Impact of Title IX

In my last blog, Federal Funding, I discussed various Title IX violations that occurred at  the collegiate level and the resulting “punishment.” After conducting a review of the cases, I discovered that even though some of the Title IX violations were extreme, there has never been an institution that lost their federal funding as punishment. In this blog, I will discuss the overall impact that Title IX has had on athletics since it became a law in 1972.

When Bernice Sandler helped draft Title IX in 1972 she did not give much thought to its impact on sports. In a recent interview with ESPN she said, “‘The only thought I gave to sports when the bill was passed was, 'Oh, maybe now when a school holds its field day, there will be more activities for the girls.’”1 “Forty years later, despite the important impact it's had in other areas, from math and science education to the rights of pregnant students, Title IX is best known for transforming women's athletics.”1 Before Title IX came along, “less than 32,000 women participated in intercollegiate athletics and 300,000 girls in high school athletics. Now, there are more than 200,000 women in college athletics and three millions girls who participate in interscholastic athletics.”2

Although Title IX has had an immense impact on the number of women that participate in sports, it has not made a significant impact on the number of women in leadership positions in sports. “Women hold only 33% of general manager positions within the Women’s National Basketball Association [WNBA], and outside of the U.S., women are less likely to hold leadership positions in sports.”2 Not only do men hold the majority of general manager positions within the WNBA, but they also maintain control of athletic director positions at the collegiate level as well as the high school level.2 “In order for women to have true equality in sport, the media will need to begin to recognize women for their athletic ability and not their looks or personal life.”2 It is unfortunate that the women who receive media coverage in sports are the ones that are perceived as beautiful instead of talented.

Title IX has undoubtedly expanded women’s interest and participation in sports but women are still underrepresented in participation in sports by about 10%.3 James Druckman of Northwestern University states, “sports played by female athletes are often treated secondary to sports played by men, in terms of coverage and resources.”3 As a former female athlete it is hard for me to understand why females would not get the same treatment as males. It is frustrating schools can comply with Title IX mandates by simply documenting that they are continuously surveying and reaching out to women in order to see what sports they are interested in or would like to participate in.

1Dusenbery, M., & Lee, J. (2012, June 22). Charts: The State of Women's Athletics, 40 Years After Title IX. Retrieved from

http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2012/06/charts-womens-athletics-title-nine-ncaa

2Senne, J. A. (2016). Examination of Gender Equality and Female Participation in Sport. The Sport Journal.

http://thesportjournal.org/article/examination-of-gender-equity-and-female-participation-in-sport/

3Druckman. J. N., Gilli, M., Klar, S., & Robinson, J. (2014). Athlete Support for Title IX. The Sport Journal. http://thesportjournal.org/article/athlete-support-for-title-ix/

Federal Funding

In my last blog, Quotas?, I discussed whether or not athletic programs have to meet a quota in order to be in compliance with Title IX. Instead, institutions only have to pass one component of the three-pronged test in order to be in compliance. In this blog I will discuss different Title IX violations and the resulting outcome..

One of the most talked about Title IX violations in the news currently is Baylor University’s football team and its rape scandal. According to Jon Solomon, a CBS Sports Senior Writer, “The public wants blood. Some fans and media are shouting for the NCAA to give Baylor the so-called ‘death penalty.’”1 In this context the death penalty means that the NCAA would ban the football team from competing for at least a year. Some of the most recent allegations in this developing lawsuit are at least 52 acts of rape that took place from 2011-2014 by 32 Baylor football players. Allegations are aimed at coaches who “encouraged female students in the Baylor Bruins (a football recruit hostess group) to have sex with recruits and players.” Assertions have also been made by a student athletic trainer who claims that she was raped; she then withheld this information due to the fact that Baylor officials offered to pay for her education if she did not say anything.1 Even after many women claimed that they were sexually assaulted by Baylor football players, it is not looking like the NCAA is going to do much in the way of punishment. As Jon Solomon said, “civil lawsuits and a federal investigation by the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) could produce far more effective discovery than anything obtained by the NCAA, which lacks subpoena power.”1

Another recent violation of Title IX is Southern Methodist University (SMU) and its sexual harassment case. “Following its investigation, OCR determined that SMU violated Title IX by failing to promptly and equitably respond to student complaints of gender-based harassment and sexual violence, including sexual assault, and to reports of retaliatory harassment.”2 SMU was found to have not responded appropriately or in a timely manner to complaints of sexual assault of a male student by another male student. The institution was given a slap on the wrist and made an agreement to “proactively address the issue of sexual violence on campus.”2

Just this past December the University of Minnesota was “blindsided” when multiple football players were suspended for allegations of sexual assault. This came as a shock to the team because the players were suspended indefinitely while they were preparing for a bowl game in San Diego. The players “were suspended earlier [in the] season for violating team rules after a woman accused them of sexual assault.”3 Because no criminal charges ever came from the allegations, the players were allowed back on the team. “The woman went back to court and took out restraining orders barring the athletes from TCF Bank Stadium, Both sides eventually reached an agreement after the woman testified, detailing a graphic encounter with multiple players.”3 The “latest indefinite suspensions are a result of an internal University of Minnesota investigation into the allegations, conducted by the Office of Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action. Some of the 10 Gophers players are facing not just team suspensions but expulsion from the university.”3

These three cases are just a few of the recent Title IX violations that have been in the news. As of January 2016, “there were close to 250 in [The Chronicle of Higher Education] database, with just under 20 percent of them listed as ‘resolved.”4 “A school found to violate Title IX in theory could lose federal funding and students or parents could sue for violations. However, while some lawsuits have been successful, ultimately no school has lost federal funding.”5

After reading further into these Title IX violations I am shocked that these institutions have not lost their federal funding. No school should cover up their athlete’s wrong doing just so they can win a game. I believe that there should be harsher punishment and that schools should be afraid to lose their funding instead of being confident that their lawyers will get them out of trouble. Coaches and administrators should be role models for their athletes and set a good example that will impact them for the rest of their lives. Maybe actually following through with the threat of taking away federal funding will have a positive influence on other institutions to do the right thing.

1Solomon, Jon. (2017, February 2). Why the NCAA may never punish Baylor for its rape scandal the way fans demand. CBS Sports. Retrieved from

http://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/why-the-ncaa-may-never-punish-baylor-for-its-rape-scandal-the-way-fans-demand/

2U.S. Department of Education. (2014). Southern Methodist University Found in Violation of Title IX, Commits to Remedy Harassment, Sexual Assault of Students. Retrieved from

https://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/southern-methodist-university-found-violation-title-ix-commits-remedy-harassment

3Fox 9 Minneapolis. (2016, December 15). Minn. football players ‘blindsided’ by suspensions after sex assault investigation. Fox News Sports. Retrieved from

http://www.foxnews.com/sports/2016/12/15/minn-football-players-blindsided-by-suspensions-after-sex-assault-investigation.html

4Richmond, Emily. (2016). Is Your College on Feds’ List of Title IX Investigations? Here’s How to Find Out. Education Writers Association. Retrieved from

http://www.ewa.org/blog-educated-reporter/your-college-feds-list-title-ix-investigations-heres-how-find-out

5Druckman. J. N., Gilli, M., Klar, S., & Robinson, J. (2014). Athlete Support for Title IX. The Sport Journal. http://thesportjournal.org/article/athlete-support-for-title-ix/

Quotas?

In my last blog, Title IX and Economics, I discussed Title IX and its economic impact  on athletic programs. While Title IX does not require institutions to spend the same dollar amount on women as they do on men, they should both be treated fairly. Title IX compliance for athletic programs is measured by using three components of the law. The three components are Effective Accommodation of Interests, Financial Assistance, and Equivalence in Other Benefits and Opportunities. In this blog, I will  discuss Component 1: Effective Accommodation of Interests, which consists of a three-prong test, and whether or not the test imposes a strict quota.

According to the Women’s Sports Foundation,”, the three-prong test aids in the determination of  whether or not an athletic program is in compliance with Title IX. The three parts of this test are proportionality, history and continued practice of program expansion, and full accommodations of interests and abilities.1 In order for a program to be in compliance they must pass one of these tests.1 They do not have to pass all three of them, just one.

For a program to pass the proportionality test, female and male sports must have a number of athletes that is in direct proportion with the school’s student enrollment. An example of this is “if 49% of a high school enrollment is female, then 49% of the athletes participating should be female.”2

If an institution is to comply with the history and continued practice of program expansion, they would have to demonstrate that they are putting in the effort to insure that the interests and abilities of the underrepresented sex are being met and expanded upon.1 An example of passing this “prong” of the test would be to have added “new sports or competitive levels for girls within the past 3 to 5 years.”2

To be able to pass the full accommodations of interests and abilities prong of this test, an institution must prove that the interests of the underrepresented sex are completely accommodated by the program that is in place.1 A program would pass this prong of the test by showing proof that they “regularly-administered surveys of females for emerging interests in sports.”2

As wordy as the explanations are for the different prongs of the test, it debunks the myth of athletic programs having to meet “quotas”. The three-prong test is simply a measurement or benchmark in order to determine whether or not a program is treating athletic opportunities for both genders fairly.  According to the law, “satisfaction of any ONE of the three prongs provides evidence of compliance with COMPONENT 1 of the Title IX compliance framework. “2

1Women’s Sports Foundation. (2017). Title IX Myths and Facts. Retreived from https://www.womenssportsfoundation.org/advocate/title-ix-issues/what-is-title-ix/title-ix-myths-facts/

2Warrick County School Corporation. (n.d.). Three Components of Title IX. Retreived from http://www.warrickschools.com/schools/castle/athletics/coachHandbook/Gender%20Equity%20Information/3%20Components%20of%20Title%20IX.pdf

Title IX and Economics

Component 3: Equivalence in Other Benefits and Opportunities of Title IX includes items such as uniforms, coaching quality, practice and game schedules, facility access, facility quality, equipment quality and quantity, competent officials,and a similar number of sport offerings and competitive levels. This is the component that elicits the greatest number of complaints. Athletics directors are strongly encouraged to resolve complaints in this area before they are lodged with the Office of Civil Rights (OCR). Once complaints are accepted and processed by the OCR, monitoring and resolution proceedings may continue for several years.4

Although budgets for boys and girls sports do not need to be identical, it is important to document that the needs of girls’ sports teams are being met. In this regard, documentation of school responses to information gathered from surveys of female athlete satisfaction levels and emerging interests in new girls’ sports can be extremely important. The school’s past budget plans, long range plan and budgetary response to these surveys can be useful in demonstrating compliance and in providing evidence in times of challenge.4

When it comes to Title IX and money, many universities face a dilemma when economic reality and Title IX collide head-on.1 One of the biggest issues is that the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) requires Division 1 to provide at least 65 full scholarships for football with a maximum number. This poses a problem because there is not a women’s sport that can proportionately compare in numbers to football due to the size of the roster. With that being said, some universities have to cut programs that bring in little to no revenue in order to stay in compliance with Title IX. To try to make up for the number of scholarships a football program can give, other men’s sports are forced to give fewer full scholarships than comparable women’s teams. The women’s sport that can give the most number of scholarships is ice hockey and they are only able to give 18. To make matters worse, in 2000 there were only 23 Division 1 programs that offered ice hockey.1

University’s reasoning for cutting men's sport teams is not because the athletic department is on a tight budget like they want people to think. Instead, the trend to cut men’s sports in Division 1 is driven by profit-motivated athletic departments.2 The two men’s sports that are most often the first to go are wrestling and gymnastics because they do not bring in a large amount of money. What many people do not understand is that cutting men’s sports is not required, it is just what many universities choose to do in order to stay in compliance. Some institutions even cut women’s sports instead of trying to control their bloated football and basketball budgets.3 A good example of a university doing this is when San Diego State University decided to address its $2 million budget deficit by cutting its men’s volleyball team instead of cutting slightly into the $5 million football budget. Only four months after cutting the men’s volleyball team, the university outfitted the football team with new uniforms and state-of-the-art titanium facemasks.3 Often times universities get money hungry and instead of doing the right thing, they do whatever is going to help fill their pockets.

http://www.athleticscholarships.net/title-ix-college-athletics-7.htm

Another issue that is brought up when talking about Title IX and economics is that people think that the same dollar amount has to be spent on women’s sports that is spent on men’s sports. This is just not true. It is never going to happen because a full football uniform is going to cost much more than a women’s volleyball uniform is going to cost. All that Title IX requires on this issue is that women’s teams are treated fairly. This means that if a football team gets top of the line fancy uniforms, so should the women’s volleyball team. If a football team is given a uniform to wear to home games and a different uniform to wear to away games, then the volleyball team should also get a uniform to wear at home and a different one to wear to away games.

To sum this blog up, Title IX does not require institutions to spend the same dollar amount on women as they do on men, but they should both be treated fairly. If a men’s team gets top of the line equipment, the women's sports should as well. Check back next week to explore another misconception of Title IX.

1Athnet. (2017). College Athletics and Equality of Opportunity for Women. Retrieved from

http://www.athleticscholarships.net/title-ix-college-athletics-7.htm

2Marburger, D.R., & Hogshead-Makar, N. (2004). Is Title IX Really to Blame for the Decline in Intercollegiate Men's Nonrevenue Sports? Hein Online. http://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?handle=hein.journals/mqslr14&div=10&id=&page=

3National Women’s Law Center. Debunking the Myths About Title IX and Athletics. Retrieved from http://nwlc.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/title_ix_debunking_myths_8.11.15.pdf

4Warrick County School Corporation. (n.d.). Three Components of Title IX. Retreived from http://www.warrickschools.com/schools/castle/athletics/coachHandbook/Gender%20Equity%20Information/3%20Components%20of%20Title%20IX.pdf

What is Title IX?

Title IX is a federal law that was implemented in 1972, the law states ‘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.’2 Although there are many societal applications for Title IX such as counseling, financial aid, and sexual harassment, this blog is going to explore the impact of Title IX as it pertains to athletic programs.

Because athletics is considered an educational program/activity at the public school and higher education level, it is included in Title IX. One requirement of Title IX is that men and women are granted equal opportunity to participate in sports.2 This basically means that for every men’s sport, there has to be a similar or comparable women’s sport. This statute also requires that institutions must offer proportional scholarships for both men and women. Men and women may not be offered the same dollar amount for their sport but they must be offered dollars that are proportional to their participation.2

Since the implementation of Title IX there has been an incredible increase in women’s participation in sports. However, despite all the effort put into ‘leveling the playing field,’ there remains a significantly fewer number of women that participate in sports.3 Not only do less women participate in sports, but far less women become coaches and athletic administrators than men.3 Unfortunately, Athletic Administration continues to be a male saturated career field.3 Sport institutions have 'institutionalized masculinity as the operating principle within sport, which essentially strengthens the masculine image of sport and reinforces masculine behavior as acceptable leadership qualities required in sport.'3 I believe that women should get more involved in the management side of sports so that they can advocate for women’s sports and help make sure that their program meets the requirements for being in compliance. It would also be very beneficial for these women leaders to get involved in an association that does just that, such as the National Association of Collegiate Women Athletics Administrators (NACWAA).

If a school is found not in compliance with Title IX there is a chance that they could lose their federal funding. If that is not bad enough, students or their parents could sue for those violations.1 There have been a handful of lawsuits that were won by the student or parents but to this date there has not been a school that lost its federal funding. Most lawsuits have ended in the school’s federal funding being delayed and having to pay the legal fees for the cases being brought to court.

Title IX has many components and requirements that are misunderstood by athletic programs and their administrators. Check back soon for some more insight into the impact of Title IX.

References:

1Druckman. J. N., Gilli, M., Klar, S., & Robinson, J. (2014). Athlete Support for Title IX. The Sport Journal. http://thesportjournal.org/article/athlete-support-for-title-ix/

2NCAA. (n.d.). Title IX Frequently Asked Questions. Retreived from http://www.ncaa.org/about/resources/inclusion/title-ix-frequently-asked-questions#how

3Senne, J. A. (2016). Examination of Gender Equality and Female Participation in Sport. The Sport Journal.   http://thesportjournal.org/article/examination-of-gender-equity-and-female-participation-in-sport/