Title IX and Intercollegiate Athletics: An Analysis of EADA Data on Student Enrollment, Sport Participation and Scholarship Allocation

Abstract

The 2009–10 Equity in Athletics Disclosure Act (EADA) data were used to analyze and compare student enrollment, sport participation rates/participants, and scholarship allocation at NCAA Division I, II, and III colleges and their subdivisions from a critical perspective through the lens of feminism. The EADA data included 1,062 NCAA collegiate institutions, with 350 Division I colleges, 209 in Division II, and 420 in Division III. Within Division I, the three subdivisions included I-A (FBS), I-AA (FCS), and I-AAA (without football). For Divisions II and III, findings were reported for colleges with and without football. Of the 6 million students attending NCAA colleges, 54% are female students, while only 43% of sport participants are women, which reflects an 11% gap between female enrollment and sport participation. Scholarship allocation appears to favor women when using the OCR comparison of scholarships to participants; however, the opposite conclusion is drawn based upon additional information.