Run, Atalanta, Run:
You Do Not Run Alone

On the coaching salary front, the data are also bleak. There continues to be a significant gap between men’s and women’s coaching salaries in Division I-A. Trends show that, in Division I, salaries for men’s sports continue to rise more rapidly than for women’s sports. Division I-A men’s team coaches receive an average salary of $132,100, as compared to $43,000 for women’s teams head coaches.¹

With 80 percent of colleges and universities not in compliance with Title IX, it is ironic that our current administration is opposed to this landmark civil rights law. In 2002-03, the Secretary’s Commission on Opportunity in Athletics tried to weaken Title IX but pulled back at the last hour due to public outcry. So, in March of 2005, the Department of Education, without any public comment, made it easier for colleges and universities to comply with Title IX. Schools are now permitted to use a survey to determine students’ sports interest without looking at other factors such as coaches’ and administrators’ opinions and high school or recreational programs that could support such teams. There is no doubt that the Bush administration will continue to underhandedly weaken Title IX and limit women’s opportunities in athletics.²

We must never give up. “Run, Atalanta, run.” The battle for justice and equity is not easily won, but we are counting on you to go the distance. And do not ever forget, you do not run alone.

1. NCAA, 2002-03 Gender Equity Report. [↩]
2. Nancy Hogshead-Makar and Donna Lopiano, “Foul Play: Department of Education Creates Huge Title IX Compliance Loophole: Women’s Sports Foundation Position Paper” Scholar and Feminist Online 4, no. 3 (Summer 2006). [↩]