Bush Commission Plans to Endorse 57% Quota for Male College Athletes

That's essentially what this AP story says:

The Bush administration's Title IX commission appears set to recommend that the 30-year-old gender equity law in sports be made less rigid, a commission member said Monday.

...A draft copy of the report, obtained Monday by The Associated Press, lists 24 recommendations culled from five public hearings across the country over the last five months.

The most controversial proposal ... would allow schools to have a 50-50 split of male and female athletes, regardless of the makeup of the student body.

Critics note that the proposal includes a leeway of 5 to 7 percentage points, which means schools could be in compliance with the gender requirements with as little as 43 percent female representation.

So the women get second-class status again, and the men get ... well, they get a really, really stern talking-to, maybe:

One of [commission member Julie] Foudy's recommendations would have President Bush and [Secretary of Education Rod] Paige use their offices as "bully pulpits" to encourage schools to stop the so-called "arms race" of spiraling spending on football and basketball facilities and coaches.

Yeah, right. I'm sure that will happen.