1921 - The National Women's Athletic Association is organized.

1928 - The Summer Olympic Games open gymnastics and five track and field events to women. Official rules stipulate that women wear shorts that came with in about 4 inches of the knee.

1949 - Wilson Sporting Goods agrees to sponsor the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA).

1953 - The U.S. Women's Open comes under the auspices of the USGA.

1972 - Congress passes Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972. "No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subject to discrimination under any education program or activities receiving Federal financial assistance." When President Nixon signs the act on July 23 about 31,000 women are involved in college sports; spending on athletic scholarships for women is less than $100,000; and the average number of women's teams at a college is 2.1. The law goes into effect on June 21, 1975.

1978 - 1.6 million American high school girls are taking part in interscholastic sports.

1980 - A total of 233 women compete in the Winter Olympic Games in Lake Placid - just 21 had competed there in 1932.

1980 - The Women's Sports Foundation establishes the International Women's Sports Hall of Fame.

1982 - The Supreme Court rules that Title IX covers coaches and other employees as well as students.

1984 - The U.S. Supreme Court weakens Title IX in Grove City College vs. Bell, effectively denying the application of Title IX to non-federally funded sub-units of educational institutions such as college departments of physical education and athletics.

1984 - 1.8 million girls participate in high school sports.

1987 - The first annual National Girls and Women in Sports Day is celebrated in the United States.

1988 - Congress enacts the Civil Rights Restoration Act over President Ronald Reagan's veto. It prohibits sex discriminations throughout educational institutions receiving federal funds, restoring Title IX.

1992 - Just under 2 million girls participate in high school sports.

1992 - The U.S. Supreme Court hands down a unanimous decision in Franklin vs. Gwinnett County Public Schools, permiting students to sue for monetary damages for sexual harassment and other forms of sex discrimination at schools and colleges on Feb. 26.

1996 - 2.4 million girls play high school sports, including 819 football players, 1,164 wrestlers and 1,471 ice hockey players.

1998 - The IAAF announces women's pole vault and the hammer throw will be added to the 1999 World Championships and 2000 Olympics, meaning for the first time women will compete in the same number of field events as men.

1999 - A record 7.5 million girls and young women play soccer in the United States.

1999 - July 23: Happy 27th Birthday Title IX! About 31,000 women were involved in college sports in 1972; that number has more than tripled. Spending on athletic scholarships for women has gone from less than $100,000 to almost $200 million. There was an average of 2.1 women's teams at colleges in 1972. That number is now at a record 7.7 per school.

2000 - According to the International Olympic Committee women will compete in the same number of team sports as men in Sydney for the first time in the history of the Olympic Games.