Benefits Of Title IX

Title IX: Support of women, but harming men?

Signed and passed in 1972 by President Richard Nixon, Title IX was adopted and gave women of various ages and race the opportunity to participate in sport as well as in education. It includes new sports and schooling by adding programs dedicated to women. Title IX provided equal or greater opportunity than men in both sports and education. It may have supported women in many ways, but does it harm men’s sports and education as well? In 1970 only 1 in 27 girls participated in high school sports, today that ratio is 1 in 3. Sports are a very important part of the American society and especially for men as well, but in the 1970’s things changed for women all thanks to Title IX.

One of the most important

events that have happened in the world of female athletics is the establishment of professional athletics for women and Educational Amendments of 1972. These amendments ensure that everyone who wants an education is treated equally no matter what race or gender, to create opportunities for everyone. Most important of those amendments is Title IX. It 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 educational program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.” There are three basic parts of Title IX as it applies to athletics: 1.) Participation: does not require institutions to offer identical sports but an equal opportunity to play; 2.) Scholarships 3.) Other benefits: Title IX requires the equal treatment of female and male student-athletes such as: equip, games, tutoring.
Over the last 20 years, there has been a dramatic increase in the number of women’s athletic teams at both high school and college levels. Rod Paige, The Secretary of Education, states that from 1981 to 1999, the number of college women teams increased by sixty six percent. According to Paige, “The growth of certain women’s sports has been explosive during this time period.( Paige) When Title IX was first passed, fewer than 300,000 girls participated in high school sports. Today the number has increased to an outstanding 2.7 million girls. This is because more school are participating in Title IX and more women are become more interested in playing more sports, joining clubs, and most importantly going to college.
While many people would agree that Title IX has played a major role in women’s participation in sports, the act is very controversial. Title IX applies to all aspects of education, but my main focus is the affect it has had on sports. Since most colleges and universities receive federal funds; they must then abide by the regulations set forth by Title IX, so this affects schools on a large national level. Title IX affects athletic in three ways. First, participation, it requires that men and women be allowed equal opportunities to participate in sports. it does not however require there to be identical sports for men and women. Title IX is often accused of forcing schools to cut funding for male sports. In fact, funding for men’s athletics as well as the number of men who play sports in school, has increased since Title IX was enforced men’s participation has increased in 2005 by fifteen percent in high school and thirty one percent in college.(Wade)
Secondly, scholarships, it requires the number of scholarships to be given out for men and women, to be proportional to their sports participation. It gives more people to have an opportunity to receive a scholarship and a good education and to have a good education and hope to have a promising career. Especially for people who can’t afford it. It also encourages women to join a club and who knows, they might become professional in it. It basically leads to more opportunities in life. Yet again Title IX is blamed for limiting men’s scholarship opportunities and giving them to women, but that is not the case. NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) is a non-profit organization that regulates college scholarships. In NCAA, Article 15.5.3.1 of the NCAA Division I bylaws states: "There shall be a limit on the value of financial aid awards that an institution may provide in any academic year to counters in the following … sports.", which gives the real reason behind the limits of scholarships that are which in fact the fault of NCAA not Title IX.
Lastly, Title IX requires equal treatment toward men and women’s sports, such as facilities, equipment, practice times and fields, traveling, promotion, and recruiting.

This does not mean that money should be split between both men and women sports because some sports such as football require more equipment than say a women’s sport such as soccer, which the only major piece of equipment is a ball. Also let's say that boy’s baseball team has 17 players and the girls softball team only has 9, a college can not cancel the girls team just because they are imbalanced, and have fewer players. Many school are only marginally compliant and then only because Title IX Officers keep pressure on institutions to follow the law. Even though they keep pressuring it, it still becoming a problem to women today. Forty years later people still argue that it's not right that women sports get ALMOST as much funding as men do. Now there are more women on college campuses than men, so hopefully proportional funding may mean spending more money on women's sports than men’s. If refused to follow Title IX, universities have to face the consequences. If receive any federal assistance, result may be that they will stop funding you and if found in noncompliance, you will have thirty days to fix it or the Federal Agency will write you up, and also stop funding (Title IX). If believed on what was thought to violate Title IX but did not, you can take it to court and have the judge review your

case.
Title IX gives women a chance to change in what is still a male dominated world.

For the same reason, it existence is necessary and requires a greater effort to enforce gender equality for continued progress. Increased female participation in sports and Title IX has changed the political position of girls and young women. Both have challenged and continued to destroy myths that women are inferior to men. they fight stereotypes that women do not have interest in traditionally male-dominated activities. By breaking down these barriers, female opportunities can only to continue to

soar.