For the first installment of the “The Active Life: Better Living Through Physical Activity” column, Mary Frances Heishman, a professor in the department of health and exercise science at Bridgewater College, talks about the effects of Title IX, which celebrates 40 years in 2012.
The legislation, passed in 1972, requires gender equity in every program that receives federal funding. Although some perceive the effect of law as applied to athletics as controversial, it is clear that the law has provided opportunities for girls and women to be more physically active.
In a coaching career spanning four decades, Heishman is uniquely poised to talk about how Title IX has changed women’s athletics and provided pathways for girls and women to engage in an active lifestyle.
Heishman grew up in Montezuma and played in her first organized sports program at Turner Ashby High School. At the time, a modified half-court version of basketball was the only sport offered to girls, so to be active and follow her passion for sports she played. After high school, she came to Bridgewater College where she played hockey, basketball and tennis.
“Those were the three that were offered, so those were the three I played. I had played basketball because I had that background, but I did not know hockey or tennis. However, [BC coach] Miss [Laura] Mapp, who is a legend in the area,if she had you in one sport and you were playing basketball, she’d say, ‘Oh, you need to come out for hockey, I can teach you how to play hockey,’ and the same thing with tennis. I remember being out in the yard—the neighbor’s barn was close to my house—and I can remember being out there hitting a tennis ball against the barn trying to learn to play tennis. . . . I definitely was not very good.”
It is clear from Heishman’s experience that having sporting opportunities and an encouraging coach helped her be an active young woman. However, this was not true for a majority of young women at the time.
In fact, in 1970-1971, only 29,972 women were participating in collegiate sports.
In 2004-2005, this number has risen to more than 160,000 in no small part to the passage of Title IX.
Looking at high school athletics, the numbers are even more pronounced. According to a study by the National Coalition for Women and Girls in Eduction, 294,015 girls participated in 1970-1971; but by 2007, that number had increased to 3,057,266.
Heishman also recalls major differences between athletic programs for men and for women through the ‘60s and early ‘70s. She reflects on her experiences as a coach at Bridgewater College.
“We had no conferences or divisions. Competitions were set up between programs regardless of the size of the school. We played James Madison University, University of Virginia, University of Richmond and the College of William and Mary, in addition to the schools our size.
I remember thinking men had more tournaments than we had. We had no post-season play. At Bridgewater College, we used the same gym as the men. We had good male coaches who shared the facilities equally. So it wasn’t like we had to practice at midnight like I think happened at some schools.
There was a good working relationship at Bridgewater College. I will say at Bridgewater College, we also had some strong women’s programs and good female leadership that kept things more balanced. So we were better than some schools where women got the leftovers, the hand-me-down uniforms, or the men used the good gym and the women were playing in an old gym.
For example, I can remember being at the University of Maryland. They had nice facilities, but we were playing in a gym that had one row of benches around the edge for fans. My family came and there was no place for them to sit. So as the assistant coach, I held my infant niece on my lap on the bench because there were not any seats. Now the men were not playing in a facility like that, of course.”
Before the passage of Title IX, women confronted challenges that not only reduced their opportunities to be active, but also undermined the positive experience that sport could have in their lives. When Title IX passed, the effect galvanized the women’s sports community, but also had negative repercussions.
“I remember a story…this was not even a Division I school, this was Division III. The women had a game and the women’s coach had signed up the vans and had them in front of the gym ready to leave and the men’s coach had forgotten to sign up the vans. He had a game and was ready to leave. He just went out and put his team in the vans and left. That is just the way women’s programs were treated. They were not important and that was a big adjustment for men to have to share their gym and resources. That did not go over well at all, and then when the women pulled Title IX on them and said, “We’re suing,” there were a lot of hard feelings and it was not an easy time to make those transitions.”
Despite these struggles, there were many benefits. In 1976, Heishman was able to start a volleyball program at Bridgewater College. Another immediate benefit of Title IX, Heishman says, was that female athletes had more opportunities to develop their skills.
“When I started the volleyball program, I had a few students from other states with volleyball experience [Virginia had no volleyball programs at the time], but I was grabbing good athletes from the basketball team and teaching them to play. However, once Virginia started volleyball in high school and club programs cropped up, student-athletes were now playing volleyball year around. What a difference in their skill level!”
Besides the direct benefit to athletic development, recent research by economists Robert Kaestner and Betsey Stevenson has also noted that increased sport participation related to the passage of Title IX has been associated with greater educational and employment gains for women as well as decreased obesity levels.
Yet, playing year-round has also led female athletes, like their male counterparts, to experience some negative consequences as well as expect more from their sports programs.
“Sometimes we see the burnout. Athletes are tired of the sport by the time they get to college. The expectations of the athlete have grown. They have had a lot and they expect a lot. With all the club teams, if a player is on one team and is not playing, then the parent or someone else starts another club team, so everybody is used to being a starter or being able to play and that is a big adjustment for them when they get to college.
Players used to be willing to sit on the bench and wait their turn. A lot of them have not had to experience that and it is really hard to get a good bench player for a team. You have to have some to play a back-up role who are just as important as the ones starting, but everyone cannot start. So that’s a big change in athletes.”
Another effect of Title IX, perhaps unforeseen, was the decline in women athletic administrators, coaches and officials. One study cited by the Women’s Sports Foundation reported that prior to the passage of Title IX, 90 percent of women’s sports were coached by women, but by 2006 this number had declined to 43 percent.
“When I was working on my doctorate, I did a study of the decline of female coaches in the state of Virginia. As the seasons got more competitive and longer, I think many women, who were married with children chose another career path. Coaching is long hours. It is not a normal life. Additionally, there was more pressure from the parents and fans for the female athletes to do well instead of simply exercise and have fun. Who wants to be yelled at?
As the women’s programs grew, they also started paying coaches and the stipend went up and they had to pay [women’s] coaches the same as men, so men saw this as an opportunity they could make some money…Before, women were not paid much or anything to coach, and men did not bother about it. But once the money was there, who doesn’t want to make a little extra money… a combination of those factors results in men seeking positions traditionally held by women.
Also many more of the athletic directors are men. It used to be in the early stages of women’s athletics, there was an athletic director [for men’s sports] and a senior administrator in charge of the women’s athletics, but when they started doing away with those heads of the program, mostly for financial reasons, the networking naturally went through the male network making it harder for women to compete.
It also used to be that females officiated our women’s games and ….there again, we still have women disappearing. Just about all the men’s games have male officials. Women’s games—there’s often one, but seldom is it three on the floor… maybe women are not wanting to do it because of the crowd and no matter what you call, they’re yelling at you. Many women do not like that. In addition, more opportunities opened up to women in other occupations. Additionally, it is working at night and if you have a family, that is tough…and again, money, paying officials more. That attracted men”
Although Title IX has resulted in some unforeseen problems, it is clear that Title IX has provided opportunities for girls and women to be physically active.
When asked what Title IX means to women today, Heishman points to statistics that show a huge rise in athletics participation among high school girls and the positive health and mental outcomes for women. Yet, maybe the most important benefit is that it has helped women feel empowered, which has had many individual and societal benefits.
