Title IX turns 50

NACOGDOCHES, Texas (KTRE) - Title IX hit a milestone on Thursday, turning 50 years-old.

While mainly talked about in the sports world Title IX covers all aspects of higher education, prohibiting sex discrimination. A new report from the NCAA on the growth of women sports shows that while participation by women is up at the highest level of college athletics, funding between men and women’s sports continues to grow further apart.

Debby Humphreys has spent over 30 years at SFA as the coach of the volleyball program. She was eight years old when Title IX was passed. While it was the last thing on her mind when it was first enacted by former President Richard Nixon, Humphreys has seen women’s athletics grow at SFA.

“People want to watch women’s sports,” Humphrey’s said. “People want to buy tickets. There is a great product out there and since Title IX it has been able to grow. Females are getting NIL deals. Females are competing for scholarships. That does not seem like a big deal to some girls participating because they did not see what it was like in the past.”

SFA sponsors six sports for men and 10 for women. The women programs have seen success with numerous conference titles over the years, NCAA tournament appearances and even national titles with two belonging to the bowling team. Humphreys pointed out that SFA has made it a point to offer support to the women’s programs but more could be done overall with college athletics from the top of the mountain.

“We need for legislation that comes down from the NCAA to line up with what schools are trying tpo do to stay in compliance and allow our sports to grow. There is a phenomenal product out there. You can see that at SFA with them competing at a high level and being successful.”

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