Fifty Years of Title IX in MSU Athletics

2022 marks 50 years since the passing of Title IX, the landmark civil rights law prohibiting sex-based discrimination in education. The law has protected the rights of millions of Americans for decades and will continue to do so for decades to come.

Title IX is best known for mandating equal opportunity in athletics regardless of sex. “Athletics is where there was a lot of discrimination that was very evident, and that's where people went first to apply this law,” said Camie Bechtold, Chief Compliance Officer at MSU. 

Before Title IX emerged in 1972, Ellen Kreighbaum and women’s basketball players on campus were limited to intramural and club competition and suffered from a lack of access to facilities and funding at the university. After the law was passed, Kreighbaum championed equal rights as a faculty member at MSU, spearheading the effort to develop an intercollegiate women’s basketball team and other varsity sports. Kreighbaum also fought sex-based wage discrimination at the university, successfully suing the institution for equal pay in 1972.

“I'm sure it wasn't easy, I'm sure that it was a struggle for them,” said Bechtold of Kreighbaum and the others who advocated for civil rights in the early days of Title IX. “It paid off for the women who are participating today.”

Today, eight official women’s athletics teams at MSU offer scholarships to athletes and compete with other universities. Countless more club and intramural teams compete within the institution and against similar teams from nearby schools.

Equal opportunity in athletics is the most visible example of Title IX in action, but the law also protects the rights of anyone in education. “It’sreally expanded into something greater,” said Kyleen Breslin, director of the Office of Institutional Equity and Title IX coordinator at MSU. Sex-based equity in housing, education and admissions is all guaranteed by the law. 

“More recently, it's also been expanded into define discrimination as sexual harassment,” added Breslin. “Any sort of interpersonal violence, dating violence, domestic violence, stalking, that's all under the title nine umbrella.”

The legislation of Title IX has remained so effective for so long because of its simplicity. The original text written and signed into law was just 37 words, specific enough to guarantee rights, but general enough to be applied wherever it was needed.

Bechtold also cast some light on some of the current ways in which Title IX is being applied. “You're looking at transgender participation. You're looking at the sexual harassment and sexual violence side of Title IX.” Bechtold said. 

These issues were not initially addressed when the law was passed half a century ago, but with the same 37 words being used to fight for equal opportunity in all cases, the power of Title IX is apparent even in modern situations.

Sex-based equity in athletics, education, and occupation has come a long way since the passing of Title IX in 1972. Strides remain to be made, and Title IX will continue to be a powerful tool for those who challenge equal-rights infractions of all kinds. 

“We're seeing this civil rights law that started focused on athletics being expanded to provide a lot more protections for different types of people,” said Breslin. “And I think that's really encouraging.”