TItle IX

Brenden Duncombe-Smith

Title IX has caused a lot of uproar in the college community. It was created with the intention of creating more equality for women in all aspects of the education process. However, it is mostly known for the affect this law has had on the athletics aspect of education. Title IX requires that colleges offer the same number of sports opportunities to women as they do to men. For example, if a college has a guy to girl ratio of 40 percent to 60 percent then there must be the same ratio in the participation of athletics. For years, there have been efforts to get football excluded from the proportionality rule but these efforts have been fruitless. The argument for excluding football mainly stems from the fact that football has a very large roster and brings in a lot of money for the schools. These two points often make it hard for schools to comply with the proportionality rule. In fact, almost 80 percent of colleges are not in compliance with Title IX. The Women's Sports Foundation has noted that the law has been met with some success. There has been a significant increase to the participation in women's collegiate athletics teams. Men's sports supporters also argue that because there is not a large roster football equivalency for women then the more minor men's sports teams end up being cut. However, supporters for Title IX continue to stand by the statement that it is an unfortunate situation, but schools should focus instead on trying to expand the women's athletic department.