Date of Award

2002

Document Type

Thesis

Department

Political Science

First Reader

Dr. Doug Reed

Second Reader

Professor Bryan Mckinney

Abstract

Title IX has, in this day, become a topic that is both controversial and confusing. Nearly anyone in the United States today that is moderately well informed is able to relate something about Title IX and its effects. In response to an inquiry of the nature of Title IX, some would answer that Title lX is the law that requires colleges to have an equal number of athletics teams for men and women. Another person might answer that Title IX is a law that has promoted women's sports to new heights, culminating in the American victory at the Women's World Cup in 1999. A third person could reply that Title IX guarantees women the right to participate in athletics in college. Yet another person, in answer to the previous question, would angrily reply that Title IX is the thing that is rapidly, across the country, destroying men's college athletic teams that produce little revenue, such as wrestling, swimming, and cross country. It is certain that Title IX produces a wide range of feeling from citizens across the country. Much of this wide range of feeling can be blamed on the common misinformation to be found everywhere, even in major media outlets. Proponents on both s ides of the issue strongly push the parts of Title IX law that reinforce their stance. The various sources for the regulations concerning Title IX law allow nearly everyone to be right in their opinion. It is only when one pieces together all the inputs to Title IX that a true understanding can begin to form. This study seeks to piece together this variety of information and form it into an understandable whole. It will also address the current state of affairs in Arkansas intercollegiate athletics, an arena that is not without its share of Title IX controversy. It is my hope that, at the end of this research, a more understandable and unbiased accounting of Title IX and its effects may be produced.

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