Title IX at 50: You’ve come a long way, but struggles still linger
Title IX drew plenty of high fives last week as the 1972 federal law, banning sexual discrimination in academics and athletics, marked its 50th birthday.
Yet, the overarching theme from women who’ve lived on the playing fields the past 50 years is there’s a glaring need for progress.
Muffet McGraw, who won two national titles at Notre Dame during her 32-year coaching tenure, speaks passionately about women still getting shortchanged.
“We’ve been fighting for 50 years to have equality and you saw what happened just a year ago with the men’s and women’s tournaments. That was an eye opener for many. For those in the fight, it was business as usual,” McGraw said.
McGraw referred to social media posts seen by millions contrasting the facilities, amenities and food at the men’s and women’s Final Four sites.
For the men, the workout space was a big ballroom full of free weights, hand weights and machine weights.
The women’s facility in San Antonio had 12 hand weights. Women complained about other inequities including COVID-19 testing, food, and even sparse swag bags.
The women’s tourney couldn’t use the brand “March Madness.”
The outrage spurred forced the NCAA to commission an external review that recommended significant reforms including a combined men’s and women’s Final Four tournament and changes in the NCAA’s leadership structure. Its president, Mark Emmert, announced his resignation in April, effective next year.
McGraw pointed to hiring disparities in athletic departments where women are often overlooked.
In NCAA Division I schools, just 15 percent have women athletic directors.
Indiana has two — at Ball State and Purdue Fort Wayne.
“We went from 14% to 41% of college athletes today. We’re more than 50% enrollment, yet we’re still way behind,” said McGraw.
Women make up nearly 60% of the enrollment in colleges, but receive just 44% of scholarships and other opportunities, according to the Women’s Sports Foundation.
About 41% of head coaches across the NCAA’s three divisions are women, reported the Institute for Diversity and Ethics in its recent Racial and Gender Report Card.
At Notre Dame, McGraw opted for an all-woman coaching staff.
One of her former players, Megan Duffy, leads an all-woman staff at Marquette University including assistant coach, Kelly Komara, a Lake Central grad who earned Miss Basketball honors in 1998.
She played on the 1999 Purdue
national championship team on a scholarship she credits to Title IX.
“For me, Title IX and what that means is just the starting line. We’re nowhere even near the finish line,” Komara said.
“For my generation, at least our starting line is a little down the track. My mother’s starting line was not even in the stadium,” said Komara about her mom, Patti Komara who opened a region gymnastics school 1969.
Before Title IX, girls played sports in their schools but competition rarely went beyond that, much less to state levels.
In 1971, less than 300,000 girls played varsity athletics in high school and fewer than 32,000 played in college.
Margaret Kelly was in the trenches teaching physical education and coaching girls at Hammond Gavit High School in the 1970s.
“When Title IX passed, it was the first time our administration couldn’t say ‘you’re not approved by the state for that.’ Even after it passed, they said they didn’t have to do it.”
Kelly, of Portage, said she saw little change at her school in the early years after Title IX’s passage.
“The athletic department went kicking and screaming, before they finally decided they’d have to do it. Some were very receptive and some were going to be difficult,” said Kelly, who retired in 1995.
Those early headwinds were tempered by a growing feminist movement. In 1973, tennis star Billie Jean King sparked pride and excitement when she knocked off Bobby Riggs in straight sets to win the hyped “Battle of the Sexes.”
Meanwhile, coach Bobbi DeKemper’s East Chicago Roosevelt teams, who won state championships in 1977 and 1979, still practiced in a non-regulation small gym so the boys could use the main gym.
“We eventually got the main gym after the boys were done, like at 5 p.m.,” remembered DeKemper, of Portage.
Her star player, LaTaunya Pollard, became the region’s first Indiana Miss Basketball winner in 1979. She shattered scoring records at Long Beach State where she earned All-American honors twice and won the Wade Trophy in 1983.
With no pro ball options in the U.S., she headed to Italy to play.
DeKemper’s teams financed their expenses through candy sales and she said coaches often shared their stories of inequities, despite Title IX.
“Other coaches were going through the same thing. Sometimes we’d complain about, it but complaints fell on deaf ears…”
Change did take root for many.
Valparaiso High grad Renee Turpa got an early taste of Title IX’s benefits when she played softball at Ball State and took part in the Women’s College World Series in 1975.
Turpa coached girls’ basketball for 17 years at Portage, High becoming its all-time winningest coach. She came out of retirement seven years ago to become an assistant coach at Marquette High School.
“It’s amazing to me what we have now,” said Turpa. “Kids today don’t know anything of what we went through,” she said.
Today, she works with the Indiana Basketball Coaches Association to offer player
showcases for girls.
“High school girls need to be seen by college coaches,” said Turpa, of Valparaiso.
The numbers are on the upswing for women today.
About 3.4 million women play high school sports today, compared to 32,000 five decades ago. In college, more than 215,000 women play on NCAA teams.
While women outnumber men in colleges, about 86% of schools still offer better athletic opportunities to men.
Once they’re out of school, the professional athletic opportunities shrink.
The Women’s National Basketball League is growing in popularity, but big pay disparities still trigger players to go overseas where paychecks are much bigger.
The spotlight on the issue grew after the arrest of WNBA Phoenix Mercury star Brittney Griner.
Griner, who plays in a Russian league, has been in a Moscow jail on an alleged drug smuggling charge since February. She faces up to 10 years in prison, if convicted.
Many women have been involved in sports most of their lives. Even if they don’t reach lofty pinnacles of fame, they appreciate the fun of competition.
Lake Central girls’ soccer coach Genna Noel, 31, has played the game since she was about 4. She started on a Schererville league and moved on to play on Lake Central’s varsity team.
She said Lake Central facilities are equitable with the boys’ team and they share playing time on the field.
What she has noticed most is the change in her players’ attitudes.
“I think now more than ever, girls at the high school level are finding their voice and standing up for themselves and being independent. I think girls are a bit stronger than I was.”