WHO'S PLAYING COLLEGE SPORTS ?
Women's Sports Foundation Answers Questions With Timely Research Report and Presents Inaugural "Opportunity Awards”
NEW YORK, NY, (June 5, 2007) – The Women's Sports Foundation today released “Who's Playing College Sports? Trends in Participation,” in honor of Title IX's 35th anniversary. This research report is the most comprehensive set of data on the numbers of women and men playing college sports. It validated the post-Title IX growth in women's college athletic participation and disproved claims that men's opportunities have suffered as a result.
”'Who's Playing College Sports? Trends in Participation'” demonstrated unequivocally that women continue to be significantly underrepresented among college athletes and that there has been no large overall decline in men's participation,” said Billie Jean King, founder of the Women's Sports Foundation. “Instead, in an effort to weaken a law that has helped so many, opponents of Title IX have used a few individual men's sports or a few higher education institutions and applied this to college level athletics as a whole. They've created a false perception that men's sports participation is on the decline.”
“The findings of this report have numerous implications for policymakers” added Dr. John Cheslock, the report's author and leading researcher on gender equity in intercollegiate sport. “Past research on this subject has produced a series of confusing and contradictory findings. This report provides clarity in that it uses the best data and methods available to researchers and demonstrates that earlier contradictory findings are based on data and methods that contain serious shortcomings.”
“Who's Playing College Sports? Trends in Participation” issued grades to 1,895 institutions based on their proportinality gaps - the difference between the percentage of women athletes to the percentage of female students. The complete report and report card can be viewed at www.womenssportsfoundation.org\WhosPlaying.
At a press conference held at the HBO Studios today, the Women's Sports Foundation also recognized four standout universities with its inaugural “Opportunity Awards.” Along with the Foundation's founder, Billie Jean King, Women's Sports Foundation President Aimee Mullins was on hand to present the “Opportunity Awards” to those schools that are consistently providing equitable opportunities to their female athletes and setting a tone in their athletic departments that reflects the schools' overall ideals and aspirations.
The Women's Sports Foundation chose one school in each of the country's four regions to serve as models for their region. Award winners are: University of Buffalo (East), Tennesse Technological University (South), Purdue University (Midwest) and Washington State University (West).
Mullins explained, “When selecting our four schools for the “Opportunity Awards,” the Women's Sports Foundation set stringent criteria that included an “A” grade in our research report card, similar population of male and female undergraduates and athletes, having a football program, not being liable for a Title IX lawsuit in the past decade, equitable athletic budgets for the men's and women's programs and having athletic departments serving at least 100 athletes. We applaud these schools for setting great examples. Schools can treat female athletes as well as their male counterparts and still boast a top athletic program.”
About the Women's Sports Foundation
Founded in 1974 by Billie Jean King, the Women's Sports Foundation is a national charitable educational organization seeking to advance the lives of girls and women through sports and physical activity. The Foundation's Participation, Education, Advocacy, Research and Leadership Programs are made possible by gifts from individuals, foundations and corporations. For more information, please call the Foundation at (800) 227-3988.