Beginning today and continuing through Saturday, Mississippi State will host the Southeastern Conference Softball Tournament, something almost unimaginable as recently as 20 years ago.
At that time, the Lady Bulldogs had only been playing softball for five years, and the team was in its first year of competition in SEC softball, playing in what can only be described as a functional softball stadium.
Much has changed since then. MSU will host its first SEC Softball Tournament at its beautifully renovated softball facility, now known as Nusz Park after a $6 million renovation/texpansion was completed earlier this year.
That MSU has a facility suitable to a conference championship is a testament to the university, its athletics department, players and fans.
But an even greater debt of gratitude is owed to the United States Congress (when was the last time anyone said that, by the way?), which in 1972 passed landmark legislation that would forever change the landscape of education in our country and open the door for the robust growth of women’s sports, not only at the collegiate level, but at every level, including youth sports.
It is known as Title IX and was part of a series of educational amendments passed into law and signed by President Richard Nixon.
The wording of Title IX:
“No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving federal financial assistance.”
As legislation goes, the wording is simple, yet its impact is profound and far-reaching.
And while sports fans think first of the legislation’s impact on sports, Title IX’s impact went far beyond that to matters of even greater importance such as hiring, admissions, academic scholarships, even fields of study and programs.
When passed, Tittle IX was not without its bitter critics, especially in the male-dominated world of college athletics. Detractors said the impact of the legislation, which required universities to provide athletics to women in the same proportion as it provided males, would mean “addition by subtraction.” They argued more sports (for males) would be eliminated as universities added women’s programs.
That turned out to be true, initially. Over the course of the following 20 years, universities cut 263 men’s sports programs as it added women’s programs under Title IX requirements.
Slowly, that attitude began to change. Over the past 20 years, males and females have seen a net increase in sports provided.
Another dynamic has followed. Initially, many universities added women’s sports programs grudgingly, providing scant funding an facilities. Today, however, women’s sports throughout the county are seeing upgrades in budgets and facilities, which speaks of a true commitment to women’s sports.
MSU’s Nusz Field, which is in the spotlight this week, is certainly an example, but just one example.
Throughout the state and nation, we are seeing top-flight facilities for women’s sports. Universities are no longer paying lip-service to Title IX; they are embracing it, as is the general public. Women’s sports are attracting record crowds. MSU fans are well aware of the success of the Lady Bulldogs basketball team, which set an attendance record this year with an average attendance of more than 5,000 fans.
The impact of Title IX has had a dynamic impact on how our nation views sports.
When Title IX passed, boys ages 6-to-18 playing high school sports outnumbered girls of those ages playing sports by a ratio of almost 5-1. Now, 45 years later, that ratio is 3-2.
Today, MSU will take pride in hosting the SEC Tournament at its wonderfully renovated park.
For all of the pats on the back, let’s not forget those whose efforts to quite literally “leveled the playing field” for female athletes of all ages almost 45 years ago.
It was their vision that made what we will see today in Starkville possible.
The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.
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