Athletics and Title IX
Title IX governs many aspects of university life at Texas A&M University, including University Athletics. Below, you will find a general list of frequently asked questions and answers about the requirements of Title IX in relation to University Athletics.
If you have additional questions that aren’t covered here, please contact our Title IX Coordinator.
Title IX’s requirements of Athletics can be divided into three basic categories:
- Participation
- Men and women must be given equitable opportunities to participate in university sponsored athletics. The number and type of sports offered for men and women don’t have to be the same but there does need to be an equitable opportunity to play.
- Scholarships
- Female and male student athletes must receive scholarship dollars proportional to their participation levels in sports.
- Other benefits
- Female and male student athletes must receive equitable treatment in other aspects of being a student-athlete. This includes, but is not limited to, access to quality equipment, game/practice schedules, travel allowances, tutoring, coaching, locker rooms, stadiums, medical/training facilities, housing/dining, marketing, support services, and recruitment.
There are three tests that can be used to determine whether or not a university is providing an equitable opportunity to participate for both male and female athletes. A university provides “equitable opportunities to participate” if it can demonstrate compliance with one of the following tests:
- The university provides participation opportunities for women and men that are substantially proportionate to their respective rates in the University’s full-time undergraduate student enrollment. For example, if a university’s undergraduate enrollment for Fall 2019 was 53% male, 47% female, then approximately 53% of its athletic roster spots should be reserved for male student-athletes and approximately 47% should be reserved for female student-athletes.
- The university demonstrates a history and continuing practice of program expansion for the underrepresented sex. Thus, even if a school’s proportions under the first test are out of balance, the institution can still be compliant by showing that it is working towards achieving proportionality.
- The university can demonstrate that it is fully and effectively accommodating the interests and abilities of the underrepresented sex. So if the university can show that there is simply no interest from students of the underrepresented sex in increased athletic participation, the institution will be considered in compliance.
Although Title IX’s effect on Women’s athletics has historically received attention in the media, Title IX benefits all student-athletes because it prevents universities from discriminating on the basis of sex. Title IX seeks to create an equitable educational environment where students can be successful in the classroom as well on the field, court, course, or pool.
No. Title IX requires that scholarship money be awarded equitably to males and females based on their relative participation rates in athletics. Likewise, Title IX requires that female and male student athletes receive equitable treatment, equipment, and benefits.
No. Title IX does not require that males and females be offered the opportunity to participate in the same sports. Thus, a university may field a men’s basketball team without having a women’s basketball team as long as the university offers equitable opportunities for females to participate in athletics (through a women’s soccer team or an equestrian team, for example). Title IX leaves it up to universities to determine which sports meet the needs of their student body.
Yes. Just like varsity sports, both club and intramural sports are regulated by Title IX. Universities must offer equitable opportunities for participation in club and intramural sports for female and male students.
Alleged violations of Title IX should be reported to the Office of Civil Rights and Title IX.
You can also report directly to the Office of Civil Rights (OCR) within the US Department of Education. OCR is responsible for the compliance of every university governed by Title IX. You can find more information at: https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/index.html.