Andrew Saltman attempted to destroy the credibility of the athletic department while simultaneously wrecking his own.
‘This has got to be the worst tennis school in the history of Florida,’ he wrote.
He’s on the right track.
One winning season in 10 tries is unacceptable for a school this dominant in other sports. The extent of his good ideas, however, ends there.
Saltman questioned the manhood of Athletic Director Larry Marfise when accusing the department of not starting a men’s team, yet he identifies that there are serious problems with the women’s team.
That doesn’t make sense. If one side of a sport is struggling, bringing in another branch will not make the first improve. Even if the obvious costs of scholarships for players, salaries and office spaces for coaches and equipment for the team are excluded, Saltman already claims that the six courts are not enough for one program, let alone another.
The new program would also violate Title IX.
Sections of Title IX state that at the intercollegiate level of participation, opportunities must be substantially proportionate for male and female students in accordance to the gender distribution of enrollment.
According to rosters on tampaspartans.com there are 129 female athletes compared to 127 men currently at the varsity level.
Collegeboard.com states that the university is 62 percent women and 38 percent men.
I’m not upset that someone spoke up against the tennis team, I’m simply disappointed it was Saltman.
He has a complete disregard for the new soccer and baseball stadiums, the renovated locker rooms and upgrades to the tennis and softball complexes that Marfise has brought to Tampa.
‘They [UT] throw up new buildings left and right and the school costs a fortune,’ Saltman wrote. ‘I should know, I spent four years there.’
While this is not a false claim, it clearly has not affected the progress of the athletic department.
Still, I would urge Marfise to give Saltman the chance to prove himself as the women’s coach.
Maybe by not paying him a salary, the money can be used to give the girls more scholarship and allow for better recruiting.
If not, then it can’t get much worse than it already is.’
Bobby Winsler can be reached at minaret.sports@gmail.com.
Read Saltman’s blog at http://solacetennis.blogspot.com/2009/04/university-of-tampa.html.
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