Every Saturday, college campuses all across the nation are a buzz with activities. The football team prepares for this week’s game. The girl’s soccer team and volleyball teams play on Saturday and Sunday. The boy’s soccer team travels for an away game. Colleges and universities everywhere depend on various sports as a way of recruitment, entertainment, and physical activity for students. However, before 1972 women did not share the same opportunity to participate in intercollegiate sports. Up until 1972 there were no rules governing sexism in intercollegiate sports. Then, when President Nixon signed into law the Education Amendments Acts, part of the new law was called Title IX. This part of the new law abolished sexism in intercollegiate sports. Since its inception, Title IX has lead to giant steps in women’s sports. Understanding what Title IX is will help to understand how Title IX has helped bring on gains for all women.The Education Amendments Act of 1972 was signed into law on June 23, 1972 by President Richard Nixon (Wulf, 79). Part of this larger bill was an amendment called Title IX. This part of the bill called for an end to sexual bias in institutions that receive federal funds. Though Title IX did not have any specific correlation to intercollegiate sports, on the playing field is where it has been used most. In 1975, the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare extended Title IX’s boundaries to athletics, saying recipients of federal funds must provide “equal athletic opportunity”(Guenin 35). Now extended to athletics, there are three major stipulations colleges must cover to satisfy the Title IX laws. These three stipulations are government set regulations. Congress never approved the policy’s interpretation, but they are what stand as Title IX today. Schools must meet one of the three following tests: “show proportionality in the number of male a...
