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12 new Title IX lawsuits filed today: What does it mean?

Wednesday, November 10th, 2010

By Laura Pappano The National Women’s Law Center filed complaints today against 12 school districts (see press release here) that are meant to be a sampling – not an exhaustive expose of who’s ignoring Title IX. The suit is a reminder that, although Title IX opened doors of access, that it 1) ...

Go Long: Four Summer Sport Thoughts (with takeaway)

Wednesday, August 4th, 2010

By Laura Pappano Often in the blur of sports headlines – one breathless item launched into circulation after another – we don’t get a chance to reflect. Sport, after all, tells us about ourselves, individually and collectively. Here’s thinking about four recent items: SERENA on SI: The buzz around Jon Wertheim’s cover ...

Lessons from Quinnipiac: Cheer should be an NCAA sport (with a different name), think fresh (don’t whine like the male wrestlers) — and, yes, we still need Title IX

Wednesday, July 28th, 2010

By Laura Pappano When District Judge Stefan Underhill ruled against Quinnipiac University – last year they sought to cut women’s volleyball and add competitive cheer to fulfill Title IX requirements – the 95-page ruling ironically did more to boost competitive cheer than it did for the future of the university women’s ...

Title IX in the Football Realignment Universe: sole sanity in a money-mad college sports culture

Tuesday, June 22nd, 2010

By Laura Pappano The frenzy of conference switching (Colorado, Utah, Nebraska plus others at least thinking about it), has caused a stir for one reason: Colleges fret that if the future really is about a few megaconferences that some schools will be big winners (measured in TV dollars and bowl berths) ...

Foul call: Women’s softball cut short by darkness beside empty, lighted men’s baseball field

Thursday, May 20th, 2010

[caption id="attachment_1344" align="alignright" width="175" caption="Photo is for illustration only. Credit: Walla Walla University"][/caption] By Rachael Goldenberg Who would have thought that one call -- way back on opening day -- could determine the outcome of a collegiate softball season? Wednesday, March 17 was the start of the season for Wellesley College’s Varsity Softball ...

Never mind on that Title IX spam – er survey – rule. But what next?

Wednesday, April 21st, 2010

By Laura Pappano Never mind. That was message in Tuesday’s “Dear Colleague” letter issued by the federal Office for Civil Rights. Never mind about that 2005 policy saying it was OK for colleges to meet a Title IX compliance prong gauging female interest in sports by sending out internet spam – er, ...

Let’s agree: The challenge in Title IX compliance is football. Now we can talk.

Thursday, March 25th, 2010

By Laura Pappano Given that the Super Bowl is a distant memory, the NFL Combine is done – and we have a day or two before spring college football begins (yes, games are now broadcast on TV), we have a sliver of free air to highlight Vanderbilt vice Chancellor David Williams’ ...

5 Reasons many girls don’t play sports at my high school (and it’s not because they don’t want to)

Tuesday, December 8th, 2009

By Hannah Ritchie Only one in four girls at Colleyville Heritage High School in Texas, my school, participate in sports while more than half of boys are on sports teams. This is NOT because girls aren’t interested. Last December, 3,374  girls in grades 6-12 participated in a survey to gauge their interest ...

Olympic Gold Medalist Reflects on Head of the Charles ’09

Tuesday, October 20th, 2009

Kathy Keeler, who won an Olympic Gold Medal at the 1984 LA Olympics as part of a women's eight boat and has been a member of four U.S. National Rowing teams, reflects on the 45th running of the Head of the Charles this past weekend. Some 8,000 rowers competed in ...

Acosta & Carpenter on why it’s nonsense-talk that females want male coaches, why women’s teams shouldn’t be the Lady (fill in the blank) — and more

Thursday, September 24th, 2009

By Laura Pappano and Lauren Taylor R. Vivian Acosta and Linda Jean Carpenter, professors emerita at the City University of New York's Brooklyn College and co-authors of a book on Title IX, have collected data on women’s roles on – and off – the field in college athletics since 1977.  They have ...