Let's Play, Too

Abstract

Women’s athletic departments at universities receive one of every five dollars allocated to intercollegiate sports. Women coaches have sued their employers in several recent cases, alleging sex discrimination because they were paid less than their male counterparts. Responding to a charge of sex discrimination from students at the University of Richmond, the Department of Education sought to investigate Richmond’s athletic department. There must be proportionality in participation and opportunity for male and female athletes, athletic opportunity must divide up about the same way as the student body does in terms of gender. In the wake of the Civil Rights Restoration Act and the Franklin decision, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) has finally begun considering how to ensure gender equity in intercollegiate sports, which former NCAA Executive Director Richard Schultz has called “a moral issue”. In that future scenario, women may enjoy the same kind of societal encouragement and enthusiasm for their athletic endeavors as men traditionally have received.