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6: Sidelines With a New Look
While cuts in men’s athletics – whether or not
a result of Title IX – yield the most public outcry, another
interesting outgrowth of the legislation is an all-time low
number of women coaches.
According to a Brooklyn College study cited in an article
earlier this year in Sports Illustrated for Women,
just 45.6 percent of women’s intercollegiate teams have a
woman as their head coach – an all-time low – compared with
90 percent before Title IX’s enactment. Females make up 58.1
percent of assistant coaches on women’s teams, the study shows.
And, perhaps most surprising of all, 80 percent of head coaching
positions that have opened up in women’s sports in the last
two seasons have gone to men.
"The coaches of women’s teams prior to Title IX were always
women," said McCune. "After Title IX, men took over the positions
and some of the women’s influence has been diminished."
McCune suggested this could be because along with Title IX
came an increase in status and pay of coaches of women’s teams.
When this happened, more men were interested in the positions.
"There has been an unanticipated effect," observed Senator
Kohl-Welles. "As the pay and status of women’s teams increased,
women coaches were squeezed out. With equal opportunity, the
best person is hired. But I expect that the percentage of
women as coaches at the high school level will increase and
likewise at the collegiate level." Martin, who has been coaching
at Monmouth for more than three decades, said the difference
between 1972 and today is uncanny.
"I could have named the male coaches by naming three coaches
back in the '70s," she said, referring to the 40-team Shore
Conference, a high school league in New Jersey. "I’d be hard
pressed to come up with three women coaches today."
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HUDDLING FOR REFORM >>
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