TITLE IX

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TITLE IX

• NAIA Convention
• April 14, 2008
• Theresa Berg
• Associate Athletic Director
• Niagara University
• tberg_at_niagara.edu
• [phone]

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TITLE IX of the Education Amendments 1972

• 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.
• - 20 U.S.C. Section 1681

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BRIEF HISTORY

• Enactment of Title IX
• After voting down the amendment that would have
  exempted revenue-producing sports under Title IX,
  Congress adopted the Javits Amendment for Title
  IX regulations to take in consideration the
  nature of certain sports.
• 1980 Department of Education is established and
  Office of Civil Rights (OCR) oversees and
  enforces Title IX
  
• 1984 Grove City v. Bell, the Court determined
  that Title IX pertained only to
  programs/activities receiving direct Federal
  financial aid
• 1988 Civil Rights Restoration Act was passed
  mandating that schools receiving any type of
  Federal financial aid must adhere to Title IX
  
• 1992 Franklin v. Gwinnet County Public Schools,
  the Court ruled compensatory and punitive damages
  could be awarded
  
• 2002 Commission on Opportunity in Athletics
  appointed to review Title IX on its 30th
  anniversary
  
• 2003 Decision to uphold Title IX is announced and
  compliance standards remain the same
  
• 2005 Jackson v. Birmingham Board of Education,
  the Court ruled individuals are protected from
  retaliation for protesting sex discrimination
  
• OCR issues Further Clarification letter
  threatening Title IX
  

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Title IX Requirements

• Participation
• Athletic financial assistance
• Other program areas benefits, opportunities, and
  treatments

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REQUIREMENT 1 - PARTICIPATION Three Prong Test

• Prong One or Proportionality Prong
• Male and female athletes are substantially
  proportionate to their respective undergraduate
  enrollments OR
  
• Prong Two
• Demonstrate a history and continuing practice of
  expanding opportunities for the underrepresented
  sex (usually females) OR
  
• Prong Three
• Completely and effectively accommodate the
  interests and abilities of the underrepresented
  sex

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SURVEYS AND PRONG THREE

• The Additional Clarification creates a
• loophole and shifts responsibility from the
• school to the student in complying with
• Prong Three. Surveys should not and can
• not stand alone in determining how to
• fully and effectively accommodate the
• interests and abilities of students (Prong
• Three).
• - NCWGE, 2007

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REQUIREMENT 2FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE

• Athletic Scholarships
• Total scholarship dollars allocated to male and
• female sport teams do not have to be equal but
• must be in proportion to the percentage of male
• and female student-athletes.
• Example If 60 of the athletes are male, then
  60 of the scholarship money is to be allocated
  to the male athletes.
  
• - Reith (WSF), 2004

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REQUIREMENT 3OTHER PROGRAM AREAS

• Comparisons are to be made between male and
  female programs in their entirety not sport by
  sport. Also, Title IX does not require that each
  team get exactly the same services and supplies
  or that equal dollars are spent between the sport
  teams (Javits Amendment). Rather they must
  receive fair treatment and benefits. In assessing
  these program areas schools need to evaluate the
  quality, amount, suitability, maintenance and
  replacement, and availability.
• - Reith (WSF), 2004

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REQUIREMENT 3THE LAUNDRY LIST

• Equipment and Supplies
• Scheduling of Games and Practice Times
• Travel and Daily Allowance
• Access to Tutoring
• Coaching
• Locker Rooms, Practice and Competitive
  Facilities
  
• Medical and Training Facilities and Services
• Housing and Dining Facilities and Services
• Publicity
• Recruitment of Student-Athletes
• Support Services

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MYTH Title IX only pertains to athletics.

• FACT Although Title IX is
• associated mostly with athletic
• programs, it is not just a sports law.
• The law applies to all educational
• programs of institutions that receive
• federal funds.
• - Reith (WSF), 2004

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MYTH Girls and women are less interested in
sports than boys and men.

• FACT This is a gender-based stereotype
• that perpetuates discrimination and will
• not hold up in court. If athletic
• opportunities are available, girls and
• women will get involved. This is proven
• by the dramatic rise in participation at
• the high school level since 1972.
• - NCWGE, 2007

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MYTH Title IX requires Prong One or the
Proportionality Prong to be met.

• FACT Schools have three different
• ways to comply with the participation
• requirement of Title IX giving
• administration flexibility to decide how
• they will allocate equal athletic
• opportunities to men and women.
• - NCWGE, 2007

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MYTH The three prong test requires quotas for
women.

• FACT Quotas are based on pre-
• determined numbers and the three prong
• test has no such numerical requirements
• but rather provides benchmarks for
• schools to decide how to allocate
• athletic opportunities fairly.
• - NCWGE, 2007

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MYTH Schools must offer the same number of mens
and womens teams.

• FACT Equal participation opportunities
• most be afforded to both genders. Schools
• do not have to offer the same number of
• teams or a particular sport.
• NGWSE, 2007
• www.womenssportsfoundation.org

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MYTH Athletic opportunities for men have
decreased due to Title IX.

• FACT Participation rates have increased
• for both men and women at the high
• school and college levels.
• - NCWGE, 2007

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CHANGES IN INTERCOLLEGIATE PARTICIPATION BY
GENDER 1981-1999- United States General
Accounting Office 2001
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CHANGES IN INTERCOLLEGIATE PARTICIPATION BY
GENDER 2001-2004- Cheslock, J. Whos Playing
College Sports? Womens Sports Foundation, 2007
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MYTH Schools must cut mens athletic teams to be
in compliance with Title IX.

• FACT Title IX does not mandate a
• certain number of sport teams or equal
• number of sport teams between men and
• women rather that both sexes have equal
• opportunities to participate in sports.
• - NCWGE, 2007

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NCAA AND NAIA INSTITUTIONS NET OUTCOME OF ADDED
AND DISCONTINUED TEAMS- United States General
Accounting Office, 2001
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NCAA AND NAIA ADDITION AND DISCONTINUATION OF
MENS TEAMS- United States General Accounting
Office, 2001
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NCAA AND NAIA EXAMPLES OF DISCONTINUED TEAMS IN
SELECTED SPORTS THROUGH 2001- United States
General Accounting Office, 2001
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NCAA AND NAIA EXAMPLES OF ADDED TEAMS IN
SELECTED SPORTS THROUGH 2001- United States
General Accounting Office, 2001
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ACOSTA/CARPENTER STUDY 1977-2008

• HIGHEST EVER PARTICIPATION BY FEMALE ATHLETES
• Highest ever number of womens teams 9101 teams,
  8.65 per school
  
• Five move frequently offered sports for women
  are, in order
  
• (1) Basketball, 98.8 of schools have a team,
  (2) Volleyball, 95.7, (3) Soccer, 92.0, (4)
  Cross-Country, 90.8, (5) Softball, 89.2.
  
• REPRESENTATION OF FEMALES AS COACHES OF WOMENS
  TEAMS REMAINS LOW
  
• 42.8 of womens teams are coached by a female
  head coach.
  
• 57.2 of womens teams are coached by a male head
  coach.
  
• 2 to 3 of mens teams are coached by a female
  head coach.
  
• 20.6 of all teams (mens and womens) are
  coached by a female head coach
  
• When Title IX was enacted in 1972, over 90 of
  the head coaches for womens teams and about 2
  of the coaches of mens teams were females.

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ACOSTA/CARPENTER STUDY 1977-2008

• HIGHEST EVER NUMBER OF PAID ASSISTANT COACHES OF
  WOMENS TEAMS 57.1
  
• HIGHEST REPRESENTATION OF FEMALE ADs SINCE MID
  70s
  
• 21.3 of athletics directors are females. This
  represents a significant increase from 18.6 in
  2006. In 1972 when Title IX was enacted, females
  served as athletics directors in over 90 of
  programs for women.
• Some schools have no female voice, at any level,
  in the athletics administrative structures. The
  percentage of schools totally lacking a female
  voice has dropped from 14.5 in 2006 to 11.6 in
  2008.
• The most common administrative structure is
  composed of three administrators a male
  athletics director and one female
  assistant/associate and one male
  assistant/associate.
• ONLY 27.3 OF HEAD ATHLETIC TRAINERS ARE FEMALES
• ONLY 11.3 OF HEAD SPORTS INFORMATION DIRECTORS
  ARE FEMALES
  
• HIGHEST EVER NUMBER OF FEMALES EMPLOYED IN
  INTERCOLLEGIATE AHTLETICS
  

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ACOSTA/CARPENTER STUDY 1977-2008

• PARTICIPATION OPPORTUNITIES FOR FEMALE ATHLETES
  COMMENTARY
  
• Why participation rates are at their highest
  levels ever
  
• Second generation of Title IX beneficiaries
• Lawsuits supportive of Title IX
• Societal acceptance of females as athletes
• Improved and increased media coverage
• Advocacy efforts of individuals/organizations
• However, the interests and abilities of female
  college
  
• athletes have not been exhausted. There is room
  for only 1
  
• out of 17 female high school athletes on current
  college
  
• teams.

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Dropping Sports Complex Decision

• Declining interest in a specific sport nationally
  or regionally
  
• Increased liability
• Sport program has a history of poor performance
• Lack of sport sponsorship in the conference or
  region
  
• Administrative philosophy to allocate resources
  to a select number of sport programs in the
  department
  
• - NCWGE, 2007

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Creating an Equitable Athletics Department
Financial Considerations

• Reallocate a percentage of funds of sports
  receiving an excessive amount
  
• Drop minor mens sports (this is not in the
  spirit of Title IX) to maintain top mens teams
  and fund new womens teams
  
• Tier sports according to how each group will be
  funded
  
• - NCWGE, 2007

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Additional Financial Considerations

• Contract Limitations
• Debt Service and Capital Expenditures
• Recruiting Reform
• Size of Coaching Staffs
• Size of Non-Coaching Staffs
• Size of Administrative Staffs
• Excessive and Unnecessary Expenditures
• Scholarships
• Travel Expenses
• Number of Competitions
• Sport Budget Limits
• Roster Limits
• - NCWGE, 2007

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CURRENT EVENTSAND

• FURTHER COMMENTS

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GENDER EQUITY

• Gender equity is an atmosphere and a reality
  where fair distribution of overall athletic
  opportunity and resources are proportionate to
  women and men and where no student-athlete,
  coach, or athletic administrator is discriminated
  against in any way in the athletic program on the
  basis of gender. That is to say, an athletic
  program is gender equitable when the mens sports
  program would be pleased to accept for its own
  the overall participation, opportunities and
  resources currently allocated to the womens
  program and vice versa.
• - NCAA Gender Equity Task Force

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RESOURCES

• Acosta, R. Vivian Carpenter, Linda J. (2008).
  Women in Intercollegiate Sport. A Longitudinal,
  National Study Thirty One Year Update 1977-2008.
  Brooklyn, NY Project on Women and Social Change
  Brooklyn College of the City University of New
  York.
• Cheslock, J. (2007). Whos Playing College
  Sports? Trends in Participation. East Meadow, NY
  Womens Sports Foundation.
  
• National Coalition for Women and Girls in
  Education (NCWGE), Title IX Athletics Policies.
  Issues and Data for Education Decision Makers,
  Updated May 10, 2007.
• Reith, Kathryn M. (2004). Playing Fair. A
  Womens Sports Foundation Guide to Title IX in
  High School and College Sports. East Meadow, NY
  Womens Sports Foundation.

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WEBSITES

• http//bailiwick.lib.uiowa.edu/ge
• www.ncwge.org
• www.womenssportsfoundation.org
• www.titleix.info