"No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any educational program or activity receiving federal financial assistance." – Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972.

             Introduction to Title IX.

             Title IX has had a profound impact on the American athletic culture since it was included in the Educational Amendments of 1972. In fact, according to the "Save Title IX" group (www.savetitleix.com/coalition), an alliance of sixty organizations spearheaded by the National Coalition for Women and Girls in Education (NCWGE), in 1971 there were 32,000 women in varsity intercollegiate sports in U.S, colleges and universities; but by 1997, thanks to Title IX, there were 160,000 women participating in interscholastic athletics on university and college campuses.

             On high school campuses the rate of growth of girls playing sports was even more dramatic – based on athletically-inclined girls" knowledge that they would be able to participate in intercollegiate sports in college: in 1971, the year prior to Title IX, there were 294,000 girls playing interscholastic sports, and by the 2002-2003 school year, over 2.8 million high school girls were playing interscholastic sports. .

             According to the American Association of University Women (AAAUW) Title IX, when enacted by Congress thirty-five years ago, specifically prohibited discrimination based on gender and marital or parental status in: admissions; housing and facilities; college and university courses; career guidance and counselling services; student financial aid; student health and insurance benefits; and "scholastic, intercollegiate, club, or intramural athletics.