BALTIMORE, Md. – Baltimore City Community College athletic director Tara A. Owens announced Tuesday that BCCC will add intercollegiate men's and women's cross country and women's tennis to its sport offerings, and will discontinue its baseball program. BCCC will now offer a total of six intercollegiate sports, including women's volleyball and men's and women's basketball.

The decision to add the new sports was made so that BCCC can respond to requirements in Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972. Title IX, as it is most commonly referred to, is an amendment to the U.S. Civil Rights Act of 1964 that requires all schools to allocate their resources to men and women in proportion to their interest and enrollment.

“Decisions of this caliber are always tough,” Owens said. “We are taking the necessary steps to ensure compliance with Title IX. We look forward to continued growth of our athletics program.”

Owens added, “We found ourselves facing two options in reference to our Title IX compliance: Either we had to continue the periodic expansion of programming for women in order to be responsive to their interest and ability, or adjust the current offerings to provide equitable and substantially proportionate participation opportunities for our men and women." “The decision was made to increase the number of women's programs and replace baseball with men's cross country because of the smaller roster size.”

For more information on all BCCC athletics, log on to www.bcccpanthers.com.