1999-2000 Athletic Team Achievements Women's Basketball National Champions BIG EAST Tournament Champions BIG EAST Regular Season Champions Field Hockey NCAA Tournament Semifinalists BIG EAST Tournament Champions BIG EAST Regular Season Champions Ice Hockey MAAC Tournament Champions Men's Soccer NCAA Men's College Cup Semifinalists BIG EAST Tournament Champions Women's Soccer NCAA Women's College Cup Quarterfinalists BIG EAST Northeast Division Champions Men's Track & Field New England Indoor Champions New England Outdoor Champions Women's Track & Field New England Indoor Champions

The victory in opportunity came in the form of the University's most recent Title IX progress report. Title IX is a set of federal regulations that enhance opportunities, scholarships and amenities for female student athletes.

Last spring, Lamar Daniel, a national consultant in gender equity and sports management, reported that UConn's Division of Athletics not only succeeded in achieving the goals it had outlined for the third year of a five-year plan, but also, in a number of cases, exceeded those goals.

"The voluntary commitment to full compliance sets the University [of Connecticut] apart from the great majority of universities in Division I, and the openness of its actions makes it unique among intercollegiate institutions," Daniel said.

The University's philosophy for Title IX has always been to expand its athletics programs by increasing opportunities for women, not decreasing them for men. Since the Title IX plan was adopted by UConn's Board of Trustees in 1996, women's crew and women's lacrosse have been added to the roster of intercollegiate sports. And beginning in the 2000-2001 academic year, the number of female student-athletes will increase as women's ice hockey becomes UConn's 24th varsity sport.

"We have worked very hard to achieve compliance," says Lew Perkins, UConn's director of athletics. "Our student-athletes, male and female, enhance this University's sense of spirit, pride, and achievement, while representing UConn in an outstanding fashion. They, in turn, deserve the best academic and athletic experiences we can provide for them."

While the University has expanded athletic opportunity, its level of success across all areas of athletic competition continues to reach new heights. UConn's 23 intercollegiate athletic programs achieved a winning record of 326-134-1 during the 1999-2000 academic year.

The athletic accomplishments of the 600 student-athletes are matched by their achievements in the classroom. UConn student-athletes have an academic retention rate of 99 percent. Even more impressive, nearly 40 percent of these young men and women achieved a "B" or better grade average.