The impact of Title IX on NCAA Division III athletic programs in Indiana and Pennsylvania

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Authors
Holtmann, Chris
Advisor
Issue Date
2000
Keyword
Degree
Thesis (M.A.)
Department
School of Physical Education
Other Identifiers
Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Perhaps the single greatest issue impacting athletics today is the issue of gender discrimination. We see the impact of this issue from high school athletics to college programs and on into professional sports. While Title IX has been an education amendment since 1972 we have seen its greatest impact on athletics, particularly college athletics, only in recent years. As stated, Title IX refers to the education amendment of 1972. Title IX is a federal civil rights statute that prohibits sexual discrimination in education and athletics. The legislation was "introduced by Oregon congresswoman Edith Green and signed into law by Richard Nixon in 1972" (Bonnette, 1996). The governing body which enforces Title IX is the Office of Civil Rights (OCR) within the department of education. The legislation specifically 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 program of activity receiving federal financial assistance" (Durrant 1992). In other words, no institution receiving federal funding is allowed to discriminate in athletics based on a persons sex.In this study the researcher sent out 15 questionnaires to Division III athletic directors in Indiana and Pennsylvania. The questionnaires consisted of 10 questions concerning the impact of Title IX on their specific athletic programs. The results showed that Title IX has had an impact on many of these NCAA Division III programs in terms of increasing the number of female athletes, the number of female sports and an increase in athletic budgets for female sports, as well as coaching salaries. On the contrary the majority of athletic directors stated Title IX has had little or no impact in terms of a decrease in male athletes and sports. This was suprising in that there was found to be an increase for women without a decrease for men in many of these institutions. In addition, a majority of the athletic directors also stated that there was a direct impact concerning the use of facilities because of Title IX. Nearly all of the athletic directors believed their athletic department was in compliance with Title IX requirements.

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