One of the great things about sports is that both men and women can choose to participate. The rise of the female athlete owes it’s continued growth to Title IX, the landmark legislation that bans sex discrimination in any educational program receiving federal funding.

Today there are more women playing collegiate sports—about 200,000—than ever before. The number of female athletes at NCAA schools has increased from less than 30,000 to over 193,000 since 1972

Between 1972 and 2011, the number of girls competing in high school sports jumped from under 295,000 to nearly 3.2 million, according to data from theNational Federation of State High School Associations.

  Title IX

“No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any educational program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.”

I had the opportunity to speak with Lisa Strasman, President/COO of NCSA. Lisa is a former collegiate hockey player who had multiple world class options and chose to attend Yale University. Lisa played for four years, and was the team captain.

Unfortunately many females do not comprehend the vast opportunities to continue their athletic careers at the collegiate level. Besides playing the sport you love, being part of a college team provides girls with an opportunity to learn discipline, teamwork and time management skills while also being part of a close knit community within the larger campus environment. My best friends remain my college teammates and the experiences gained as a college athlete have shaped my entire life. ~ Lisa Strasman, President/COO of NCSA

Lucy Howell, Commissioner of the Pima County Tucson Women’s Commission, co-founder of Global MOVE Media, and My Girl Power™ Projects, both specifically designed to encourage more k-12 girls to engage in sports, arts, science and health related activities, adds,

“As a mother of a D1 full ride scholarship, I can tell you that the sport of volleyball has delivered an amazing “lottery ticket” type of gift to our family, given today’s skyrocketing costs for college, and all the associated costs.  I estimate the value of her scholarship at $200k.  That does not include all the intangible values and life-developing lessons, from the experience, which are I consider to be priceless.”

Lucy explains that it wasn’t easy and she encourages all parents and would be athletes to do their homework and set a game plan, if playing collegiate sports is part of the plan.  That means 1) be realistic with your abilities, 2) ID specific target schools, 3) utilize platforms and networks to market yourselves.  

“Title IX has been the single most impactful piece of legislation to date, with regarding to bridging access for girls into higher educational institutions and the opportunities to follow.”

With almost 3.2 million girls playing high school sports and hundreds of thousands more participating in Olympic sports not offered in schools and colleges – and with only 193,232 female participation opportunities available at the NCAA level – it is clear that there are more than sufficient numbers of women interested in playing on college teams.

It’s hard to believe as recent as only forty years ago women were thought of as pretty little things that went off to college to find a husband. Although there is still room for improvement, it’s great to see the equal opportunities being extended to women both on the playing field and classrooms.