Potential Magazine Fall 2016 | Page 58

game on athletic scholarships TITLE IX Women’s Athletic Funding and Scholarships Title IX is a 1972 education amendment that prohibits discrimination in educational institutions that receive federal funding. “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 education program or activity receiving federal financial assistance.” —Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 34 | Fall 2016 There are three main parts to the Title IX amendment as applied to college athletics. The rules call for equivalency in the following areas: OPPORTUNITY FOR PARTICIPATION The school must offer equal opportunities based on the ratio of males to females in the general student body. SCHOLARSHIPS This does not mean that equal dollar amounts must be spent on male and female sports, but dollars must be spent in proportion to participation rates. For example, if the schools budget is $100,000 and the participation of male to female athletes is 60/40, $60,000 would be required to be spent on male athletics and $40,000 would be required to be spent on female athletics. EQUIPMENT/FACILITIES, SCHEDULING, PUBLICITY, AND OTHER BENEFITS The standard for this portion is for quality rather than the quantity. In other words, the same amount of money is not required to be spent on male and female uniforms but the quality must be equal; the locker rooms are not required to be identical or cost the same, but they must be of comparable quality. www.potentialmagazine.com