Coaches want to keep men at practice.

Byline: Rob Moseley The Register-Guard

Pac-10 Conference women's basketball coaches are unanimous in supporting the continued use of male scout players in workouts, though some acknowledged that the practice needs to be regulated in the wake of an NCAA committee's call last month for a ban.

The use of males in women's basketball workouts is a longstanding practice employed by both Oregon and Oregon State, along with the rest of the Pac-10 and schools nationwide. But the NCAA's Committee on Women's Athletics released a statement in December calling for a ban on the grounds that the practice "violates the spirit of gender equity and Title IX."

Conference coaches, however, argued that their female players - both starters and reserves - get equal court time against the males, thereby refuting the NCAA's claim that the men rob women of "participation opportunities." Pac-10 coaches also agreed that using male scout players was beneficial to the female players' development, while the committee said "there is no way to measure the true validity of that argument" and called it "an archaic notion of male preeminence that continues to impede progress toward gender equity and inclusion."

The statement has caused an outcry among prominent coaches and players, including those in the Pac-10.

"I challenge anybody to give me one good reason that we should not be allowed to use male practice players," Arizona State coach Charli Turner Thorne said. "Because I cannot think of one. They are absolutely a positive and a blessing, and only help to grow the game of women's basketball."

Turner Thorne said she was told by NCAA President Myles Brand that limitations on the use of male practice players are likely to be proposed. Potential legislation on the subject isn't expected on the NCAA's agenda until this summer at the earliest.

Nancy Lieberman, a former standout player and coach who is a member of the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame, wrote in a column on ESPN.com that, "According to one source who wanted to remain anonymous, a group of senior women's administrators across the country is spearheading the proposal, although at least one coach of a top-15 team is believed to be both a proponent of the initiative and the one lobbying for the group's support."

Oregon's senior women's administrator, Renee Mack Baumgartner, said the Ducks will continue to use male practice players for the time being.

"We don't want to disadvantage our teams in any way," Mack Baumgartner said. "But we're going to study it just like the NCAA, and I think it's going to be a very interesting discussion."

Among the potential limitations on the use of male practice players being discussed are a cap on the number of days or hours per week men can be on the court, or a limit on the number of male players used, either on the court at any one time or on the practice roster at all, possibly in relation to the number of injured female players on a team.

Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer is among those seeking limitations. She spoke of unnamed schools where as many as six or seven men per day participate in practices, and said that "there are women that are unhappy about that."

"In some situations it has been abused, and it is an issue that should be looked at, and there should be some guidelines," VanDerveer said.

But VanDerveer also acknowledged her own limited use of male scout players at Stanford.

Most coaches seem to prefer the continued use of male players in full-court team situations while potentially limiting their participation in other drills.

"I just think they're an important part of our development," said UO coach Bev Smith, a star player for the Ducks from 1978-82.

"We didn't use them when I played, but we also went into ratball gyms and played against them because we knew it was the best thing for us and our development."

Oregon junior Kaela Chapdelaine said she "loves having male practice players. They push us very much in practice. They make us better players and get after us."

Oregon State coach LaVonda Wagner called the use of male scout players a "no-brainer" at the Division I level but acknowledged that it may be a more pressing issue at lower levels, where rosters can be larger and players are more likely not to be on scholarship.

Lieberman, in her column for ESPN.com, wrote that the subject of eliminating male practice players "shouldn't even come up for debate. Male practice players have become a vital part of women's basketball, and taking them away from women's hoops would be like removing tackling dummies from the football field.

"To be able to compete against stronger and often faster men in practice has only made my players - and me during my own playing days - better on the court. The thought of losing that advantage is simply a crazy idea."

OREGON VS. ARIZONA

7 p.m. Thursday at McArthur Court. No TV. Radio: KSCR-AM (1320).