Gender Differences In College Sports

The literature review of this article focuses on Title IX itself, as well as statistical numbers that provide the reader knowledge about the impact it has had. Title IX is a comprehensive federal law that has removed many barriers that once prevented people, on the basis of sex, from participating in educational opportunities and careers of their choice (Bower & Hums, 2013). Acosta and Carpenter (2012) reported that the number of female athletes playing college sports has risen from 16,000 in 1968 to over 200,000 in 2012. Although the increased number of opportunities has provided women the chance to participate in the sport, the percentage of women coaching women’s teams has decline over time from 90% in 1972 to 42.9% in 2012 (Acosta & Carpenter, 2012). Alongside coaching is the lack of women working in intercollegiate administration. In 1972, the percentage of female athletic directors overseeing women’s programs was 90%, Today, the percentage of female athletic directors is 20.3%, a small increase from 2010

Women in professional sports fits into the Sex and Power: Global Gender Inequality class because many female athletes have experienced the inequalities in a professional sports setting. Female athletes are being put down by gender inequalities, causing less females participating in athletic programs. Women athletes are being paid less than their male counterparts. Along with being paid less, female and males are receiving unequal benefits in the form of scholarship, media coverage, transportation, and stadium conditions. The professional sport’s world is filled with the obsession of body image and sexuality. Through this obsession, female athletes have been abused from the people they trust the most. There is an increasing inequality in women’s professional sports in the form of pay, sexuality, and abuse.

The idea of equity in society particularly in athletics has been a major topic in athletics for many years. However, in spite of the long and storied history of the fight for equity in athletics we still see a lot of misunderstanding especially involving one particular law. This law is Title IX which has a number of awful misconceptions associated with it even from female athletes themselves. One misconception that is very popular especially among the critics of Title IX is the idea that “Title IX exists to force to schools to drop men’s sport’s”(Kane, pg. 3). This is something that was reinforced by an report authored by Dr. Mary Jo Kane who is a Professor at the University of Minnesota regarding the 40th anniversary of Title IX. Dr. Kane indicated that she opens her sport sociology class discussions on Title IX by asking her class what they know about this subject. Dr. Kane indicated in her report that Title IX “remains a mystery to the vast majority of her students, both male and female” (Kane, pg. 3). Dr. Kane goes on to point out the misconception mentioned above is commonly said by her students including her female D1 scholarship athletes who are the ones that have benefitted most from this law. Overall Title IX is a great law even if it is a law that takes a lot of bad press although this is largely due to the actions or in some cases lack thereof from the leaders who reside in college athletics.

Over two decades have passed since the enactment of Title IX, a federal law prohibiting sex discrimination in federally funded education, including athletics. As a result of Title IX, women and girls have benefited from more athletic participation opportunities and more equitable facilities. Because of Title IX, more women have received athletic scholarships and thus opportunities for higher education that some may not have been able to afford otherwise. In addition, because of Title IX the salaries of coaches for women's teams have increased. Despite the obstacles women face in athletics, many women have led and are leading the way to gender equity.

Throughout history, according to the laws of almost every country, males have been the dominate sex. In almost every sector of life, the law has granted men more rights and privileges, whether it be property rights or the right to vote. However, in the United States, ever since women’s suffrage, all women’s rights have been increasing steadily. One privilege that men have had in the past, active and supported participation in intercollegiate sports, has also been opened up to women through Title IX, part of an amendment to the 1964 Civil Rights Act. Although Title IX does not solely target sports, its effect on college sports across the United States

Even when Title IX was first introduced, it was not embraced with open arms and immediately implemented into society. Scholarships and funding toward women’s sports were a huge controversy, as many men’s athletic teams, mostly football, found themselves having to give up funding toward their program to compensate for the new women’s teams being formed. In fact, schools, men’s collegiate sport teams, and the NCAA challenged Title IX countless times for it’s discrimination against men and it’s push for equal federal funding for both men and women. Many male coaches, athletic directors, and particularly members of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) feared that women athletes would siphon off too much of their funds. So The NCAA had actively and publically opposed Title IX, trying first to exclude athletics from it altogether in 1975, and then working to exempt revenue producing sports like football.

In January of 2011, Delaware University announced that it was discontinuing its men’s wrestling, swimming, tennis, and gymnastics programs (Gottesdiener, 2011). Organizations like this are being diminished and discarded at an ever-increasing rate all across America. College and high school students competing in these athletic events are truly passionate about their chosen sport. In many cases, promising athletes are offered scholarships, initiating a symbiotic relationship between the student and the school they play for. In 1972, a new legislation was put forward with the intent of leveling the school-sponsored playing field. “No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, or denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any educational program or activity receiving federal funding” (What Is Title IX, 2014). This law is widely accepted as being an invaluable catalyst for the momentous success in female athletics today. Although Title IX has without a doubt been incredibly beneficial to female sports programs, it has not too recently been the source of some heavy speculation. With justifiable evidence, and passionate fervor, male athletes across America are declaring that Title IX is synonymous with injustice. Title IX was necessary in 1972, but it is now outdated and hindering male athletics. Two conflicting arguments, both with substantial claim, leave room for all but one solution. Title IX, although once

It is also important to examine the impacts of Title IX on racial diversity as well, not only gender diversity. In 1972, it was reported that 30% of white girls and women were playing sports which increased to 40% after the passage of Title IX (Picket et. all, 2012). Participation levels among black women have actually decreased from 35% in 1972 to only 27% in 2002 (Picket et. all, 2012). This leads to the conclusion that in 1972 Black women played more sports then their White counterparts, and since that time White women have begun to participate in more sports and this progression is continuing (Picket et. all, 2012). As Title IX continues to alter the ratio of males to females, society will continue to change. This change will not only be observed in sports but also in education and the workplaces, as organizations strive to create equality between the genders. Although sometimes difficult, change is often required to continue to develop sports and push athletic organizations and athletes to the highest level they can achieve.

The articles, “Title IX Under Fire As Colleges Cut Teams” by Jean Marbella and Carrie Wells and “40 Years Later, Title IX Is Still Fighting Perception It Hurts Men’s Sports” by Gloria Goodale, share different viewpoints on Title IX. Marbella and Wells share details and statistics showing that men’s teams are sometimes cut in order to meet Title IX’s requirements. However, Goodale counters that the reasons for the teams being cut was not Title IX, but the budgets of the university. She explains that Title IX is being framed for these incidents (Goodale). Goodale and Marbella and Wells argue two different viewpoints on the Title IX.

In the early 20th Century, women lacked much needed opportunities to participate in college athletics; however, with the coming of a new law called “Title IX”, these opportunities would soon become a reality. Title IX is a law that granted women equal rights to those of men, specifically within college athletics. Prior to Title IX, women were denied entry into specific universities for no other reason than the fact that they were women. When more and more women began to speak out and bring attention to the situation, it became a huge topic that needed a solution quick. Around the nation, Civil Rights Movements and Women’s Rights Movements began to dominate streets everywhere.

Money is usually a problem with many things in life, one of them also happens to be gender equality. Colleges and universities spend an average of $1.6 million on the men’s athletics program. Yet, the women’s athletic teams receive nearly half that amount (Almond 2). Women should not be receiving half the amount that a men’s team gets just because their sports are less ‘popular’ than men’s. A school’s main objective may be to promote the men’s team first, to get out of a deficit. Then they may be able to finance the women’s team with the money they make from the men’s sporting events. That is not an equal or fair solution. It would take years to pay off a deficit and then sufficiently finance the female athletic programs. Numerical equality would take a vast quantity of public tax money in addition to the financial assistance that now pays for most of women’s sports. Universities increased its support of women’s athletics over the years but according to Ellen Voelz,

Title IX is a federal law that was passed in 1972. The law states that on one can be kept from participating in any education program or activity because of his or her sex. Before Title IX took effect, women rarely played sports at the college level, and you never saw a woman coaching a sport. It was very unheard of for colleges to have several different girls’ sports teams. The Gender Equity in Athletics and Sports acknowledges, “Before Title IX, women were 2% of the college students participating in sports” (1). Title IX gave women who wanted to be able to play sports the opportunity to do just that. Today we have thousands of women athletes at the college level, and some of them have even moved on to play sports professionally. Terrance Ross confirms, “At the collegiate level, there are currently more than 207,000 female student athletes, a 180 percent increase from the early 80s. Much of this success can be attributed to Title IX” (6). Thanks to Title IX, our daughters have a better chance to go to college and play the sport they love and to fulfill their

Women’s equality is an issue that has been around for awhile. While women have been given many rights to increase equality, including the right to vote and go to college, the problem hasn’t completely vanished. One area that still sees this is in sports. Women’s sports do not draw nearly as many fans and are not covered in the media as much as men’s sports, pay differences between male and female athletes are large, and female athletes have to wait longer to start their professional career than men, which risks their professional career before it even starts.

Schwarz, C., Gairrett, L., Aruguete, S., and Gold, S. (2005) stated that the purpose of this article is to find out whether there is a difference in eating attitudes, body dissatisfaction, and perfectionism among female athletes and non-athletes involved in a variety of collegiate sports. Finding out how perfectionism, eating attitudes or body dissatisfaction may relate to either judged or refereed sports may indicate that there is an eating disorder. If there is an indication of an eating disorder for a specific type of sport or even non-athletes, the research will help prevent this.

In tradition, the man is the breadwinner of the family; while this has changed, men still dominate many career paths. Once upon a time, only men were allowed to play sports in high school. This had drastically changed, due to Title IX, a law that provided opportunities to different career paths (“Mythbusting”). But, on a professional sport level, women are not seen playing in the NFL or the NBA. Women have their own leagues, like the Women’s Basketball Association. There are blended sports, but, for the most part, men and women are separate. The main argument is that women are not as physically able as men and therefore, they should not compete with men. People see this separation as fair; but, this gender separation will lead to men controlling the sports world (Faulmueller 1-2). However, the amount of women in professional coaching careers is diminutive. A mere two to three percent of male teams are coached by females and in women’s sports, the amount of female coaches has plummeted forty-two percent; female coaches already earn less than their counterparts and many are now struggling to find new careers (Waldron 2.”Facts” 40). Another career path where women are poorly represented is the military. The 1994 Direct Ground