The Title IX regulations require schools to provide equal opportunity, regardless of sex. This requirement applies to schools’ athletic programs, including club, intramural, interscholastic, and intercollegiate teams. Equal athletic opportunity in athletic programs is measured by: the benefits, opportunities, and treatment given to male and female athletic teams; how a school is awarding athletic scholarships and financial assistance; and how a school is meeting its students’ athletic interests and abilities.
— U.S. Department of Education
It’s been my experience that female athletes don’t feel as encouraged to continue competing in their sport at the next level in the same way men are. As a former athlete who competed in college, it is disappointing to see this. Being able to compete in college shaped who I am today in very meaningful ways. It’s an opportunity to challenge yourself and seek growth. Instead, it becomes a path left unexplored for many women. As a coach, I’ve encountered many women who could be All-Americans in the sport straight out of high school women with incredible talent but have no interest in continuing their sport whatsoever after high school. Or women who have incredible character and work ethic to build a strong team. Yet they instead move forward only with their education. It makes me wonder, why? Why not continue?
I’m sure there are many reasons for this trend in females not continuing their sports at the same rate as men. But maybe the reason is because of the inequality between women and men’s sports, or the lack of support or the bad experiences from the lack of understanding women. Even though they are accomplishing incredible things, they are still overshadowed by male sports.
As a coach facing this struggle with female athlete participation in college athletics, I can’t help but feel proud of the women who have chosen to continue to pursue their sports. I hope the female athletes here at Goshen can be proud of the journey that they are on. What they are doing is truly special. What they get to do is a gift that can change their life and shape who they get to become.
Lisa Voyles is the associate head coach of the track and field and cross-country teams.
Mackenzie Mast
When I think about the inclusion and treatment of women in athletics here at Goshen College, the first thing that comes to mind is fan attendance at games.
As an athlete, having fans that are cheering, chanting and generally participating in the game can make a huge difference in the energy levels of the team that’s playing.
The trend that is seen across athletics at all levels is that women’s games generally tend to attract fewer people than men’s. I think this trend is also noticeable in GC athletics. While, as the president of the Association of Student Athletes, I think it’s important to promote attendance to all of our sporting events, I also think that it’s important to emphasize women’s sports, especially because they tend to have generally lower attendance rates than men’s events.
As a woman athlete myself, it can be challenging in general to not receive the same support, respect or attention that other athletes receive. While I do think that GC does a good job in supporting and respecting the women athletes on campus, I hope that, in the future, emphasis on game attendance and participation can continue to increase the general support for women’s athletics at GC and beyond.
Mackenzie Mast is a senior psychology major from Goshen, Indiana. She is part of the women’s soccer team and president of ASA. She enjoys spending time with friends, being active and reading.
Alaina Wolfe
“I bet I could beat you one v. one” is a sentence that almost every female volleyball player has heard throughout their lifetime. This isn’t just about a misunderstanding of my sport, but it is the idea that an inexperienced man could somehow have more talent in something that I have dedicated my life to. This isn’t a unique experience, and I would be misrepresenting my experience here at Goshen College if I didn’t say this type of misogyny hasn’t followed me here. Many male athletes view the women’s sports as a lesser version of their own. Simply come to the Ruth Gunden Gymnasium. You can see for yourself just how much our student body values women’s sports. There is an extreme difference in student attendance at women’s volleyball and basketball games compared to their male counterparts.
While the misogyny is never direct, it is still felt, nevertheless, when my strength, sport and intelligence are questioned by my peers simply because of my gender. As a female student- athlete, I feel the pressure not only of representing my team, family and sport, but also my gender. I feel the pressure to be the best because maybe then I will be seen as an equal. Thankfully, I have had the support of the female training staff here at GC because they understand the pressure of being female in a male-dominated space.
Alaina Wolfe is a junior criminal justice and restorative justice major from Monticello, Indiana. She is part of ASA and the women’s volleyball team.
Val Hershberger
Title IX changed the way that we view women’s sports. I tell my students all the time that this is a young law, really. I was born in ’61, so I was 11 years old when Title IX happened.
I played sports in high school, but you guys have been playing sports in leagues, literally in leagues, since you were 2 or 3 years old. There have also been lawsuits too, over the years that helped promote further equality as well. But there are some that didn’t go so well either.
And I think one of the things that we see sometimes is just the pay, especially at higher levels.
Goshen College has recently added bowling and disc golf, which are both men’s and women’s sports, so from the Title IX perspective, I feel like we’ve done very well. We have to file those reports every year, by law, on Title IX at GC.
But, from my perspective, we need to support athletics, period. If we’re going to bring on more teams, and we want athletics to help with enrollment, then we have to give quality facilities, locker rooms, weight training space, athletic training space, staff support, coaching support and pay.
The reality is, if a team at GC is winning, there will be support there. But, we are not given the tools to be competitive in this league. We just aren’t. We have never kept up with the other teams in this conference. I’ve never understood why we’re okay with that. I just don’t know how we can be okay with losing. That’s our biggest problem right now, in my opinion.
Val Hershberger is an associate professor of kinesiology who has served in various roles in the athletic department.
