Lauren Ritter

Research

Title IX: A Level Playing Field?

Title IX was instituted 30 years ago to give women an equal chance in higher education. The area where this has had the greatest impact has been in college sports. While the number of women playing sports in college, and beyond in things like the WNBA, has increased, there are some critics who say Title IX has not served its purpose because men's teams are being eliminated in the name of equality. Men's teams are being cut so universities can comply with Title IX without spending more money on Olympic sports, such as wrestling or swimming.

In my research, I wanted to find out if universities are actually cutting men's athletic programs to comply with Title IX, and if this is the case, why a law designed to level the playing field for women is actually doing so at the expense of men. I also wanted to find out if there are any other ways universities could comply with Title IX without cutting men's sport programs.

UNC Library Resources

AAUW Legal Advocacy Fund. A License for Bias: Sex Discrimination, Schools, and Title IX. Washington, DC: American Association of University Women Legal Advocacy Fund, 2000. Call number: On order.

Gavora, Jessica. Tilting the Playing Field: Schools, Sports, Sex and Title IX. San Francisco: Encounter Books, 2002. Call number:GV709.18.U6 G38 2002.

Dan Klugherz Productions. 1976. Women in Sports--An Informal History. 28 minutes. Atlanta Films. Videocassette. Call number: 65-J192

UNC Database Resources (Lexis Nexis)

Bock, Hal. (2002, June 23). Title IX: Leveling the Playing Field--or Tilting it for 30 Years? (Dubuque) Telegraph Herald [Newspaper], 1449 words. Available: LEXIS-NEXIS Academic Universe [2002, September 15].

Dobie, Michael. (2002, June 23). Title IX Comes of Age. (New York) Newsday [Newspaper], 3640 words. Available: LEXIS-NEXIS Academic Universe [2002, September 15].

Donaldson, Amy. (2002, July 1). Women Have Come a Long Way in Sports. The (Salt Lake City) Deseret News [Newspaper], 1252 words. Available: LEXIS-NEXIS Academic Universe [2002, September 15].

Gavora, Jessica. (2002, May-June). Tilt!; Time's Up for Title IX Sports. The American Spectator [Magazine], 4255 words. Available: LEXIS-NEXIS Academic universe [2002, September 15].

Schneider, Jodi. (2002, March 18). The Fairness Factor. US News & World Report [Magazine], 2219 words. Available: LEXIS-NEXIS Academic Universe [2002, September 15].

Vickers, Melana Zyla. (2002, June 10). The Bush Team Punts on Title IX. The Weekly Standard [Magazine], volume 7, 1155 words. Available: LEXIS-NEXIS Academic Universe [2002, September 15].

Web Resources

Title of Web page: Boys Don't Cry
Web address: http://espn.go.com/magazine/vol5no13titleixessay.html
Brief Description: This is an article that originally appeared in an ESPN the Magazine article. It basically says Title IX is not to blame for men's sports being cut, lazy athletic directors and a lack of funds are. It says athletic directors use the proportionality clause, which says the percentage of female athletes has to be proportional to the percentage of women attending the university, to measure compliance. Since it is cheaper and easier for athletic directors to cut men's teams to increase the percentage of women playing sports, Title IX gets blamed for men's teams getting the ax. This article is part of the ESPN Web site that has articles on all types of things related to sports; everything from scores to the latest issues.
Source of Web site: ESPN.com

Title of Web page: Women's Sports: Title IX Turns 30
Web address: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/sports/134477078_titlenine18.html
Brief Description: This article from a Seattle newspaper illustrates the difference that Title IX has made. It paints a picture of what it was like for women to play sports in the 60s versus today. It also points out that women athletes have benefited dramatically from Title IX, but at the expense of men's sports, whether it's intentional or not. It also shows that female athletes recognize this unfairness and want to do something about it.
Source of Web site: The Seattle Times

Title of Web page: Women in Sports; Thirty Years later: Title IX Still Controversial
Web address: http://journalism.fas.nyu.edu/wis/hirschfield_titleix_1_7.html
Brief Description: This is an article about what it was like for women athletes just after Title IX was passed, and what it is like for them today. It talks about the unfair way the law is applied by cutting men's teams and crushing the hopes and dreams of some men wanting to play Olympic sports in college, but overall, Title IX has opened many doors for women that were closed before.
Source of Web site: New York University School of Journalism and Mass Communication

Title of Web page: Keeping Score; Let Title IX Just Do What it Says
Web address: http://www.usatoday.com/sports/comment/saraceno/2002-07-03-saraceno.htm
Brief Description: This article talked about how Title IX does not just apply to athletics, but to discrimination of any type in education. It also talks about how Title IX is a good thing in principle, but not in the way university athletic directors put it into practice. The author says women's sports should not be created and men's sports cut just so the school can comply with the proportionality clause. He says he does not believe the same percentage of women want to play college sports as men.
Source of Web site: USA Today and InterMat Wrestling

Title of Web page: Women in Sports
Web address: http://www.villagevoice.com/issues/0215/wis.php
Brief Description: This is a website by The Village Voice. It has links to articles about Title IX and women in sports such as wrestling, football and ice hockey.
Source of Web site: The Village Voice

Internet Issue Research