Title IX Debate Continues…

 

Last month marked the 42nd anniversary of the famous piece of federal legislation, Title IX. Title IX was signed into law by President Nixon on June 23, 1972. Title IX has the largest impact on university athletics and the amount of men’s and women’s sports teams. Title IX deals with more than just sports, it also addresses sexual harassment, gender based discrimination and sexual violence. 

 

What is Title IX?
Title IX is the federal law that prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in schools that receive federal funding — including their athletics programs. To help protect against Title IX the Government wrote 3 rules or test that the school or university must follow, in which the school can choose which one to follow: 

 

Proportionality- that girls should receive the same percentage of athletic opportunity as the percentage of girls in the student body. Example: If 51% of the school is girls – girls should have 51% of the opportunity to play sports.
 

Progress- requires schools to make up for the days when girls had fewer opportunities by adding girls’ sports on a regular basis.  
 

Satisfied Interests- asks if girls’ interest in athletics is satisfied by regularly asking female students what sports they are interested in and must then add teams based on the girls interests. 

 

Another important part of title IX is having equal quality: equality between boys and girls-such as: supplies, equipment, practice and game times, quality and number of coaches, publicity, equal access to locker rooms, medical services and practice facilities. 

 

 

Direct Impact on College Gymnastics 
Since Title IX has been implemented into college athletics, 212 men’s gymnastics teams have been dropped since 1969 and only 18 NCAA programs remain. Men’s programs are being cut to allow the school to have an equal number of men’s and women’s sports. These programs are not being dropped based on interest or demand. Men's sports teams have been sacrificed in order to achieve "proportionality" as demanded by those enforcing Title IX. 

Some of the men’s sports impacted by Title IX include; gymnastics, wrestling, swimming and diving, and track and field. Some of the most recent and influential programs to  dropped include: UCLA, New Mexico, BYU, Michigan State, James Madison University, Rutgers, Maryland, Iowa State and Temple. 

Women's gymnastics has also been affected by Title IX. Massachusetts Institute of Technology dropped it's women's program in 2009. James Madison University also dropped their women's program in 2007. Lindenwood University was the first school in 10 years to add a women's gymnastics program in 2012. Arkansas was added back in 2001. 
 

 

Title IX is taking an impact on Temple Men’s Gymnastics
Last December, Temple University announced that it would discontinue varsity men’s gymnastics in its athletic program. Starting July 1, the team will function as a university club.

To help save the program, Temple is having a fundraiser! Bill Cosby is appearing at a benefit for the Temple University Men’s Gymnastics Program. The program is the winningest men’s team in school history. They boast 14 NCAA individual event champions, 26 conference team championships in the past 88 years of existence and have also produced three Olympic athletes and two Olympic coaches.

 

Coach Fred Turoff has been coaching men’s gymnastics at Temple University for 38 years and has been a part of the Temple community since 1965 when he was enrolled as a student. June 30 marked his last day of full-time employment as coach of the men’s varsity gymnastics team.
 

An Evening with Bill Cosby: to SAVE the Temple Men's Gymnastics Program

Temple Men's Gymnastics - Philadelphia Boys' Gymnastics

Thursday, August 14, 2014 from 7:30 PM to 11:00 PM 

Philadelphia, PA
 

Click here to find out more information on how you can help save Temple Gymnastics. 


Let us know your thoughts on Title IX in the comments below! Do you think Title IX is "fair?" Who is hurting the most because of Title IX? Should Title IX be changed?