.org