that girls be provided with a exact duplicate of the men's program, or that schools spend the same amount of money on each program. In fact, many school districts face economic problems and are thus trying to reduce their spending. As schools look at their athletic departments to cut costs, the decision as to which programs stay and which are cut will be examined to ensure that schools comply with Title IX. [16] One other main issue that is wrapped in Title IX is the issue of contact sports. The general rule is that Title IX does not require a school to allow the opposite sex to participate in a contact sport unless there are enough members of that sex to field their own team. However, like most rules, there are exceptions. Some courts have allowed girls to play on contact sports teams with boys. “Rationale for the rules and regulations prohibiting same sex teams have included the following: the physical, biological and psychological differences between males and females, promotion of the safety of the players; promote athletic opportunities for women and/or preserve emergent female sports programs from domination by male athletes, or to maintain the competitiveness within the women's programs.” [16] The courts also make it abundantly clear that the classification of a sport as a contact sport must be reasonable. The courts have considered many sports when considering the “contact sport” issue. The first sport to look at is football. Football has traditionally been regarded as a contact sport. Even though some courts have allowed girls to play on all boys football teams, this is the exception, not the rule. However, “Title IX's regulations leave each school free to choose whether co-educational participation in a contact sport will be permitted,” unless there is a “reason for such an exclusion, as for example where peculiar safety and equipment requirements demand it, . . . or p...
