College Football: Title IX and Football Work Together for Women

With the recent celebration of the 40th anniversary of Title IX, there has been much debate about the validity and necessity of the federal law. Title IX is a hot button issue, especially in a world where budget problems are real, men's sports are being cut and money is the true bottom line when it comes to "what matters."

As we've seen at the University of New Mexico, Title IX is often pointed at for the reason men's sports go. The Albuquerque Journal reports, the stigma surrounding Title IX makes it an easy target. The same can be said for Rutgers and their now defunct men's programs and Maryland who is lopping sports off for the future. The willingness to ignore the poor budget practices, in favor of heaping blame on the easy target; Title IX.

The struggle for Title IX, even 40 years into things, is on-going. It is an easy target; women's sports don't sell and the people willing to speak out for women's sports aren't nearly as prominent in big media. As the Houston Chronicle points out, the loss of men's sports is not a Title IX problem, it's a budget issue. 

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"Those are administration decisions, not Title IX," Staurowsky told the Washington Post.

Feeding the football monster is a major issue with the perception of Title IX. One certainty of athletic budgets is the amount of money spent on football budgets is going to rise. It always has.

Football is a way of life and to many a religion, but it isn't a gender. So no, we can't overlook the 85 elephants in the room. They're on scholarship, too.

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Some people see the law as unnecessary. It takes away chances from men. It puts a drain on athletic department budgets. It forces schools to invest money in a sport that doesn't give them returns. 

All of those things are true. However, Title IX is a necessary law for colleges to follow. It gives more educational opportunities to women. It gives more athletic opportunities to women. It helps empower women. All of the characteristics that a football or basketball player gets from being in his sport—teamwork, dealing with failure, work ethic, time management and more—Title IX helps give those to women. 

As shown by the Houston Chronicle, college football's role in Title IX is massive. With 85 scholarships, football is the sport that skews things to the men. More guys playing means women need multiple sports on campus to match the number of opportunities to men. While some people look at the lack of male track scholarships, it must be noted how many women are getting opportunities because of, not in spite of, football. 

Yes, there are more women going to and graduating college than ever now. That's not a bad thing, and it most certainly is not something that should be shoved aside because a small group of guys feels disenfranchised. The idea that the playing field is level in America is a joke. People will pull numbers and attempt to frame the data in a way that swears women have the same opportunities as men; they don't. 

It is a sad fact that even today, women start behind men. Trying to catch someone who has a head start is next to impossible; Title IX helps make that a bit more realistic. We should be celebrating Title IX, not looking for ways to poke holes in it.