Thought some of you might be interested in this.


Volleyball coach sues ESU
By Stuart Goldman
goldman@emporiagazette.com

Emporia State University volleyball coach Maxine Mehus is suing the university for $200,000 on the grounds of sex discrimination, a hostile work environment, unequal pay and Title IX violations.

Mehus and her attorney, Denise Henning of Kansas City, Mo., filed the lawsuit on Friday. A timetable for a trial has not been set, although the trial is designated to take place in the U.S. District Court in Kansas City, Kan.

“This hasn’t been a spur-of-the-moment situation,” Mehus said Sunday. “This has happened over several months’ time, probably the better part of two years.

“I’ve pursued avenues on campus to get this resolved, to no avail. It left me with no other alternative than to pursue this in this manner. I feel strongly that the facts of the case will prove themselves out.”

At the heart of the lawsuit is Mehus’ claim that she is not being paid on the same level as her “similarly situated male counterparts.”

In a news release from Henning’s office, Mehus claims that she is paid $15,000 to $20,000 less a year than her “male head coach colleagues at Emporia State University.”

Mehus, who has coached the ESU volleyball team for the past 15 seasons, earns $46,499 a year, according to figures released on Sunday by ESU athletic director Kent Weiser.

Mehus is the fifth-highest paid head coach of the nine head coaches in the ESU athletic department. Dave Wiemers, who just completed his second season as ESU’s head football coach, earns $63,000 annually. Brandon Schneider, in his fifth season as women’s head basketball coach at ESU, earns $61,327. David Moe, in his second season as men’s head basketball coach at ESU, earns $60,008.

David Harris, who has coached at ESU for 11 years, is the fourth-highest paid coach at $51,937. Harris technically serves as the head coach of six teams at ESU: men’s and women’s cross country, men’s and women’s indoor track and field, and men’s and women’s outdoor track and field.

Mehus also is dissatisfied that she has a 10-month contract and not a 12-month contract. Among ESU head coaches, only Wiemers, Moe and Schneider have 12-month contracts.

Another sticking point for Mehus is that she has teaching responsibilities in addition to her coaching duties, something other ESU head coaches do not have. Weiser said Harris and baseball coach Brian Embery are the only other coaches who have teaching responsibilities.

“We’ve been working with Coach Mehus on some of these things for a while, so (the lawsuit) was not a complete surprise,” Weiser said. “We take it very seriously. We have always respected the law, and I respect her right to file such a suit. But we also firmly believe that the accusations have no merit, and we will vigorously defend ourselves.”

In the lawsuit, Mehus claims that she is receiving fewer resources toward the volleyball team’s overall budget, travel accommodations and supplies. Mehus also claims that she is working in an atmosphere “of open hostility toward women and women’s athletics.”

The athletics department’s senior woman administrator, Carmen Nelon, associate athletic director for internal operations at ESU, said, “This is my third year (at ESU), and no way have I seen any open hostility towards women or women’s athletics.”

Last fall, Mehus was interviewed by The Gazette for a story on Weiser and his cousin, Kansas State athletic director Tim Weiser. In the interview, Mehus addressed the environment of the ESU athletic department.

“I go can go into (Schneider’s) office and say, ‘How did you do last night?’ and vice versa,” Mehus said in the Oct. 25 article. “Coach Moe will come and shoot the breeze with me. That’s the kind of atmosphere that makes me feel comfortable.

“I think it starts from the top.”

On Sunday, Mehus was asked about those comments and their relation to the lawsuit.

“We have a good group of coaches,” Mehus said. “I don’t have any animosity toward any coach, nor do I have animosity toward any administrator. It’s just that there are things that need to be looked at and addressed, and I feel that that hasn’t been done.”

Mehus has long been a supporter of Title IX, the legislation enforced in 1972 that prohibits sex discrimination in education programs or activities that receive federal financial assistance. Title IX has created a lightning rod of controversy in recent years with the growth of women’s college athletics at the expense of some men’s programs such as wrestling.

Mehus gave a lecture on Title IX for the American Association of University Women (AAUW) on Nov. 13 in the Emporia Public Library.

Mehus has won 451 matches at ESU and 605 matches in her career. Last season, the Lady Hornets were 20-13 overall and tied for fifth place in the MIAA conference at 7-9.

Mehus won her 600th career match on Oct. 5 in a tournament in Hoover, Ala. Before ESU’s home match against Northwest Missouri State on Oct. 9, Weiser presented a game ball to Mehus in honor of her 600th win.

Mehus won 154 matches in nine seasons at Peru State (Neb.) College from 1979 to 1988. She also served as Peru State’s athletic director before coming to ESU. Mehus’ career accomplishments, however, are not listed in the 2002 ESU volleyball media guide, nor is any other biographical information about her.

As for her future at ESU, Mehus said, “I’ve seen retaliation happen against those that pursued these kinds of avenues. That’s not my call. That’s the administration’s call. But I still believe in this administration, that if they’re open-minded, if they want to resolve things for the betterment of the university for men’s and women’s athletics ... things can get settled.”

Weiser said: “(The lawsuit) has not and it will not affect the professional relationship between the athletics director and the coach.”

The lawsuit comes at a time when the ESU athletic department is enjoying great success. The football team won the Mineral Water Bowl and completed its third nine-win season in school history. Both basketball teams are currently in first place in the MIAA.

“We have had a terrific year,” Weiser said. “Any time you have to deal with things that are like this, it takes away from the efforts and the accomplishments of coaches and student-athletes. I would hate that if it happened. But it might.”

Pay Check

Salaries for ESU head coaches in 2002-03:

- Dave Wiemers, football, $63,000

- Brandon Schneider, women’s basketball, $61,327

- David Moe, men’s basketball, $60,008

- David Harris, cross country, track and field, $51,937

- Maxine Mehus, volleyball, $46,499

- Brian Embery, baseball $40,562

- Ivan Huntoon, women’s soccer, $27,500

- Shawn Siegele, tennis, $24,727

- Stacy Gemeinhardt, softball, $24,508

If you ask me, the wrong woman's coach filed the lawsuit. The softball coach should have nailed them.
10-month contract, for volleyball and 46k is good wages for coaches considering the short season they have compared to basketball.
And the basketball coach who has been there longer for women than the men is making more, but is a man, correct.
Softball and baseball have the big difference, and they go both fall ball and spring ball for half the money she gets for just fall ball.

Like I said. wrong coach filed suit. I don't think based just on pay scale she has a leg to stand on. There has to be more behind it ie travel lodging, meal allowance, scholarship money, etc.

I think the idea behind this title nine was good, just that it hasn't turned out that way in application. Both men's and women's sports are being hurt. My son experienced this when Independence dropped their track and field program for men AND WOMEN, back in 94 so they could add women's softball AFTER finishing fourth at the national meet.

I guarantee, you have never seen me as hot as I was then having to jump around in June to try and find a new school that wanted a decathalete

This is a frivolous lawsuit. Mehus is the second highest paid volleyball coach in the MIAA and one of the least successful. They ought to fire her for not developing a decent program over the last 14 years. It is a shame that ESU has to spend time, energy,and money defending itself against these patently absurd allegations. Fighting this lawsuit over the next few years will hurt all the athletic programs at ESU by diverting resources to the legal defense and away from all the student athletes at ESU. It is a pity that our legal system doesn't provide for recovery of damages brought about by bogus lawyers filing bogus lawsuits.

Read the posts we have been arguing in the thread called Title IX. I think she is way overpaid for a volleyball coach. Anyone that thinks her responsibilities, duties, and work load in any way resemble the football coach, not to mention revenue production, is just dillusional.

I too think this is a bunch of crap, but she isn't just a "coach", she is also an instructor, so part of her pay, and I don't want to speculate what percentage, comes from teaching...Some of the other coaches do only that, coach...

The football and basketball coaches should be paid more...They bring in the revenue...Football at Emporia brings in the most athletic revenue, followed probably by women's basketball (the women's program is huge in Emporia and has been very successful over the last 5-10 years), then the men's program (probably, though, the men and women are even)...It wouldn't surprise me if baseball is next, followed by the volleyball and softball programs...

If she is the 5th highest-paid coach there and her program is 5th highest in bringing in revenue, then she's probably getting paid what she should be...

The fact that schools make money off football is a myth. Only the top and I mean top Division I programs in the country actually make money. Everyone else is subsidized.
We're talking profit here, not just making enough from gates to meet scholarship and traveling expenses.

True, most don't make a profit, even a $1 profit, however, I was trying to make a point that football is the sport that "financially supports", for the most part, the other sports, followed by basketball...

Yeah she's that very successful Fan54. She only has over 600 wins in her career and over 450 at Emporia State. That is one part of the lawsuit. You guys haven't even addressed the other parts of her claim. Don't be so quick to judge someone when you don't have all the facts of the case. And one thing you will learn is the only way get get all of those facts to come out is to sue. That is why we have a court system.

What a Joke. Enough Said.

Hey sands you are preaching to the wrong crowd here. I have been teaching and coaching for 28 years and I am just now getting to where I am making the money she is making now. She is treated with disdain by administrators and she is getting screwed over for equipement.... man what a rough deal. Welcome to every single coaching job in America what makes her special. I went to Emporia State and they nearly scuttled the athletic programs there in the name of womens sports.

I'm not taking sides I wrestled my whole life and I know what title 9 does to wrestling. You said you teached and coached for 28 years, how would you like if your school brought in another coach and paid him 10-15 thousand dollars more in his first year? Are you coaching at a high school? If you are you shouldn't be comparing a high school coaching salary to a collegiate salary. I am in no way saying anything bad about high school coaching I myself coached in high school it's just hard to compare the two.

You can't compare new coaches to old coaches and their salaries. You can only compare sport to sport. The fact being that you couldn't get a decent football coach at ESU for forty grand, whereas forty grand will get you a good volleyball coach. Compare the average salaries of DII volleyball coaches nationaly and compare her salary to others. That is the only way you can determine if she is getting paid unfairly.

If you are using the male to female comparison then look at this analogy. The owner of the LA Lakers also owns the LA Sparks. Does the owner have to pay the women players as much as the male players? No. Is that sexual discrimination? I don't know.
Everything is just what it is.

So you are telling me that seniority plays no part in what someone is paid? I do agree that football has a higher salary and should have one as well as other sports with greater responsibilities. Look at teachers and how much they get paid, a teacher with 20 years experience is going to get paid more that one with 5. She does have teaching responsibilities. I do think she is asking way too much money. On a side note-- Remember we have a certain woman who is asking for 50 million dollars from the U.S. government because her husband died of anthrax.

Actually, truth be known, a teacher of 20 years is probably going to be reduced in staff so they can hire one with less than five years and show the public how much money they saved in taxes which pay salaries.

How many times do you hear "they said" in the education profession. Ever wonder who "they" is?

The fact is seniority does count in teaching or coaching salaries. Are all teachers fired or let go once they reach a certain age or time of employment? No, none at my high school ever were. Yes it does happen but that was not my arguement.

What was your point?

Hey Hovpen.... The Big Twelve made about 12 Million last year on the bowl games alone. Thats the conference as a whole. Take a look at the total money the TV packages all inclusive comes to in this country every single year. Talking about Billions of dollars here. Now factor in the dollars TV pays to do Volleyball. Football is subsidized???? YOu bet it is, by TV. They make a fortune or they wouldn't play it. The motivator is money. It should be attached to the NCAA logo$

If I remember the research I did when I did an original article on this, only about 85 Division I schools make money on their football programs. That is a far cry from the schools that support the program. And, the Big 12 is only 12 of those schools. (There are 12 schools aren't there. You never know with some of these conferences.) Yes, somebody makes money off of it. How much TV revenue did Pitt State, Ft. Hays, Kansas Wesleyan, and Emporia State get last year?
How much did KU make last year on their own?

Hovpen 85 out of 115 schools. That is 74% of DI programs that are in the green. According to my research the average DI school makes 4 million on football and basketball (as of the late 1990's). How much on volleyball? There are no statistics because no one wants to point out that they don't generate anything.

Here is the story on D1 athletic budgets http://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/college/orl-sptbudgetcht09020903feb09,02135191.htmlstory?