Title IX Scholarship Controversy
June 24th, 2009 - byYesterday was the 37th anniversary of Title IX, the federal law that outlaws sex discrimination at schools receiving federal funds. The White House administration honored some of the most influential women in sports by hosting a round table discussion at the Eisenhower building discussing the challenges of furthering the letter and spirit of the law.
However, against the backdrop was a study released Tuesday showing 12,000 more athletic scholarships available for females than males in sports played by both men and women. The huge disparity is largely because football was left out of the study.
The College Sports Council, a watchdog group that charts the impact of Title IX on men’s sports, says the NCAA is not making decisions based on interest when it comes to women’s sports but is looking for sports with large rosters “to satisfy the gender quota,” said chairman Eric Pearson.
“If you are focused on just putting numbers out, you are inclined to go to sports like rowing,” Pearson added.
The CSC was not at Tuesday’s panel discussion.
Providing opportunities proportional to the student body for men and women athletes is one way schools can comply with Title IX.
According to figures for 2006-07, the latest available from the National Federation of State High School Associations, 5,048 girls wrestle in high school while 2,685 are on crew teams and 1,341 are on equestrian teams. Yet, women’s wrestling is not an NCAA sport while those others are.
“You can have strong interest in a women’s sport, but if it’s not a large-roster sport, the NCAA doesn’t go for it,” Pearson said.
The CSC study does not include football, which has 85 men’s scholarships. Pearson said football was left out to shine the spotlight on sports played by men and women. He says scholarships should be equal and schools should determine how they are used to meet Title IX guidelines.
The statistics raise a number of questions. Does Title IX discriminate against men particularly those in smaller team or individual sports? Does title IX discriminate against smaller women’s sports? Have we reached the day where title IX can be discarded?
