By Selena St. Andre
A 1974 headline from The Diamondback introducing Title IX to the UMD campus community.
June 23rd, 2022 marks the 50th anniversary of Title IX, the landmark legislation that prohibits sex-based discrimination in educational programs that receive federal funding. Title IX set into law that gender equity in education was a civil right. While its original purpose had little to do with athletics (the law did not include any mention of sports), schools around the country grappled with how to implement Title IX into their sports programs. Around the nation, although many college campuses had women’s athletic teams at their institutions (competitive or non-competitive), men’s sports, such as football, basketball, baseball, etc., ruled. If women’s teams were given an operating budget from a college, it was nothing close to what men’s teams received. Title IX was instrumental in changing the trajectory of women’s collegiate sports.
The 1974-1975 Women’s Varsity Basketball Team featuring Page Croyder (top row, fourth from right) and Dorothy McKnight (top row, first from right). Terrapin Yearbook 1975, page 61.
At the University of Maryland, it was a fight to implement Title IX in women’s athletics. There was pushback from the athletic director, the women’s athletic coordinator, several women’s coaches, and students. The main topic of debate? Scholarships for women athletes. With the passage of Title IX, if male athletes receive scholarships, female athletes also had to receive them. However, many within women’s athletics were opposed to scholarships, believing they would lead to a program that mirrored the men’s high-pressure recruiting practices. Many, including Dorothy McKnight, the women’s athletic coordinator, did not support scholarships because they wanted to win with those who were at the University of Maryland for an education, not because they were paid to play there. They believed the inclusion of scholarships would diminish the teams instead of improving them.
James Kehoe, University of Maryland athletic director, at his desk, circa 1971-1980. Diamondback photograph collection. Box 141.
Further, James Kehoe, the athletic director, opposed implementing Title IX because “the amount of money given should be in proportion to performance and he doesn’t think women’s sports can generate income.”1 At the time, women’s athletics received only $23,624 to around $73,000 (depending on if one looks at official numbers or Kehoe’s claims) of the $2.4 million operating budget for university athletics. This led to women’s teams having inferior training grounds, equipment, and locker rooms compared to men’s sports. Title IX eventually changed the way the university approached women’s athletics completely, from scholarships to equity in practice fields, gear, and the way women’s teams were treated.
Before fully implementing Title IX concerning athletics at UMD, there were several occurrences that shook campus, including:
- Discrimination lawsuits filed against the university (with the Croyder lawsuit as perhaps the biggest)
- Discrimination investigations into the university by the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare (HEW) (today split into the Department of Education and the Department of Health and Human Services).
- Student organization (including the Student Government Association and the Maryland Public Interest Research Group) investigations into discrimination in the Athletic Department specifically.
- The resignations of Dorothy McKnight, several other women’s coaches, and many players once the Board of Regents voted in favor of women’s athletics scholarships.
Page Croyder, a volleyball, track, and basketball athlete who was at the center of the HEW investigation (which was put in motion by a lawsuit filed by her father, Carl Croyder) into discrimination by the university. Terrapin Yearbook 1975, page 51.
Despite the uphill battle it faced, as Joanne Hult, a former women’s tennis coach during Title IX implementation said, “There’s no question that Title IX has been the single most important piece of legislation for women. We just forced [institutions] to have women’s teams. Women began to have national championships just by wanting them, but we weren’t able to demand it. That’s what Title IX did.”2
Learn more about Title IX’s journey at the University of Maryland at the upcoming exhibition Rising Up: 100 Years of Student Activism at the University of Maryland at Hornbake Library this fall.
Works Cited
1: Brunoskt, D., Greelegs, E., Gwlnn, M., & Vincent Paterno, V. (1975, June 12). “Kehoe terms federal rules ‘impossible’.” The Diamondback. https://digital.lib.umd.edu/student-newspapers/id/d949abeb-8ba5-421d-af0c-e4cb268938e1?relpath=pcdm
2: Mendlowitz, A. (1995, Aug 10). “Title IX continues to improve women’s sports.” The Diamondback. https://digital.lib.umd.edu/student-newspapers/id/a2b37bfc-a90b-433b-9867-a756045e160a.
Further Reading:
These articles in The Diamondback discuss Title IX’s impact throughout the years.
- One year after beginning on implementation at UMD:
- Paterno, V. (1976, June 03). Year since Title IX reveals substantial changes: Scholarships, coaching shifts alter scope of women’s program. The Diamondback. https://digital.lib.umd.edu/student-newspapers/id/59532bfb-27cb-485f-a0dc-8587ea4c6ab4?query=%22Title%20IX%22
- 20 Years after passage:
- Mendlowitz, A. (1995, Aug 03). The slippery quest for gender equity. The Diamondback. https://digital.lib.umd.edu/student-newspapers/id/2882e929-18d9-4fc0-bf1c-96b0d96b4d5c?relpath=pcdm
- Mendlowitz, A. (1995, Aug 10). Title IX continues to improve women’s sports. The Diamondback. https://digital.lib.umd.edu/student-newspapers/id/a2b37bfc-a90b-433b-9867-a756045e160a?query=%22Title%20IX%22
- Mendlowitz, A. (1995, Aug 17). The side effects of gender equity: Men’s sports sometimes suffer under Title IX. The Diamondback. https://digital.lib.umd.edu/student-newspapers/id/4aa10ddc-b7ef-4b3d-984f-fbda8a3be944?query=%22Title%20IX%22
- Mendlowitz, A. (1995, Aug 24). Title IX and the Terps: proportion problems. The Diamondback. https://digital.lib.umd.edu/student-newspapers/id/51019491-138b-46e4-8f0d-60fe126b9ee1?relpath=pcdm
- 30 Years after passage:
- Barnes, J., Dorr, J., & the Associated Press. (2002, June 20). Title IX turns 30 and it’s still under fire: Few content with equity plan as debate rages on. The Diamondback. https://digital.lib.umd.edu/student-newspapers/id/111774c8-20a4-430f-83b7-33bb29aa5fef?query=%22Title%20IX%22
Selena St. Andre is a recent graduate of the Master of Library and Information Science program from the University of Maryland’s iSchool and a former graduate student assistant in University Archives. She’s interested in women’s history and creating more inclusive archival records.