TRENDS: Colleges have discovered that women can row, and boy, are they happy about putting big teams on the water.

Early in June, up at Lake Natomas, with hardly anybody watching, women took a leap.

That's when the first-ever National College Athletic Association women's crew championships crowned the University of Washington the queens of all they surveyed. And athletic directors across the land heaved a big sigh of relief.

Not because they like the University of Washington, but because this sport -- this business of women laying their hands on oars and rowing -- is saving their collective butts.

How exactly does that work? Well, the truth about women's rowing is that it's a sport that requires fielding a large team, which in turn means it can command up to 20 athletic scholarships, the most the NCAA sanctions for any women's sport.

And those 20 scholarships are going a long way to solve a big problem. Namely, 25 years ago, Title IX stipulated that schools had to offer to women what they offered to men. That is, just as many athletic scholarships. Sounds uncomplicated until you realize that 85 scholarships go to men to play football. And there is no equivalent sport for women.