I couldn't help wondering, as I stood in front of Rec Hall and saw the protesters and signs, where all these people and their fervent dedication have been for the last few months.

Had they been visible, had they succeeded in getting the campus as excited about the women's basketball team as they have about the women's basketball team's road trip, there never would have been a controversy.

If enough people had supported the Lady Lions, they would have earned enough gate receipts to host their NCAA first-round game.

As evidenced by the events of the past few days, the Department of Intercollegiate Athletics didn't think very hard about who should have played in Rec Hall. Apparently administrators never considered that they were slighting the Lady Lions.

They saw only dollar signs, which is natural in a Division I athletic department that supports 28 varsity sports with football revenue. They didn't see protests or letters to the editor. Why should they have -- they never saw crowds at the games.

But it isn't fair to say that the athletic department is slighting women's sport. Penn State treats its women athletes better than most universities do.

Title IX, which Congress passed in 1972, mandated that schools receiving any federal funding, be it for chemistry labs or school lunch programs, must distribute money equally for men's and women's programs. This law made its biggest impact in women's sport.

It was good because it gave more high school and college women the opportunity to compete and more money to finance teams and equipment. It was bad, however, because coaching women's teams suddenly became profitable, so naturally men entered this job market. Before long, women had lost control of their own sports to male coaches and male administrators.

Once again, everyone saw only dollar signs.

But seven of the 12 women's coaches at Penn State are women, well above the national average. And Penn State has two women in its athletic administration, also more than most other schools.

Female coaches and administrators give Penn State female athletes role models, something women at many other colleges lack. Former Lady Lion athletes Charlene Morett Newman, now the field hockey coach, and Ann Troyan, now an assistant basketball coach, have returned to their alma mater. This support is important, but it only grazes the surface and doesn't touch the heart of the problem.

Since everyone has seen this kind of support at Penn State, they've become complacent about the status of women's athletics, both here and nationwide. So when the women's basketball team hits the road for NCAAs and the men's team stays at home for the NIT, people are surprised. But they shouldn't be.

Now a hundred or so people have protested and the signs have been raised. They've probably forced the athletic department to at least think about its decision the next time, but they haven't solved the problem. The only way to solve the problem is to fill Rec Hall for next year's women's basketball games. Then, when 5,000 people attend each women's game, the athletic department will have a decision to make.

But until the community -- women especially -- get out and support the Lady Lions, men's coach Bruce Parkhill's attitude will prevail. There is no decision, because women haven't forced one.

Associate Athletic Director Ellen Perry said earlier this week that no one should think the Lady Lions were sold up the river.

But they were. By complacency.