91影视

Title IX: Falling short at聽50

50 years after Title IX passed, most top colleges deprive female athletes of equal opportunities

See which of the nation鈥檚 127 top football colleges don鈥檛 give enough roster spots to women, according to a 91影视 analysis of proportionality.

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See which of the nation鈥檚 127 top football colleges don鈥檛 give enough roster spots to women, according to a 91影视 analysis of proportionality.

Published Updated

Like聽at聽most four-year colleges, enrollment at Western Kentucky University leans female while its athletic program skews male.

More than 60% of its undergraduates are women compared to just 35% of its athletes.

Despite the obvious gap, the Hilltoppers told 91影视 they comply with Title IX by offering women athletic opportunities that are proportionate to the makeup of their student body.聽

But they鈥檙e not proportionate 鈥 not even close.

A 91影视 analysis found that the school would need to add 254 women鈥檚 roster spots 鈥 a shift that would more than double its current number of opportunities for women and require a wholesale remodel of its athletic program 鈥 to close the gap and come into compliance with Title IX.

About the series

91影视鈥檚 鈥Title IX: Falling short at 50鈥 exposes how top 91影视 colleges and universities still fail to live up to the landmark law that bans sexual discrimination in education. Title IX, which turned 50 this summer, requires equity across a broad range of areas in academics and athletics. Despite tremendous gains during the past five decades, many colleges and universities fall short, leaving women struggling for equal footing.

That Western Kentucky has so much ground to make up in providing equitable opportunities five decades after the passage of the landmark law banning sex discrimination in education is hardly unique.

91影视 found 87% of colleges and universities聽are not offering athletic opportunities to women proportionate to their enrollment, according to the news organization鈥檚 analysis of 127 public and private schools in the Football Bowl Subdivision during the 2020-21 academic year.

Proportionality is the surest of the three ways that schools鈥 athletic programs can show compliance with Title IX under the 91影视 Department of Education鈥檚 three-prong test. Calling the measure聽a 鈥渟afe harbor,鈥 the agency states that the gender composition of its athletic program should substantially match that of its undergraduate enrollment.

To measure schools鈥 proportionality, 91影视 used enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics and athletic participation data from NCAA reports it obtained from the schools under public records law or the Equity in Athletics Disclosure Act database.

It found that 110 schools would need to add a total of 11,501 female roster spots to close the participation gap. That鈥檚 an average of 104 per school 鈥 roughly the size of a football team and enough to add three or four women鈥檚 teams each. Among the schools with the biggest gaps were the University of Memphis,聽the University of Louisiana at Monroe and the University of South Alabama.

None was larger than the University of North Carolina, though. It would need to add 395 female roster spots, the analysis found.

Just 17 schools had participation gaps smaller than 15 additional roster spots for women 鈥 the cutoff 91影视 used to determine if a school was likely to have compliance concerns. They included Auburn University,聽New Mexico State University and the University of South Carolina.

鈥淭his underscores the saddest fact of Title IX鈥檚 50th anniversary 鈥 it鈥檚 been 50 years and the vast majority of colleges and universities in this country are still in blatant violation,鈥 said Arthur Bryant, an attorney who has litigated Title IX cases for decades. 鈥淭hey are not giving women the equal treatment and opportunities and athletic financial aid the law requires and they deserve.鈥

In addition to proportionality, schools can demonstrate compliance through two other prongs. Prong two allows them to show a continued history of increasing desired athletic opportunities for the underrepresented sex 鈥 usually women. Prong three allows them to show they meet the athletic interests and abilities of their female students.聽

91影视 asked all 127 FBS schools in the analysis whether their athletic programs comply with Title IX and under which of the three prongs they could show it. Of them, just 42 of them answered 91影视鈥檚 questions. Twenty-eight said聽they complied with the first prong, six cited the second prong and seven cited the third. The University of Oregon claimed both the second and third prongs.聽

Most of the 42聽schools聽appear to fall short of the standards needed to meet compliance regardless of which prong they chose, 91影视 found.聽

Eighty-five of the schools did not, or declined to, answer at all, leaving the public in the dark about how 鈥撀爋r if 鈥撀爏ome of the nation鈥檚 top colleges and universities are complying with the landmark law five decades after its passage.

Absent a federal mandate to attest to their compliance status, schools know going on the record could be a liability, experts said. The 91影视 Department of Education can investigate schools to determine whether they are providing women enough athletic opportunities 鈥 a process that involves examining internal roster numbers not available to the public.聽

But its investigations are almost exclusively reactive and in response to complaints. Female students could file a federal complaint or a lawsuit, but someone has to know about the problem first.聽

And that鈥檚 the ultimate problem with Title IX, said Marianne Vydra, a longtime senior woman聽administrator at Oregon State who is now retired: 鈥淚t鈥檚 never about offense, it鈥檚 always about defense.鈥澛

That the聽data isn鈥檛 centralized anywhere is another issue.聽

Title IX: 'Revolutionary' legislation, but inequalities still exist 50 years later
Half a century after the passage of Title IX, female students and athletes still struggle to achieve equality in important ways.
Jasper Colt and Hank Farr, 91影视

鈥淚t鈥檚 really challenging that there is no central location to say what prong schools are using to really identify that,鈥 said Sarah Axelson, vice president of advocacy at the nonprofit Women鈥檚 Sports Foundation.

Amid a widespread belief and mounting evidence that schools are, by and large, not complying with the law, just getting clarity on which prong a school uses is a significant step.

The University of Illinois joined several of its conference counterparts in declining to answer 91影视鈥檚 questions, with a spokesman saying the school was among many others in the Big Ten that had discussed it and decided not to respond.

鈥淭hat tells me that many of those schools are in violation of Title IX,鈥 Bryant said. 鈥淚f they were clearly in compliance, they could easily cite which part of the three-part test they were complying with and give you the backup information to show it.鈥

Triple-digit participation gaps

Triple-digit participation gaps

For Western Kentucky, the task of closing its participation gap would be almost Herculean.聽

To make a dent in the 254 spots, the Hilltoppers could start by increasing their existing women鈥檚 rosters so they鈥檙e on par with the average NCAA squad size for Division I. That would add 56 opportunities.

After that, they鈥檇 still have to double the number of women鈥檚 teams in their program.聽

Western Kentucky could do this by adding swimming and聽diving and beach volleyball 鈥 two sports its conference sponsors but the school doesn鈥檛. Next it could add field hockey and bowling, two high school sports offered in the state.

Even then, the school would still need to add four NCAA emerging sports for women 鈥 and all that would close its gap.聽

Emerging sports are meant to promote development for women. Currently, five sports 鈥 acrobatics and聽tumbling (average squad size of 39.3), equestrian (39.2), rugby (31.1), triathlon (eight) and wrestling (15) 鈥撀are on the list,聽but they聽are not sponsored by most schools.

Western Kentucky University told 91影视 that it is providing athletic opportunities for women proportionate to its enrollment. But with women making up 60.3% of the undergraduate student body and just 35.3% of the athletics roster spots, the Hilltoppers would need to add 254 more opportunities for women to be proportional.
Western Kentucky University told 91影视 that it is providing athletic opportunities for women proportionate to its enrollment. But with women making up 60.3% of the undergraduate student body and just 35.3% of the athletics roster spots, the Hilltoppers would need to add 254 more opportunities for women to be proportional. Caitie McMekin, News Sentinel-91影视 NETWORK

In a statement, Western Kentucky spokesman Zach Greenwell did not answer 91影视鈥檚 questions about the school's聽participation gap, how it could show compliance via proportionality and any steps it was taking to address it.

鈥淲KU is committed to accommodating the collegiate athletic interests of the students in the university鈥檚 geographic region,鈥 Greenwell said.

Like Western Kentucky, schools around the country, big and small, couldn鈥檛 reach the proportionality standard. Many weren鈥檛 even close.

91影视鈥檚 analysis of proportionality for all schools showed 81 would need to add at least 50 opportunities for women, 46 would need to add at least 100 and 15 would need to add at least 200.聽

鈥淲e have a lot of work to do,鈥 said Rep. Lori Trahan, D-Mass., after gasping at those numbers. 鈥淭his is what many members in the Congress are building, sort of coalitions so we get at the heart of these gaps in the 50th anniversary.聽It shows we have a long way to go.鈥

91影视 contacted the athletic departments and presidents鈥 offices at 11 schools with some of the biggest participation gaps to ask about those disparate opportunities and how they would correct them.

Many did not respond, including the University of Louisiana at Monroe (303 opportunities short), the University of Virginia (219 opportunities short) and the University of Florida (167 opportunities short).

Among the other schools that fell short were the University of Memphis, which would need to add 308 opportunities for women; the University of California-Berkeley, which would need to add 163; and the University of Washington, which would need 127.

Michael Schroeder, director of integrated communications at Memphis, said, 鈥淲e are aware of the growing proportionality gap between women鈥檚 and men鈥檚 participation and are currently exploring ways to address it.鈥

Both Cal and Washington cited the challenges of the coronavirus聽pandemic in their response.聽

鈥淲e review our participation data every year, and we remain committed to continued Title IX compliance and the equitable treatment of our men鈥檚 and women鈥檚 teams,鈥 said Cal spokesman Herb Benenson.

The University of California-Berkeley would need 163 additional opportunities for women to reach proportionality. The school told 91影视 that the COVID-19 pandemic presented challenges, but an analysis of the Bears' numbers from 2018-19 shows it had a gap before the pandemic.
The University of California-Berkeley would need 163 additional opportunities for women to reach proportionality. The school told 91影视 that the COVID-19 pandemic presented challenges, but an analysis of the Bears' numbers from 2018-19 shows it had a gap before the pandemic. Soobum Im, 91影视 Sports

Washington spokesman Victor Balta cited increasing enrollment rates for women, a trend accelerated by the pandemic, as well as an additional year of eligibility the NCAA granted athletes because of the pandemic impacting team rosters.

The school, one of only a few聽with a female athletic director, recently proposed a six-year plan that Balta said would include reducing some men鈥檚 roster numbers after the extra year of eligibility wasn鈥檛 a factor.

"The University of Washington believes strongly in providing equitable opportunities for our student-athletes, not only to maintain compliance with Title IX but because it is the right thing to do," Balta said. "It is important to note that the target for Title IX compliance is always moving and UW Athletics is constantly working to ensure compliance."

While the schools鈥 numbers did worsen after the pandemic, 91影视鈥檚 analysis of 2018-19 data showed both schools also fell short of proportionality and had gaps big enough to accommodate at least one viable team.聽That鈥檚 the measure the federal government uses to determine whether or not聽a school is in compliance.聽

Twenty-eight schools told 91影视 they comply with the proportionality prong. The University of West Virginia said it was not in compliance for 2020-21 because it did not have novice rowers during the pandemic but that it historically complies by that prong.

All but seven of the 28聽had a gap big enough to sustain a viable women鈥檚 team.

Those that fell short include the University of Texas, which claimed proportionality even though it would need an additional 148 participation opportunities for women 鈥 more than its entire football team 鈥 to close the gap.

Texas spokesman John Bianco said the Longhorns 鈥渃ontinually evaluate鈥 their program to maintain substantial proportionality.

Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn.
鈥淎thletic directors don鈥檛 get hired to build a great women鈥檚 sports program. They get hired to get the football team into the top 25. That鈥檚 the sad reality.鈥

The University of Tennessee, too, claimed compliance despite needing 116 more opportunities for women. Tennessee spokesman Tom Satkowiak said the school鈥檚 data shows it 鈥渃onsistently鈥 achieves substantial proportionality.

That so many schools fall short despite the public posturing is聽no secret among some athletic department officials. In an internal email inadvertently sent to 91影视, a Georgia Tech spokesman said he believed that there are "very very few schools in compliance with prong one."

The spokesman, Mike Flynn, said he thought the Yellow Jackets were one of the exceptions. But the school fell short, although by a smaller margin than most. It had a gap of 39 spots, enough to accommodate at least one and perhaps multiple women's teams.

The widespread noncompliance is a byproduct of the priorities of big-time college athletics departments, even as they profess to be concerned about gender equity, experts said.

鈥淎thletic directors don鈥檛 get hired to build a great women鈥檚 sports program,鈥 said Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., 鈥渢hey get hired to get the football team into the top 25. That鈥檚 the sad reality.鈥

鈥榊ou haven鈥檛 added a sport in 11 years or 10 years鈥

鈥榊ou haven鈥檛 added a sport in 11 years or 10 years鈥

With hundreds of millions of dollars from Nike co-founder Phil Knight and a storied track and field program that has earned it world renown and the nickname Track Town, USA, the University of Oregon boasts a proud athletic history.

By their own telling, the Ducks comply with Title IX by almost every prong. In an email to 91影视, spokesman Jimmy Stanton said they comply with prongs two and three and are 鈥渋n substantial compliance鈥 with prong one.

But 91影视鈥檚 analysis calls that into question.

Of the seven schools that claimed to comply with the second prong, Oregon was one of two that did not appear to meet the standards.聽

Under prong two,聽the federal government assesses a school鈥檚 history of adding women鈥檚 teams and whether that has been responsive to students鈥 interests and continues into the present day. There鈥檚 no set timeline for how frequently schools should add sports, but they effectively cannot claim prong two聽if they鈥檝e cut women鈥檚 sports.

Had schools been adding women鈥檚 teams consistently since the passage of Title IX in 1972, experts said, few if any would need to comply under prong two because they would have reached proportionality by now.

Instead, many added teams in the 1970s and early 1980s in response to the law and again in spurts in the late 1990s under greater enforcement from the federal government, but it has been sporadic nationwide since.

鈥淲e鈥檙e 50 years into this. It鈥檚 easy to say, 'No, you鈥檙e not continuing to add opportunities,'鈥 said Connee聽Zotos,聽who spent 42 years in higher education as an athletic director, coach and faculty member. 鈥'You haven鈥檛 added a sport in 11 years or 10 years, so they can鈥檛 claim that.' Take that off the table.鈥

In Oregon鈥檚 case, it has added four women鈥檚 sports since the mid-1990s, including beach volleyball in 2014.聽

The University of Oregon told 91影视 it complied with Title IX under prongs two and three, but a review of its history shows it has not added a new women's team since 2014 and that its campus already supports club teams in several NCAA sports the Ducks don't sponsor.
The University of Oregon told 91影视 it complied with Title IX under prongs two and three, but a review of its history shows it has not added a new women's team since 2014 and that its campus already supports club teams in several NCAA sports the Ducks don't sponsor. Chris Pietsch/The Register-Guard

But prongs two and three also require there be no unmet interest on campus that could be served by adding another sport. Stanton told 91影视 that a recent campus student survey 鈥渄id not reveal significant interest in a sport UO does not already offer.鈥

A 91影视 review of the school's聽athletic history and club sport offerings shows otherwise.聽

The school has club teams in three emerging sports 鈥 equestrian, rugby and triathlon 鈥 each of which it could elevate to varsity status to help reduce the 106 women鈥檚 roster slots it would need to reach proportionality.聽

Additionally, the Pac-12 Conference, of which Oregon is a member, also offers three sports that Oregon doesn鈥檛: gymnastics, rowing and swimming and diving. High schools in the state offer girls聽wrestling 鈥 which is one of five NCAA emerging sports 鈥 but the Ducks have not added that sport either.

Connee Zotos, former athletic director
鈥淲e鈥檙e 50 years into this. It鈥檚 easy to say, 鈥楴o, you鈥檙e not continuing to add opportunities.鈥欌

Among the other schools claiming compliance with prong two, the University of Arizona also hasn鈥檛 added a new sport in eight years. It last added beach volleyball in 2014 but nothing since. Like Oregon, Arizona聽has a triple-digit participation gap (111 opportunities needed for women) and sports sponsored by other conference members that it could add.

That includes lacrosse, for which the Pac-12 announced Tuesday would add the University of California-Davis and San Diego State University as affiliate members. Rival Arizona State University also sponsors a team; its roster boasts no in-state players but features many recruited from around the country.

Senior Woman Administrator Erika Barnes, who played first base for the Wildcats on their 2001 national championship softball team, said Arizona鈥檚 athletic department is constantly assessing if and when it should add women鈥檚 sports. That practice got derailed by COVID-19 in March 2020, when the NCAA shut down athletics and many schools made significant budget cuts.

Now, with collegiate athletics returning to normal, Barnes said the school聽is 鈥渇ast-tracking鈥 expansion. In聽its May 18 newsletter,聽the department said it was 鈥渞egarding the addition of a new women's sport at Arizona.鈥

The University of North Carolina-Charlotte, which initially was on the list of schools that hadn鈥檛 recently added a women鈥檚 team, announced on May 18 that it would form a varsity women鈥檚 lacrosse team with competition expected to start in the 2024-25 academic year.聽

It will become the school鈥檚 10th women鈥檚 team and will help narrow its female participation gap of 124 roster spots.

UNC, others claim women鈥檚 needs met

UNC, others claim women鈥檚 needs met

The University of North Carolina鈥檚 flagship campus at Chapel Hill had the largest participation gap of all the schools in 91影视鈥檚 analysis.聽

With women making up 60.1% of undergraduate enrollment but 43.7% of athletic participation opportunities, the Tar Heels would need nearly 400 additional female roster spots to reach proportionality 鈥 nearly double their current number.

Like seven other schools, UNC said it complied with Title IX under聽the third聽prong 鈥 meeting the interests and abilities of its female population. But 91影视鈥檚 analysis does not support those claims.

Schools have several methods to determine whether there鈥檚 an unmet interest on campus. Among them: surveying students, evaluating requests to add a team or elevate a club to the varsity level聽and taking stock of the sports offered by high schools from which they draw prospective students.聽

Given the broad geography from which these schools draw students 鈥 with almost all of them聽recruiting regionally and the biggest programs nationally 鈥 experts argued it's difficult to show compliance by this prong.

Generally, if there鈥檚 a demonstrated interest and ability to sustain a team that has a reasonable expectation of competition, the education department鈥檚 own guidance says it will not find the school in compliance.

鈥淢ost schools don鈥檛 want to spend the money necessary to sponsor all of the women鈥檚 teams in which women athletes have the interest and ability and competition available,鈥 Bryant said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 why most schools are not in compliance with part three.鈥

The University of North Carolina pointed to the success of its women's teams, with 40 national championships and 135 conference championships, in response to  questions about its Title IX compliance. The Tar Heels said they comply under prong three - meeting interests and abilities - but 91影视's analysis shows the school sponsors several club sports for which there is NCAA competition.
The University of North Carolina pointed to the success of its women's teams, with 40 national championships and 135 conference championships, in response to questions about its Title IX compliance. The Tar Heels said they comply under prong three - meeting interests and abilities - but 91影视's analysis shows the school sponsors several club sports for which there is NCAA competition. Bill Streicher, 91影视 Sports

At North Carolina, students compete in several club sports for which there is NCAA competition, including beach volleyball and water polo. North Carolina doesn鈥檛 sponsor any of the emerging sports at the varsity level, though it has clubs for three of them.

Asked directly about how it could be meeting the interests and abilities of its students, North Carolina did not answer 91影视鈥檚 questions and instead gave a statement referencing the success of its existing women鈥檚 teams.

鈥淲e are proud of our rich tradition of women鈥檚 sports at Carolina,鈥 spokeswoman聽Robbi Pickeral Evans wrote. 鈥淔ifteen of our 28 varsity sports are women鈥檚 teams; only four schools in the Power 5 conferences sponsor more.鈥

Like North Carolina, some of the schools that claim prong three聽also carry massive participation gaps. Some are located on campuses rife with club sports that could be elevated to varsity. Others could add sports already sponsored within their conference, and others have local high school teams that would support college squads聽鈥 or all three.聽

Arthur Bryant, attorney who has litigated Title IX cases for decades
鈥淲hat Title IX鈥檚 history proves more than anything else is if you build it, they will come.鈥

With 61.5% female enrollment and 38.5% of athletic opportunities going to women, South Alabama would need to add 292 women鈥檚 participation opportunities to be proportional.聽

The school told 91影视 it primarily uses a survey of new students to assess interest. But federal聽guidance makes it clear that鈥檚 not sufficient, saying the department 鈥渄oes not consider survey results alone as sufficient evidence of lack of interest.鈥

鈥淣o. 3 is dangerous,鈥 said Vydra, the retired senior woman administrator. 鈥淵ou can鈥檛 just survey.鈥

South Alabama athletic director Joel Erdmann said he records any requests and talks with high school administrators, but South Alabama doesn鈥檛 have a formal process for either of those means of assessment. A subcommittee within the athletic department discusses any interests revealed in the survey or requests, but that hasn鈥檛 happened in a couple of years because of the pandemic, he said.

鈥淲e do use the survey as a significant piece of what we do, but it鈥檚 not isolated,鈥 Erdmann said. 鈥淚t does not operate in a vacuum.鈥

Erdmann said the Jaguars鈥 conference, the Sun Belt, has had informal discussions but has not collectively moved on adding a women鈥檚 sport. But South Alabama has some within its geographic footprint, including several beach volleyball programs in neighboring states.

鈥淲e are not the only school that is in our current situation with proportionality the way it is and looking at the third prong,鈥 Erdmann said.

Indeed, experts said,聽interests likely exceed what schools are offering when many of these schools recruit nationally or even internationally.聽

鈥淲hat Title IX鈥檚 history proves more than anything else is if you build it, they will come,鈥 Bryant said. 鈥淚f schools offer opportunities for women to participate in intercollegiate athletics, women will sign up for the teams.鈥

Contributing: Kenny Jacoby, Steve Berkowitz,聽Indiana University's Arnolt Center for Investigative Journalism and Knight-Newhouse Data project at Syracuse University

The team behind the Title IX series

Reporting and analysis: Nancy Armour, Rachel Axon, Steve Berkowitz, Alia Dastagir, Kenny Jacoby, Jessica Luther, Lindsay Schnell, Dan Wolken

Data and public records: Matthias Ballard, Emily Barnes, Emma Cail, Doug Caruso, Max Chadwick, Noah Cierzan, Zshekinah Collier, Daniel Connolly, Ruth Cronin, Elizabeth DeSantis, Caroline Geib, Laura Gerber, Janzen Greene, Daniel Gross, Alyssa Hertel, Porter Holt, Allie Kaylor, Dan Keemahill, Sabrina Lebron, Brian Lyman, Kyle Loughran, Patrick McCarthy, Haley Miller, Tyreye Morris, Marco Moy, Nicolas Napier, Teghan Simonton, Kayan Taraporevala, 91影视 Ulrich, Jodi Upton, Dian Zhang

Editing: Peter Barzilai, Chris Davis, Emily Le Coz, Matt Doig

Digital design and illustration: Andrea Brunty

Project management: Annette Meade

Graphics: Jim Sergent

Photo and video: Jasper Colt, Hank Farr, Chris Pietsch, Stephen Maturen, Brooke Lavalley, Robin Chan, Michael Swensen, Ken Oots, Di'Amond Moore

Social media, engagement and promotion: Nicole Gill Council, Casey Moore, Erin Davoran

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Title IX: Falling short at 50

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