Title IX Hits the 50 Year Mark
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowThe federal Title IX law was passed 50 years ago and without it, the state of sports could have had a different look today on the field, court, or in the front office. The civil rights law, introduced to Congress by Indiana Senator Birch Bayh, prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in education programs and activities. Nancy Cross, senior associate athletics director at Purdue University, says while women’s athletics has been the most visibly impacted from Title IX, the law is about education and has benefitted both men and women.
In our special Influential INdiana Women edition of Inside INdiana Business with Gerry Dick, Cross discussed the impact of the landmark legislation.
“We probably wouldn’t have a lot of our male basketball coaches or volleyball coaches coaching women’s teams if the salaries weren’t commensurate or if they had to drive the van or they had to do their own peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, which was the way it was when we all started out,” said Cross.
While Title IX has had a major impact, Cross says there is still work to be done. She cites the controversy in 2021 over the disparity between the workout facilities for student-athletes in the men’s NCAA basketball tournament in Indianapolis and the women’s tournament in San Antonio.
“The thing that bothered me most was how it even happened before we got to San Antonio and that was the day of the announcement,” she said. “The NCAA made a huge deal about what they were going to do for the men and in a bubble and in Indianapolis, and it was great for Indianapolis. The fact that you weren’t making a joint announcement, again, made it look like, ‘We’re going to do this for the men, but we haven’t even really thought about what we’re going to do for the women.'”
In a recent episode of the Business & Beyond Podcast, former Senator Evan Bayh talked about the impact of the law authored by his father, Birch.
“I will occasionally have women athletic directors or coaches come up to me and say that they wouldn’t have had the opportunities that they’ve had in their life if that hadn’t opened up the doors for them to be athletes and that sort of thing. So, yeah, that’s a big part of his legacy,” Bayh said.
Looking forward, Cross says she hopes everyone has a seat at the table and are making decisions on what is best for all athletes, regardless of gender.
“It shouldn’t matter if it’s a male or female swimmer, male or female golfer, tennis player, basketball, football. Every decision that’s made should be made based on what’s best for the student-athletes.”