Michigan State University today released an independent report designed to review and assess gender equity within MSU Athletics.
During the review, the independent gender equity reviewdirector, Gabe Feldman,toured the university’s athletics facilities,met with coaches, student-athletes and staff, and had access to all records necessary to complete the review.
Among the conclusions included in the report shared publicly today, Feldman determined MSU properly counts participation opportunities for men and women student-athletes under Title IX.
“Based on my review of squad lists, medical exception lists, seasons of competition lists and Countability Athletically Related Activities (CARA)logs for all teams, as well as input provided by coaches and athletes where needed for further clarification, my conclusion is that MSU properly counted participation opportunities,” the report says. Feldman also generally found no material issues with respect to equitable treatment and benefits afforded to student-athletes.More specifically, he notes the following:
“There do not appear to be any material issues with respect to sport-specific equipment.”
“There do not appear to be any other material issues with respect to the times of competitive events or opportunities to engage in available preseason and postseason competition.”
“There do not appear to be any material issues in the aggregate regarding equitable travel, benefits, per diem allowances and dining options while traveling.”
“MSU coaches across the board are experienced and highly qualified. There do not appear to be any material issues with respect to compliance regarding opportunity to receive coaching and the assignment and compensation of coaches.”
“There do not appear to be any material issues regarding the provision of academic tutoring or the assignment and compensation of tutors.”
“There do not appear to be any material issues in the aggregateregarding access to medical personnel and assistance, availability and qualification of certified athletic trainers. MSU has shown significant improvement recently in this area.”
“There do not appear to be any other material issues regarding the availability and quality of weight training and conditioning facilities in the aggregate.”
“There do not appear to be any material issues regarding strength and conditioning staffing. The staff are highly qualified and their assignments and workouts are specifically tailored to the individual sport. The staff also appropriately supervised strength and conditioning sessions.”
“There do not appear to be any material issues regarding the equivalence for men and women housing provided and special services as part of housing arrangements.”
“There do not appear to be material differences regarding the equivalence for recruiting of male and female athletes.
“There do not appear to be any material issues with respect to the recruiting resources provided to coaches and the ability of coaches to recruit athletes to MSU.”
“There does not appear to be any other meaningful differences regarding the equivalence of the other clerical and administrative support or available office space, equipment and supplies provided for men’s and women’s teams, and each team appears to have access to administrative, secretarial and clerical support.”
Feldman also identified opportunity for improvement in financial assistance for student-athletes in his report, which notes a less than 3 percentage point gap in financial aid provided to women athletes. In the 2022-23 season, women accounted for 48.9% of all student-athletes and received 46.3% of financial aid distributed to student-athletes.
“With this independent review, our approach to counting student-athlete participation is reaffirmed,” said MSU Vice President and Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Alan Haller. “In addition to this affirmation, we equally recognize there are needed improvements for student-athlete financial aid assistance and in our athletic facilities to ensure we’re providing a holistic environment for all student-athlete success.”
The university will work with the gender equity review director to develop a plan to strengthen financial assistance equity and ensure MSU has a world-class program for student-athletes by the end of the 2026-27 academic year. The plan will be developed by the end of the current academic year.
