U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige today applauded the successes of Title IX, the 30-year-old anti-discrimination law, and announced a blue-ribbon panel of sports professionals and educators who will examine ways of strengthening enforcement and expanding opportunities to ensure fairness for all college athletes.    Paige said the new Commission on Opportunity in Athletics will include 15 men and women and will be co-chaired by former WNBA star Cynthia Cooper and Ted Leland, director of athletics at Stanford University. The members of the Commission will hold public hearings and speak with parents, athletes, coaches, college officials, educators and other experts, as well as state, local and national leaders, to gather information and prepare recommendations that will be submitted to Paige by January 31, 2003. "Without a doubt, Title IX has opened the doors of opportunity for generations of women and girls to compete, to achieve, and to pursue their American dreams," Paige said. "This Administration is committed to building on those successes. I am confident that, with the help of this Commission, we will learn how we can do a better job of enforcing a law that represents hope to so many Americans." Regarding her role as co-chair and involvement with the commission, Cooper said: "I would like to thank Dr. Paige for the confidence he has shown in me by asking me to serve as co-chair of this very important commission. I'm looking forward to providing input as well as leadership to ensure that the mission and the goals of the commission are accomplished." Fellow co-chair Leland added: "I am honored to be a part of this prestigious committee. Title IX legislation has had an incredibly positive effect on collegiate athletics, both at Stanford University and throughout the nation." President Richard Nixon signed into law Title IX of the Educational Amendments of 1972 to the 1964 Civil Rights Act that says: "No person in the United States shall on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subject to discrimination under any educational program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance." Title IX prohibits all public and private colleges and universities that receive federal funding from discriminating on the basis of sex. Since most colleges and universities receive federal funds, most commonly through financial aid to students, nearly all must comply with Title IX. In the decades since Title IX became the law, the number of women graduating college and entering the professions has soared. So has the number of women's sports teams at our nation's colleges and universities. According to the General Accounting Office, the investigative arm of Congress, colleges added nearly 3,800 more women's teams since Title IX became law. "President Bush recognizes the while great strides have been made in the fight for equality, we still have much more work to do in this area," said Paige. "And as the U.S. Secretary of Education, I am proud to be a part of implementing the President's vision of a nation where civil rights laws are enforced fairly and vigorously. "When we say we want no child left behind, we mean it. Our goal is to bring out the best efforts of all our young people in our nation's schools-from kindergarten through college." Paige said the Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights has investigated and resolved many complaints regarding college sports, usually involving fairness for women athletes. He said recent complaints, however, have raised questions of fairness for men's teams. Paige said some college administrators have complained that the Department has failed to provide clear guidance on how to comply with Title IX, while other groups allege that ineffective enforcement of Title IX has caused men's teams to be eliminated. "Some would like to settle this in the courts," Paige said. "But we believe the better approach is to discuss all the questions openly, in a forum where all voices and all viewpoints can be heard. The members of this Commission are on the front lines, facing the difficult issues in athletics every day. And I am confident that they will provide us with valuable guidance as to how we can better expand opportunities for all young Americans-girls and boys, women and men-in the classroom and on the playing field."     In addition to Cooper and Leland, the Commission includes:     Percy Bates, Professor of Education at the University of Michigan and representative to the Big 10 Conference and the NCAA for the past 12 years;     Bob Bowlsby, Director of Men's Athletics at the University of Iowa;     Gene DeFillipo, Athletic Director at Boston College;     Donna De Varona, Chairman of the United States Olympic Committee Government Relations Committee. Donna twice won Olympic gold medals in swimming and co-founded the Women's Sports Foundation.     Julie Foudy, President of the Women's Sports Foundation and Captain of the U. S. National Women's Soccer Team;     Tom Griffith, Assistant Secretary and General Counsel at Brigham Young University;     Cary Groth, Athletic Director at Northern Illinois University;     Lisa Graham Keegan, CEO of the Education Leadership Council and formerly Arizona's Superintendent of Public Instruction;     Muffet McGraw, head coach of women's basketball at the University of Notre Dame;     Mike Slive, Commissioner of Conference USA;     Rita Simon, Professor at American University's School of Public Affairs and Washington College of Law;     Graham Spanier, President of Pennsylvania State University; and     Deborah A. Yow, Director of Athletics at the University of Maryland.     For more information, including the commission's charter, visit www.ed.gov.