Title IX

According to an overview on american.edu:

Title IX requires that schools, which receive federal funding, provide equal opportunities for members of both sexes. It addresses the availability, quality and kind of benefits, and the opportunities and treatment that athletes receive. There are three basic aspects of Title IX as applied to athletics:

1) Participation: Title IX is not a quota system. Every institution has three options to demonstrate fairness in athletic opportunities. Schools can show that they comply with Title IX if they can demonstrate any one of the following:
• Substantially proportionate athletic opportunities for male and female athletes;
• A history and continuing practice of expanding opportunities for the under-represented sex;
• Full and effective accommodation of the interests and abilities of the under-represented sex. Schools do not necessarily need to offer identical sports, yet they do need to provide an equal opportunity for females to play in sports of interest.

2) Scholarships: The total amount of athletic aid must be substantially proportionate to the ratio of female and male athletes. For example, consider a college with 90 female athletes and 115 male athletes and a scholarship budget of $100,000. An equitable distribution of funds would award $44,000 in scholarship aid to female athletes and $56,000 to males.

3) Additional Athletic Program Components: Title IX also mandates equal treatment in the provision of coaching, equipment and supplies, game and practice times, medical and training facilities, locker rooms and practice facilities, publicity, travel per diem allowance, recruitment of student athletes and tutoring opportunities.
The standard for compliance is one of quality rather than quantity. The actual amount of money spent on women's and men's programs may differ as long the quality of facilities and services for each program achieve parity. For example, equipment needed for men's football may cost more than equipment needed by women's field hockey. Title IX compliance is achieved as long as both teams are given equipment of comparable quality. However, Title IX is violated if a community builds a state-of-the-art field and locker facilities for males, but requires female athletes to share a field owned by a local community center. In this example, quality of facilities is far from equitable, and Title IX is violated.

So, although OU likely violates the first point of participation stipulations for compliance, it may follow both of the other points. While the athletic department commonly uses Title IX as an excuse to cut men’s sports programs, many OU track members seem to believe that it is just an excuse, not a legitimate reason, according to posts on Facebook.

For more on Title IX, check out the following links:

A recent Newsweek article breaks down the major issues of Title IX.

A 2003 NY Times article focused on men’s track and field as the newest victim of Title IX, covering the cutting of track programs at UVM and Bowling Green.