What is Title IX
The federal law prohibiting sex
discrimination in educational institutions is Title IX of the Educational
Amendments Act of 1972. The law states that "no person in the
United States shall on the basis of sex be excluded from participation in, be
denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education
program or activity receiving federal financial assistance.
Before Title IX
Early
women's college sports were unrecognized by historians because they were not
allowed to compete between institutions. Their competition was mainly against
students and teams from their own schools. "In 1936, 70% of colleges surveyed
used this as a predominant form of sport participation for women"(Bell 2007).
A Day Without Feminism
by Jennifer Baumgardner and Amy Richards
“In high school, the principal is a man. Girls have
physical-education class and play half-court basketball, but not soccer, track,
or cross country; nor do they have any varsity sports teams. Th only
prestigious physical activity for girls is cheerleading, or being a drum
majorette.
After Title IX
Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 was paid little attention in the early legislative efforts and opposition only took place once the question of implementation arose. At first, the NCAA opposed Title IX and became concerned that if it were to apply to intercollegiate sports at all levels and women were to be elevated to a status equal to men, it's financial assets and political power would be threatened.
The Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) was an institutional membership organization that controlled women's athletics before Title IX. The NCAA formed its own Women's Committee and excluded the AIAW from membership. "The formation of this committee was politically significant because prior to this time the NCAA had demonstrated no interest in taking responsibility for women's sports"(Bell 2007). The NCAA had far greater wealth and political influence than the AIAW, so the NCAA eventually forced the AIAW out of control by offering institutions sponsoring women's sports a proposition...
...To introduce women's championships to intercollegiate sports. The NCAA's offer included to:
(a) pay all expenses for teams competing in a national championship
(b) charge no additional membership fees for schools to add women's programs
(c) create financial aid, recruitment, and eligibility rules that were the same for women as for men
(d) guarantee women more television coverage.
Before Title IX women made up only 7% of all high school athletes. As of 2008 they represented 41% of all high school athletes
Before Title IX female college teams received only 2% of athletic budgets. By 2005 women’s college athletics received 33% of total athletic expenditures
