Pappano on Title IX: “It’s been slow progress and we certainly are not there yet.”

Support women's sports and SHARE this story with your friends!

The institutionalization of any movement’s ideals – whether that be educational ideals at the local level or political ideals at the national level – is often a double-edged sword: although it may represent a “victory” for the movement, it can also breed complacency and inhibit forward momentum.

Title IX is a success by almost any standard – as a number of stories have mentioned lately, not only has the athletic participation of women and girls increased dramatically, but such athletic participation has been shown to enhance academic performance and educational/professional attainment, in addition to obvious health benefits for girls.

However, the question now is what more needs to be done to achieve equitable athletic participation?

In summarizing the findings of a recent Women’s Sports Foundation report, “Her Life Depends On It”, Anna Clark describes a number of inequities in athletic participation for women and girls at both the high school and NCAA level. In an article by Jeff Kolpack describing the impact of Title IX on the North Dakota State Athletics department, Laura Pappano is quoted as saying scheduling is yet another “Title IX issue” that has yet to be addressed.

Still, not all is rosy on the national picture, said Laura Pappano, a journalist and author who has written books and blogs on gender equity.

“In my mind, Title IX opened some doors at a key time,” she said. “But it’s been slow progress and we certainly are not there yet.”

She cites differences in publicity, ticket prices, brochures and scheduling. NDSU women’s basketball can relate to the last one, playing its Summit League games on Saturdays and Mondays.

The Monday games are a poor draw and Bison coaches and administrators would like to get rid of them. The problem is the league mandates the schedule and most schools apparently prefer the Saturday-Monday setup for women.

“Should it be a Title IX issue? Absolutely,” Pappano said. “I don’t want to say Title IX should be used to enforce a basketball schedule. On the other hand, if you consider the spirit of Title IX and look broadly at schedule and promotions …”

The point Pappano and the Women’s Sports Foundation make perhaps extend beyond policymaking – even after policies are implemented to ensure opportunity and access to athletic participation, equitable participation may require a shift in mindset that is simply not enforcible by law.

As complex as college sports scheduling is, it would be problematic at best to legally enforce “equitable scheduling” across even one athletic department, much less a conference or the entire national landscape. However, if games are consistently scheduled at times that are known to be “poor draws” and marketed poorly to compound the problem, the potential revenue is limited before anyone shows up to a game. In that scenario, the success of any women’s sports program is essentially sabotaged before tip off, kick off, or the lead off. Ultimately, with low attendance and low revenue, people can derisively point at women’s sports and claim they’re a waste of time and, more importantly in this economy, institutional resources.

Perhaps the answer to addressing these subtle “Title IX issues” that govern the logistics of participation is to simply wait for a change in the mindset of decision-makers or as former Women’s Sports Foundation CEO Donna Lopiano suggested in a 2008 speech, “You have to wait until dinosaurs do what they do best – they either retire or expire.”

Given that Title IX has only been around for 37 years, patience is certainly required of advocates for women’s sports. However, we are absolutely not at a point where we as a society should be satisfied – despite major successes, progress is slow and we certainly are not there yet.

Support women's sports and SHARE this story with your friends!

• Basketball
• Discrimination/Title IX
• W College Hoops

This article was written by a WomenTalkSports.com contributor. Sign up here to start publishing your own women's sports content.

View Q McCall's Full Profile

There are 3 comments on this post. Join the discussion!

anngaff says:

I think legal enforcement can only take us so far. The "shift in mindset that is simply not enforceable by law" is what needs to be chipped away at, just as activists worked to make it "hip" to be "green."

Sunday, December 27, 2009 at 12:12am EST

robm says:

You spotlight something important, Ann. Legislation alone--coercion, that is--does have its limits; moreover, rely on it too much and it becomes counterproductive. We address what we must with it, but only so that female athletes have opportunity to grow and prosper athletically, expecting that in their turn they will win over the hearts and minds of sports fans.

Monday, December 28, 2009 at 12:30pm EST

anngaff says:

Exactly, similar to affirmative action. Enable the cause through legislation, but in the end only people can see it through to fruition.

Monday, December 28, 2009 at 6:20pm EST

Leave Your Comment:  Read our comment policy

Login  |  Sign Up

LOGIN TO WOMEN TALK SPORTS:

Username: 

Password: 

SIGNUP FOR A WOMEN TALK SPORTS ACCOUNT:

A Women Talk Sports account allows you to maintain a profile at www.womentalksports.com and login to comment on posts using your WTS identity.

Fields marked with a * are required.

Your First Name*: 

Your Last Name*: 

Your E-mail*: 

Your Website: 

Your Location: 

Your Twitter Username: 

Create a WTS Username*: 

Create a Password*: 

Confirm Password*: 

Check here to receive bi-weekly emails from Women Talk Sports and partners highlighting discussions on our site and upcoming women's sporting events, as well as informing you of new products, services and special offers.

I accept the Terms & Conditions for joining Women Talk Sports