Our college years consist of learning how we approach the world, growing as individuals and learning not to burn ramen noodles. But Syracuse University is still struggling to reinforce to its students that women’s sports are, in fact, sports.

The fact that the women’s basketball team’s historic 80-59 win over Washington Sunday was still overshadowed by the men’s disappointing loss to North Carolina the night before demonstrates the unequal playing field between genders at SU.

Despite being the first women’s basketball team in university history to make it to the Elite Eight, Final Four and now national championship game, a lack of visible support at SU has resulted in a campus cultural issue in which it is made clear that women’s teams are not worth following. Rather than feed into the status quo, SU should set the example as a prominent institution to its student body through structural changes to show support for all teams, regardless of gender.

The generally apathetic reaction can’t be chalked up to the men’s team playing a better game, considering that the women’s team paved its way to the tournament with postseason wins against Army, South Carolina and Tennessee. Perhaps it is forgotten that basketball stopped being a man’s sport in the late 1800s, paired with the misconception that women are physically weaker and unable to perform athletically in the same way a man could.

I think Alexis Peterson, Brittney Sykes and Brianna Butler would beg to differ with this sexist ideal. Regardless of which team is on the court, basketball involves two teams of five players trying to score points by throwing the ball through the rim at each end of a rectangular court. It’s the same game, so it’s clear that the lack of enthusiasm does not stem from a diminishing interest in the sport, but rather the players themselves. And it’s this same misogynistic mentality that maintains the idea that women — whether they are athletes or coaches — should stay off the court.

Jim Boeheim is practically a god in the Syracuse community, but it seems that there hasn’t ever been a woman who is his equivalent. At SU, coaches who are women are few and far between. At this time, SU employs only one woman head coach across its 18 men and women’s teams. And it is this disparity that contributes to the student body’s inability to recognize talent and ability among women who are involved in athletics.

This inequality is not specific to the women’s basketball team. The SU women’s hockey team currently practices in a recreational ice pavilion owned by the Department of Recreation Services. As a Division I program, SU’s unwillingness to improve the facility or build a new rink specifically for the team is insulting.  

As an institutional power, SU should strive to provide students of all genders with an environment that encourages them to partake in athletic programs and provides the support they need. Through these efforts, the university community can be reminded that these women work equally as hard as their counterparts on the men’s teams to be taken seriously as athletes.

Even on a national basis, women’s teams can’t generate the same following due to weak media coverage and financial backing as well as society’s inability to bridge the gap between genders in the world of athletics.

“Title IX mandated equal opportunities for women in sports at the collegiate level. But no law can mandate popularity. No law can mandate financial success,” said Jordan Kobritz, a professor in the sports management department at the State University of New York at Cortland. “Specific to Syracuse, it seems to me that part of it might be related to the fact that the men’s basketball team has a longer tradition in terms of success.”

The average attendance for men’s basketball games this season at SU was 21,909, while for the women it was only 752. But by advancing to the national championship game, the women’s team has established that it is more than worth watching as the first women’s team in SU history to even get that far. While we can’t expect to change every mind within a university community, SU actually supporting equality within the sports community should be a part of its traditions moving forward.

Everyone remembers their first few days on campus: in every class, we may have been asked why we chose to attend SU. Arguably, one of the most common responses was that Syracuse takes pride in its athletic programs and it’s that sense of unity for our teams that drew so many of us here. But it may not have been until students settled in on campus that it became apparent that this support only extends to men’s sports teams.

Now, with a group of students that have gone further than ever before, it’s time for SU to combat the simple fact that despite the basketball team’s talent, most people would rather see a woman on the sidelines.

Ivana Pino is a freshman political science major. Her column appears weekly. She can be reached at ivpino@syr.edu.

Published on April 4, 2016 at 12:48 am