Temple Celebrates 50 Years of Title IX

6/23/2022

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.

Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972

Title IX was signed into law by President Richard Nixon on June 23, 1972 as part of the Education Amendments of 1972, making sex-based discrimination illegal at federally funded educational institutions. The early legislation was drafted by U.S. Representatives Patsy Mink and Edith Green, with Mink later co-authoring and introducing the bill to the House of Representatives. It was renamed the Patsy T. Mink Equal Opportunity in Education Act in 2002 following Mink's death.

Title IX was not created to apply to athletics. It was written as an update to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which banned discrimination in employment but did not address discrimination in education. As interpretations were made to apply Title IX to sports, several amendments were proposed and later rejected in order to exempt athletic departments from Title IX. In 1979, the Department of Education issued a Policy Interpretation to explicitly apply Title IX to intercollegiate athletics.

By the Numbers
Information courtesy of the Women's Sport Foundation

Prior to 1972

294,015 participation opportunities for high school girls (1972)
Girls comprised 7% of high school athletes
29,977 female athletes at the college level (1971-72)
15% of athletes on college teams were female (1972)

After 1972

3,402,733 participation opportunities for high school girl (2018-19)
Girls comprised 43% of high school athletes (2018-19)
215,486 female athletes competing on NCAA sponsored teams (2021-22)
44% of athletes on college teams were female (2020-21)

Girls have 3 million additional high school sport opportunities now than before Title IX
Men have 60,000 more collegiate sport opportunities compared to women
Women make up 59.5% of college enrollment, but only have 43.9% of the sport opportunities
30% of all college athletes are white women, compared to 14% BIPOC women

Without sports, I wouldn't have the career I have today. My experience as a student-athlete led me to pursue a career in collegiate athletics, and sports have shaped not only my skills but also the values I have as a person.

Aaron McKie was on the men's basketball team and he stood up to cheer for me as I received a watch at halftime of a men's basketball game for winning the 1991A-10 Championship, where I scored the game-winner.

The coaches and teammates I met at Temple are still my friends today! I enjoyed the success of our teams, the great games we played, and the restaurant and hotel visits that included many laughs. I am the seventh of eight children and first to receive a college degree, thanks to Temple Athletics. The value of sports participation prepares you for every day life. The commitment, time management, dedication, and teamwork are all skills you can use in your career, friendships and family.

Black Women in Sport Foundation

The Black Women in Sport Foundation was created in 1992 by legendary Temple coaches Dr. Nikki Franke and Tina-Sloan Green, and Temple educators Dr. Alpha Alexander and Linda Greene, Esq. A nonprofit organization, the BWSF mission is to increase the involvement of black women and girls in all aspects of sport, including athletics, coaching, and administration. The Foundation's work is not limited to black women and girls. It enrolls girls and boys in the programs conducted throughout the city of Philadelphia and surrounding areas. It facilitates the involvement of women of color in every aspect of sport in the United States and around the world, through the "hands-on" development and management of grass roots level outreach programs.

The BWSF is unique in its ability to address the needs and dreams of girls and young women, and in defining optimal ways that lead and support them on their paths to life-long achievement. Through their involvement in the BWSF, program participants receive judgment-free guidance to assist them in maximizing their full potential, in and out of sport. The enactment of Title IX has helped to break down barriers for women and girls in sports, as well as providing more access in multiple areas of academic pursuit. With the introduction of professional women's basketball leagues, increased sponsor support for women's athletic endeavors, and new young stars on the horizon, the participation of women, in the world of sports, continues to grow in popularity.

Volleyball has opened many doors for me. It has given me the opportunity to earn an education while also teaching me skills that I can carry on into the workforce. At Temple, I have been blessed to be a part of a very diverse program and play with girls from all over the world. This has broadened my perspective on many things that will have a lasting impact on me as player and a person.

Gymnastics was and still is a big part of me. This sport taught me how to never give up, and how to make mistakes but continue to strive for my goals no matter the barrier. “Do what is right, not what is easy.”

On April 11, Temple Athletics hosted students from Philadelphia and New Jersey area schools for a National Girls and Women in Sports Day event.

READ MORE: https://t.co/8qOjVGpsb9 pic.twitter.com/HsS2fdBNzH
— Temple Owls (@TempleOwls) April 19, 2022

Having the opportunity to have a real gymnastics coach was the best experience ever. As a walk on, it was so great to be accepted and invited onto the team. I lived in a very rural area and my parents could not afford to enroll me in any type of structured gymnastic program, so I learned in my yard on a wooden balance beam my dad made me. The coach I had at Temple in 1980 was so encouraging and really help me hone my skills. When I finally scored a 9.2 on the beam at a meet with Maryland, he celebrated like it was a perfect 10! It was the best day ever!

I grew up watching the 1999 Olympic Women's Soccer team with Mia Hamm. Everyone on the team was such a role model to me. Growing up, I always had to buy boy's or men's cleats because girl's/women's just did not exist at that time. I credit that ‘99 team with opening the door for so many female soccer players and athletes in general.

Title IX was signed into law 50 years ago this week. That same year, Nikki Franke started Temple University's varsity women's fencing team.@stephgosk shares how Franke thinks we've made progress, but there's still more to do. pic.twitter.com/GDzRwARF9E
— NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt (@NBCNightlyNews) June 22, 2022

Hall of Fame Coaches

Dr. Nikki Franke - International Women's Sports HOF, Philadelphia Sports HOF, Temple Athletics HOF (individually and with the 1992 National Championship team), US Fencing Association HOF, Brooklyn College HOF
Bonnie Rosen - US Lacrosse HOF, Philadelphia Sports HOF, Philadelphia Jewish Sports HOF, Harriton High School HOF, Eastern Pennsylvania Lacrosse HOF, Connecticut Lacrosse HOF
Tina Sloan Green - US National Lacrosse HOF, International Women's Sports HOF, IWLCA HOF, Philadelphia Sports HOF, Temple HOF, West Chester HOF

Olympians at Temple

Dr. Nikki Franke (fencing)- 1976 & 1980
Michelle Vittese (field hockey) - 2012 & 2016
Dawn Staley (basketball) - 1996, 2000 & 2004 as a player, 2021 as a head coach
Roxane Pierce (gymnastics) - 1972
Kamali Thompson (fencing) - 2021 sabre alternate

Learning how to improve from failure plays the biggest role in determining future successes. Sports have taught me how to grow and adapt from both failure and success with poise and grace and I strongly believe this will be the largest influence on my adult life and future success.

Title IX is very important to me because it helped build the brand new softball stadium at my high school. The baseball stadium was significantly better than the softball field and because of Title IX the school upgraded ours. It took 40-years to upgrade it but it was finally upgraded and the stadium is gorgeous!

I never intended on being a coach. It happened organically, and I am now in my 26th year at Cabrini! I have brought several of my Temple playing traditions here with me to my current teams!

I developed the course "Gender Equity in Sports," which examines the chronology of Title IX in athletics, and have been teaching it for over twenty years. Each semester I begin this class by “looking in the rearview mirror” as to how and why Title IX was established. I proudly reference Rollin Haffer’s legal challenge as part of my introduction to this class and remain humbled that I was, in a very small way, a part of such a significant movement in Temple Athletics. Thanks Temple for the all the life lessons, the opportunity to be a part of “the team,” and for the wonderful memories. Once an Owl… always an Owl!