CHAPTER THREE:
TITLE IX
Title IX paved the way for women to play sports collegiately. But it was practical factors that made soccer a focus of the landmark legislation — soccer could be played by many women, inexpensively, often helping balance out the already significant investment made by many schools in college football. The rapid ascension of Anson Dorrance’s North Carolina program combined with growth in the youth ranks created an ideal combination for soccer to become one of the key focal points of Title IX’s impact
(Photo credit: The New York Times)
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CHAPTER THREE
TITLE IX
Title IX of the Educational Amendments of 1972, a group of changes to the landmark Education Act of 1965, mandated equal access and equal spending on athletic programs at college institutions. The exact words were:
”No person in the United States shall, based on sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.”
It’s notable that there’s nothing specific in Title IX about women’s college sports. However, an amendment was eventually passed that clarified the language and gave increased opportunities to participate in collegiate athletics. Title IX ultimately dedicated resources and investments to women’s sports.
(Photo credit: History News Network)
Our GUEST
Victoria Jackson is a sports historian and professor at Arizona State University. Jackson writes and speaks about the intersection of sport and society, exploring how the games we play (and watch) tell us much about the communities – local, national, and global – in which we live. Her writing has appeared in the Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, Boston Globe, The Chronicle of Higher Education, Slate, Letras Libres (Mexico), El Universal (Mexico), Epoca (Brazil), The Independent (UK),The Athletic, and Sportico. Jackson has appeared on 60 Minutes to discuss American college sports and is a frequent podcast, radio, TV, and documentary film commentator on sport and society. She brings a historian’s eye to the project of designing future sports systems that are inclusive, equitable, and just.
Jackson leads the sport humanities at ASU, directs the new research initiative Sports@IHR for the Institute of Humanities Research, and teaches a package of sports history courses, which forms part of an interdisciplinary, liberal arts undergraduate certificate in “sports, cultures, and ethics.” She is affiliated faculty with the American Studies program in the School of Social Transformation and a Global Sport Scholar with the Global Sport Institute at ASU. She serves on advisory boards of nonprofits with missions focused on sport and social change, and has long been involved with local, national, and international organizations that help girls and women find their power through sport.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
Books
- Title IX: A Brief History with Documents by Susan Ware
Articles
(Maggie Mertens)
Our PERSPECTIVE
The 1959 NCAA Soccer Championship had significance for three key reasons. First, paired the rise of college with the rise of college soccer. Higher education was in its golden age on the heels of the GI BIll of 1944, and veterans that had been exposed to soccer in Europe craved it back home. Second, it continued the Americanization of the game, particularly because St. Louis University built a roster entirely with homegrown players, immediately winning the title. Third, the event gave America another success story.
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