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NCAA News Archive - 2007
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Report urges more support of females via Title IX
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By Leilana McKindra
The NCAA News
The NCAA News
A newly released National Women’s Law Center report of Title IX complaints shows that girls and women still receive fewer athletics participation opportunities than males. The report also reveals that when girls and women are given the chance to be on a team, they often are treated worse than their male counterparts.
The report, Barriers to Fair Play, was released June 19 in recognition of the 35th anniversary of Title IX, the federal law that mandates equal educational opportunities for males and females. As part of the study, the NWLC examined 416 Title IX athletics complaints filed with or resolved by the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights from January 1, 2002, through December 31, 2006.
The research indicated athletics complaints challenged discrimination against girls and women 11 times more frequently than they challenged discrimination against males. The study also showed that although coaches are often in the best position to identify and protest against discrimination, they rarely file complaints for fear of retaliation. In addition, discrimination complaints filed by female athletes were more likely than those filed by males to be significant enough to force change with an athletics program.
Further, at the K-12 level, the most common athletics complaint was unequal treatment of female athletes, ranging from inequitable facilities to less favorable game schedules to lack of school-sponsored transportation to competition. Concerns about inequitable facilities were the most frequent complaint from collegiate female student-athletes.
“While women have made significant progress in education over the last 35 years, the job is not yet finished and the playing field is far from level,” NWLC Co-President Marcia D. Greenberger said in a press release. “Much remains to be done to ensure that women have truly equal access and opportunities in all areas of education, but nowhere is that more true than in athletics.”
In conjunction with the report, the NWLC also unveiled two Web sites. The www.fairplaynow.org site is designed as a resource for evaluating and holding schools accountable for complying with Title IX. A companion site, www.titleix.info, provides Title IX success stories. The NWLC also released a legal manual, Breaking Down Barriers, which instructs students, teachers, coaches, advocates and attorneys how to protect and defend Title IX rights.
Katie Hersey, executive director of the NEWMAC, said organizers initially wanted schools to participate in Habitat for Humanity projects located in their communities as part of the Division III SAAC Habitat for Humanity campaign. However, because there were not enough Habitat projects available, the league encouraged schools to participate in any activity of their choosing. As a result, institutions engaged in a range of projects locally and abroad.
For instance, softball and men’s and women’s basketball teams at Worcester Polytechnic Institute were involved with Big Brother Big Sister, while student-athletes at Massachusetts Institute of Technology helped clean up Boston’s Charles River. Others at Smith College created a program called Project Coach, which provided opportunities for high school students to increase their leadership skills.
In other instances, the rowing team at Wellesley College contributed to the school’s “Day to Make a Difference” by packaging and moving donated food to a food bank. The men’s lacrosse squads at Wheaton College (Massachusetts) and Clark University (Massachusetts) adopted American soldiers in Iraq through the America Supporting Americans organization and collected goods for those troops.
“Student-athletes at NEWMAC institutions are traditionally very involved in their community,” Hersey said. “However, seeing the astounding impact of these conference-wide efforts through the first NEWMAC Student-Athletes in Service Project will create even more energy and propel the collective mission to do good for the world outside our 10 institutions.”
The conference plans to continue the Student-Athletes in Service project next year.
The report, Barriers to Fair Play, was released June 19 in recognition of the 35th anniversary of Title IX, the federal law that mandates equal educational opportunities for males and females. As part of the study, the NWLC examined 416 Title IX athletics complaints filed with or resolved by the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights from January 1, 2002, through December 31, 2006.
The research indicated athletics complaints challenged discrimination against girls and women 11 times more frequently than they challenged discrimination against males. The study also showed that although coaches are often in the best position to identify and protest against discrimination, they rarely file complaints for fear of retaliation. In addition, discrimination complaints filed by female athletes were more likely than those filed by males to be significant enough to force change with an athletics program.
Further, at the K-12 level, the most common athletics complaint was unequal treatment of female athletes, ranging from inequitable facilities to less favorable game schedules to lack of school-sponsored transportation to competition. Concerns about inequitable facilities were the most frequent complaint from collegiate female student-athletes.
“While women have made significant progress in education over the last 35 years, the job is not yet finished and the playing field is far from level,” NWLC Co-President Marcia D. Greenberger said in a press release. “Much remains to be done to ensure that women have truly equal access and opportunities in all areas of education, but nowhere is that more true than in athletics.”
In conjunction with the report, the NWLC also unveiled two Web sites. The www.fairplaynow.org site is designed as a resource for evaluating and holding schools accountable for complying with Title IX. A companion site, www.titleix.info, provides Title IX success stories. The NWLC also released a legal manual, Breaking Down Barriers, which instructs students, teachers, coaches, advocates and attorneys how to protect and defend Title IX rights.
Conference collectively serves its community
The New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference designated April as NEWMAC Student-Athletes in Service Month. The NEWMAC Student-Athlete Advisory Committee-led effort featured all 10 league members and raised awareness to the importance of giving back to the community.Katie Hersey, executive director of the NEWMAC, said organizers initially wanted schools to participate in Habitat for Humanity projects located in their communities as part of the Division III SAAC Habitat for Humanity campaign. However, because there were not enough Habitat projects available, the league encouraged schools to participate in any activity of their choosing. As a result, institutions engaged in a range of projects locally and abroad.
For instance, softball and men’s and women’s basketball teams at Worcester Polytechnic Institute were involved with Big Brother Big Sister, while student-athletes at Massachusetts Institute of Technology helped clean up Boston’s Charles River. Others at Smith College created a program called Project Coach, which provided opportunities for high school students to increase their leadership skills.
In other instances, the rowing team at Wellesley College contributed to the school’s “Day to Make a Difference” by packaging and moving donated food to a food bank. The men’s lacrosse squads at Wheaton College (Massachusetts) and Clark University (Massachusetts) adopted American soldiers in Iraq through the America Supporting Americans organization and collected goods for those troops.
“Student-athletes at NEWMAC institutions are traditionally very involved in their community,” Hersey said. “However, seeing the astounding impact of these conference-wide efforts through the first NEWMAC Student-Athletes in Service Project will create even more energy and propel the collective mission to do good for the world outside our 10 institutions.”
The conference plans to continue the Student-Athletes in Service project next year.
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