By Sherry Walker, On-line Forty-Niner
April 23, 1997
Twenty-Five years after the passage of Title IX, women's sports scores another major victory. The Supreme Court on Monday upheld the lower courts ruling that Brown University violated the 1972 law known as Title IX.
The law prohibits sex discrimination at schools and colleges that receive federal funds. Brown University in Rhode Island tested the definition of equality that led to Monday's decision, which established gender parity as a rule.
Female athletes at Brown sued after Brown announced plans to drop men's golf and water polo, as well as women's volleyball and gymnastics.
At the time, Brown funded 16 mens varsity teams and 16 for women. The student undergraduate population was 51 percent women and 49 percent men. Slightly more than one third of the school's intercollegiate varsity athletes were women.
Gender make-up of college sports teams must match the makeup of the student body, even if more men are interested in participating in athletics, according to the ruling.
The appeals court interpreted the law to require a school to have "gender parity" between its student body and its athletic lineup. Other appeals courts have reached the same interpretation.
Since the inception of the Title IX law, the number of female athletes has increased dramatically. Yet, women have still not achieved parity with men in college sports.
Colleges can still be in compliance with the law even if they have yet to achieve gender parity by continuing to expand athletic opportunities for the under-represented gender, the court said.
In 1995-96, women accounted for 55 percent of Cal State Long Beach's population, yet only 39 percent of the university's athletes were women.
CSULB representatives said they are not in violation because they are working to comply with the law by adding women's sports and promoting participation in women's athletics.
The ruling means that Brown must submit a plan to the federal judge in Providence to bring its program into compliance with the law. Colleges that do not comply with the law may face the loss of federal funds.
The court's ruling on Monday is not a decision and sets no legal precedent.
The ruling only maintains policy established in 1972.