The University Athletic Department, like the athletic department of every college or university in the United States which accepts federal funding, must comply with the equity regulations of Title IX in order to field competitive athletic programs.
Title IX — formally named Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 — functions as a legislative means of enforcing gender equality in American higher education.
Title IX is commonly associated with athletics, as it contains the restrictions to ensure resources are distributed equitably for both men and women’s athletic programs. This is both in terms of quantity of programs and in gender representation.
According to Title IX regulations, in order to be considered eligible to field competitive teams, the University’s athletic department must fully comply with one the three gender equity “prongs” outlined in Title IX legislation: the provision of athletic opportunities for each gender reflective of the percentage each occupies as part of the student body, proof of historical and continuous expansion of the programs of the underrepresented sex (male or female) and the accommodation to the needs and interests of the underrepresented sex.
Currently, the University gender ratio favors women over men in both student population — 55 percent women compared to 45 percent men — and number of athletic programs — 13 women’s teams to 12 men’s teams.
Jane Miller, University deputy Title IX coordinator for athletics, briefly outlined how the Title IX regulations applied to University athletic programs. The University doesn’t always fully comply with the first two rungs, according the Miller, due to small statistical variation in the representation of each gender in athletics as well as the fact that the last women’s program to be established was women’s golf in 2004.
Thus, the University complies most fully with the third “prong” — accommodating the needs and interests of the underrepresented sex.
“Through surveys, we have found that we are doing just that [complying with the third method],” Miller said.
Some programs demonstrate these differences in accommodation more clearly. The women’s rowing team is part of the Athletic Department and is apportioned scholarships while the men’s team is a club team.
The process of adding a sports program was immensely complex and could very easily fall out of the realm of Title IX considerations and be subjected to scrutiny exclusively from the Athletic Department based on funding concerns, Miller said. She elaborated on the distinction of funding applied to Title IX as not done on a dollar-for-dollar basis, but instead based on the specific needs of a program.
“Funding is based on needs of the program,” Miller said. “Look at football — the outfit costs are a lot different than outfitting a field hockey program. Even if we could add a men’s sport without violating the numbers, [the Athletic Department] still might not do it.”
Graphic By Kriti Sehgal
Graphic By Kriti Sehgal
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