Over 400 Division I men’s athletic teams have been disbanded from existence since the inception of Title IX. Title IX, implemented in 1972, “is a comprehensive federal law that prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in any federally funded education program or activity.” (Keating) Title IX has achieved great success with women’s sports since the inception and the number of females in sports is six times greater since the inception of Title IX (diversity.siu.edu). Although it has had great strides with women, it is disadvantaging men, especially in athletics. Title IX requires that colleges give the same amount of scholarships to women as they do men. On paper, this seems to be a great idea, but the consequences were never taken into consideration and caused tremendous problems. In order to give the same amount of scholarships to men and women and be compliant with Title IX, men’s athletic teams have been cut in the process. Men losing the opportunity to receive scholarships for their respective sport at a college of their choice and sports teams getting cut is an issue that needs to be solved. Men’s sports teams cannot keep on being cut, for there are ways in which Title IX must be enhanced to benefit everyone. The problems of men’s athletic teams being cut can be solved by reducing outrageous spending, add women’s programs, and give more control to colleges. Before Title IX was created, fewer than 32,000 women took part in college athletics while over 170,000 men
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
What you have just read above is the “Prohibition of Sex Discrimination”, also known as Title IX. Title IX has been effective in the realm of education for nearly three decades, but has been a source a controversy in collegiate sports. Since the beginning of time, women were believed to be inferior to men in every way. Women were socialized to bear children and take care of the household when, and only when, the men were out hunting.
In order for schools to allow and equal set of opportunities for all female sports there must first be space at the school and in the schools budget. Consequently, due to the fact that around the time the law was created the number of male sports were dominant compared to female sports, the schools had to eliminate the count of male sports. A large amount of male students attempted to sue this law as stated by CBS news. The male athletes claimed that by the way the law was being enforced, they felt that their athletics departments were “losing out” to women departments. During a 60 minutes report the women who ran and swam their way through college with the assistance of athletic scholarships were called the daughters of Title IX. For instance, Julie Foudy who claims that Title IX is the blaim for her success of being a professional athlete and the reason she was the captain of a team that won the world cup. Julie remarked upon Title IX with statements such as “We were Title IX babies,” and “I think it all, it all trails back to Title IX, for sure.” For Foudy the law opened doors for opportunist and success for the male students this just so happens to not be the case. In order to comply with Title IX, the schools had to effectuate with what's called proportionality. (CBS news) Proportionality states that the portion of the school that is female must also be the portion of athletes that is female. Therefore setting
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.
This law provides that no person, despite their gender, may be denied any funding in a program that receives federal assistance. It is also dependent on one of three factors, the most important being that it is based on the ratio of the student body. For example, if a school has a male to female ratio of 60:40, then the funds must be allocated so that forty percent of the school’s athletic budget meets the criteria to provide for the percentage of female students. As a result, many men’s collegiate athletics programs have been cut in order to provide financial space for women’s teams, despite some of these men’s programs being incredibly successful. While Title IX has succeeded in its mission for women, it should be revised in order to prevent the reduction of successful men’s athletic
Title IX was a law signed in to make sure than no one is excluded based on gender. When the law was signed in, the numbers showed that it helped get women more involved in sports. However, with more women involved in sports, men are still the favored gender and women are discriminated against. Women are discriminated against in sports shown by fewer opportunities in high school and college level sports, unequal treatment of women college athletes, and unfair opportunities and treatment to women coaches.
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.
This article address suggested changes to Title IX of the Education Act of 1974 and to the interpretation of Title IX. The changes discussed are (1) a change to the method of college supported team funding, (2) the abolishment of the designation of “men’s sports” and “women’s sports” by replacing with the term and concept of “participant sports,” and (3) the inclusion of intersexed and transgendered / transsexual participants.
Even though institutions are required by law to meet one of those terms, a school rarely complies sufficiently with Title IX. In fact, at a few schools certain opportunities have diminished for women. Since Title IX was passed, women’s teams, at some schools, have shrunk due to death of field hockey in 1991 (Pinney 2). Although it is not required for schools to comply, funding for women’s teams have not been equal either.
As stated previously, women have a much lower interest in competing in athletics, statistically speaking. For example, high schools must also obey the regulations put into play by Title IX by offering the same number of sports teams for each gender, thus giving high school students equal opportunities to participate in athletics. However, even though both male and females are offered the same opportunities, 1.4 million fewer females choose to compete in high school sports than males. Based on recent reports from the 2010-11 academic year from the state high school athletic associations from all 50 states, sports participation among genders is approximately 4.5 million boys, or 60% of total participation, as compared to approximately 3.1 million girls, or only 40% of total participation.(Toporek) Although this statistic clearly
Since Title IX’s beginning, American culture has transformed from looking down on female athletes to admiring them and the benefits they receive. Females no longer need to be overly reminded that they have the right to participate in athletics. Therefore, it is no longer necessary that there be a law dictating that there be equal amounts of male and female
According to research presented by Becky Vest and Gerald Masterson, records show that two years after Title IX was voted into law approximately 50,000 men and les than 80 women were under athletic scholarship. By 1997 one-third of all the athletic scholarship money was awarded to women. While this may be the case, the number of female participants in athletic programs has grown stagnant and does not equal the number of male participants. The opportunities offered however, are equal. Title IX does not mandate that schools have an equal amount of participation between males and females, but that the institution must present equal opportunities to both males and females.
Title IX came to be in 1972. It was put in place by Congress and became an educational amendment. This law has specific sections, and one section states that girls and women who are in federally- funded education programs also including athletics are not to be discriminated against. It is no secret that females have more of a hardship than men in a lot of areas with sports being one of those top areas. This amendment ensures that girls and women will get the same opportunity and fairness in athletics just like men do. In result, females have even had better facilities as well as the equal opportunities. Things have gotten better for females, but this amendment was not welcomed in the beginning when it was first implemented. People complained that boy’s/men’s sports would suffer a loss because of this, specifically the NCAA and high school administrators. “Title IX passed with little controversy in 1972. Soon after Title IX passed, however, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and high school administrators complained that boys' sports would suffer if girls' sports had to be funded equally. Regulations about how to implement the law were not released until two years later, and these regulations did not go into effect until July 1975. Even then, the Office of
Title IX forces schools and other athletic programs to adjust to this rule. This means that traditional men’s program now have to share funding with women’s sports. ("Title IX Legal Manual”).