Within a couple of months in 1972 women’s rights went from being almost obsolete to finally being seen as equals. The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) was passed by Congress and sent to states for ratification stating, “Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex,” following the ERA was Title IX which banned sex discrimination in schools.

Title IX reads, “No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any educational program or activity receiving federal financial assistance.”

Title IX applies to every facet of federally funded education programs but college athletics was greatly affected. Colleges now have to have proportionate athletic opportunities, equal accommodations in sports of interest, facilities, equipment, recruitment, travel, and the total amount of athletic scholarships must be propionate to the ratio of female and male athletes.

Many think that in order to comply with the rules men’s sports have to be affected. This is not true, Title IX was created to give women and men the same opportunity and experience by balancing the budget. Schools decide on their own to cut sports to make money for their “cash cows” or the sports that they feel are important.

Men’s sports such as gymnastics, volleyball, and wrestling are among the first to go but this would not have to happen if schools did not charter jets, accommodate entire teams in luxury hotels, and contract million dollar coaches.

Women's enrollment in college is exceeding men’s desire to get a higher education. So why should female athletes not also have an equal chance to play the sports they love and have dedicate their lives to just because choice male athletes need an incentive to earn a college degree?

There is a strong desire for females to play collegiate sports but with an uneven recruiting budget and being shunned for representing your school and being a competitive athlete, women are being deterred from accepting the offers that are available.

Rutgers women’s basketball team’s second place finish in the NCAA Division I championship game was overshadowed by Don Imus’ remarks about the team, referring to them as, “nappy-headed hos.”

Although this may be an extreme, this shows that equality and perception for women athletics is still far from being achieved. Title IX is a step in the right direction to put women and men on an equal playing field.

To prevent 35 years of progress from being undone, people should not look at Title IX as cutting into men’s sports but as giving more dedicated and hard working athletes the chance to receive a college education while playing the sports that they love.

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