By Grant Kiefer, Journalism ‘26, Daniel Barnard, Journalism ’26, Aaron Parker, Journalism ‘26 & Marc Goldstein, Journalism ’26, for JOUR 4310 Gender, Race and Class in Journalism and Mass Media with Victoria LaPoe, Spring 2025.
During the spring 2025 semester, the staff of the Mahn Center for Archives and Special Collections worked intensively with Victoria La Poe’s JOUR 4130 class, Gender, Race, and Class in Journalism and Mass Media. The students explored, selected, and researched materials from the collections, then worked in small groups to prepare presentations. The students had the option to then expand their research into a blog post like this one for their final project.
Title IX and Ohio University
Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 is a pivotal federal civil rights law that prohibits sex-based discrimination in any education program or activity receiving federal financial assistance. Enacted on June 23, 1972, its concise yet powerful mandate has significantly influenced the landscape of educational equity in the United States. The legislation was championed by Representative Patsy Mink, Representative Edith Green, and Senator Birch Bayh, who were instrumental in its passage. Their efforts were driven by a commitment to ensuring that no person would face exclusion or discrimination in educational settings based on sex.
At Ohio University, the principles of Title IX are upheld through comprehensive policies and dedicated resources aimed at fostering an environment free from discrimination. The university’s Civil Rights Compliance (CRC) office plays a central role in this endeavor by monitoring the educational and workplace environments to prevent and address discrimination based on protected statuses, including sex and gender identity. The CRC offers policy recommendations, training, and avenues for resolving grievances, underscoring the institution’s commitment to equity and inclusion. Furthermore, Ohio University has established clear procedures for reporting sexual harassment and other forms of sexual misconduct, ensuring that such reports are handled promptly and effectively. These measures reflect the university’s dedication to maintaining a safe and supportive environment for all members of its community.
Specific Examples of Title IX Impact at Ohio University
Title IX has played a critical role in expanding athletic opportunities both nationally and at Ohio University. At OU, this legislation led to significant advancements such as the creation and expansion of women’s varsity sports, increased scholarship availability for female athletes, improved access to facilities, and a rise in women holding leadership roles in athletics. Collectively, these changes have contributed to an increase in women’s athletic participation across the board, a trend that continues today.
Before the passage of Title IX legislation, women’s athletics at OHIO were grossly underfunded in the University athletic budget. For instance, in 1970, while the total athletic budget for OHIO was over $1 million, the women’s athletics cut was a mere $913. As a result, women were underfunded when it came to uniforms, equipment, travel, officiating, locker room facilities, practice fields, and, especially, coaching.
According to former OHIO women’s coach Kim Brown , visiting teams frequently complained about OHIO’s lack of adequate facilities for women’s sports, including locker rooms, bathrooms, and even access to water during games. Despite multiple committee reviews identifying the need for upgrades, these issues remained unresolved for years. In addition to funding not being appropriated for these basic athletic program necessities, the disparity between salaries for coaches in men’s sports versus salaries for coaches in women’s athletics also has Title IX implications.
However, following the passing of Title IX, Ohio University was required to develop and expand several women’s sports programs to meet gender number and equity standards. Sports such as women’s soccer, volleyball, and field hockey benefited directly from Title IX. For instance, the field hockey team received new uniforms in the early 1980s and eventually gained better access to laundry services and higher-quality practice and protective gear.
Flash forward 30 years, and there are great examples of improvement. The current head coach for the Ohio Field Hockey team, Ali Johnstone, is a former player for the Bobcats as well. Ali played Bobcat field hockey in the late 1990’s and early 2000’s, and she noted that there are now much better playing surfaces to the point that the team doesn’t have to travel to local high school fields to practice. She also talked about the uniforms being much better in all aspects, even down to the shoes, and that travel accommodations had improved immensely.
While Title IX has slowly improved the quality of women’s athletics over time at Ohio University, from a national perspective, we have seen advancements in major ways as well. There have been major increases in female participation in high school and college athletics, NCAA women’s championships have been added, and many college women have seen their scholastic careers blossom into professional careers.
In a recent example of advancement in women’s sports NCAA members concluded that women’s college basketball teams will now be paid for each game played in the March Madness tournament. This had been true of the men’s NCAA teams for years.
Title IX also significantly impacted various other aspects of campus life and culture at Ohio University, including the history of The Marching 110. In 1967, when Gene Thrailkill became OHIO’s marching band director, he made the controversial decision to remove all women from the band. In 1968, the band adopted the name “110 Marching Men of Ohio,” with the number symbolizing the group’s new identity. It wasn’t until 1975, when, under the direction of Ronald P. Socciarelli, that women were officially readmitted to the band to bring the band into compliance with Title IX, since male band members were allowed opportunities to become marching band directors once they had graduated and women had been deprived of such opportunities by virtue of being banned from the band.
This evolution demonstrates the broader cultural changes prompted by Title IX, which played a key role in opening opportunities for equal participation in all areas of university life, including the arts and music programs.
Protections against harassment and connections to Title IX at Ohio University
Ohio University is very serious when it comes to complying with Title IX to create a safe and respectful environment for students of all sexes. Ohio University policies dictate that students and employees have protection from sexual harassment, assault, domestic violence, stalking, gender-based discrimination, and retaliation.
There are five protections at Ohio University under Title IX to help keep the university and community safe and supported:
- Prohibition of Harassment and Violence
- Supportive Measures
- A Clear Reporting Process
- Confidential Resources
- Mandatory Training
Education access and Title IX
Title IX is more than just about sports or sexual harassment as it also ensures equal access to education programs for any qualified student.
When it comes to access to education, Title IX’s influence starts with admission, as schools are not allowed to deny someone enrollment based on their sex or gender. Also, all OU students must have equal access to academic progress, such as STEM programs.
Course connections
The fight for equality under Title IX connects to a large number of themes seen in readings and assignments throughout the course. Feminist standpoint theory is the first and most obvious that comes to mind. The theory emphasizes that marginalized voices provide critical insights into institutional biases. In this case, the marginalized female athletes have given many innovations to sports as well as becoming role models for countless young women. The other obvious connection is gender equality which is the main goal of Title IX and is somewhat self-explanatory. The athletic opportunities, protection against harassment and educational access discussed above are also connections to the course.
Priming is another connection to the course. Priming is seen in the notion that women are not deserving of having their rightful share of profits due to not being good enough at their sports to earn it. Similar to the fight for equal pay, generations of people have been primed to believe women are inadequate, especially in the athletic sphere. Additionally, intersectionality is seen in the fight for equality under Title IX as women has long been oppressed in the athletic sphere and have not been given the same opportunities as their male counterparts.
References
Bachar, Z. (2025, April 6). Duke reportedly has $8m-$10M in nil available to build MCBB roster for 2025-26 season . Bleacher Report. https://bleacherreport.com/articles/25181971-duke-reportedly-has-8m-10m-nil-available-build-mcbb-roster-2025-26-season
Beach, A. (2022, December 1). On the basis of sex: Title IX 50th anniversary highlights growth at Ohio . The Post. https://projects.thepostathens.com/SpecialProjects/title-ix-ohio-university-womens-sports-history-anniversary/
Ohio University. (2023, August 18). Title IX policy (Policy 03.004) . https://www.ohio.edu/policy/03-004
Ohio University. (n.d.). Office of University Equity and Civil Rights Compliance . https://www.ohio.edu/equity-civil-rights
Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine. (n.d.). Title IX Resources . https://www.ohio.edu/medicine/title-ix-resources
On3 Nil Valuations . On3.com. (n.d.). https://www.on3.com/nil/rankings/player/nil-valuations/
Owens, J. (2025, April 8). Final Four featuring all no. 1 seeds produces big ratings, despite complaints about lack of Cinderella . Yahoo! Sports.
Salao, C. (2025, April 5). Women’s final Four delivers nearly 4m viewers, still 64% drop . Front Office Sports. https://frontofficesports.com/womens-final-four-delivers-nearly-4m-viewers-still-64-drop/
U.S. Department of Education. (2021). Title IX and sex discrimination . https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/docs/tix_dis.html
Walker, T. M. (2025, January 15). March Madness will pay women’s teams under a new structure approved by the NCAA . AP News. https://apnews.com/article/march-madness-womens-basketball-pay-ncaa-c0b8b0d3cac39feb7e2b0b0cd2f0632f Women’s Sports Foundation. (n.d.). History of Title IX . https://www.womenssportsfoundation.org/advocacy/history-of-title-ix