Title IX 40th Anniversary Celebration Set for Saturday

A celebration is scheduled Saturday for the 40th anniversary of Title IX, which banned sex discrimination in education and federal programs.

Title IX's most visible impact has been in sports, requiring schools to offer equal opportunities for male and female athletes.

Among those scheduled to attend the 4 p.m. event at Junior Seau Amphitheatre are Mary Alice Hill, a former athletic director at San Diego State University and now a motivational speaker; Judy Sweet, a former athletic director at UC San Diego and NCAA vice president; Milena Glusac, a former champion distance runner at Fallbrook High School and now a marathoner; and Kathy Kinane, who ran the marathon in the 1984 Olympics.

They are among numerous speakers. The event also includes music, dance, food and an expo.

According to one study cited by Forbes magazine, participation in athletics by girls rose from one in 27 when Title IX was adopted in 1972 to one in four just six years later.

Implementation of the law often is criticized, however, as limiting athletic opportunities for young men in college because just one male-only sport, football, uses up dozens of scholarships. Since that is far more than any other athletic pursuit, many colleges with scholarship football programs have a wider variety of women's sports.

At San Diego State University, there are a dozen women's teams and half that for men.

The situation is more balanced at the region's other three major universities because football is not a factor.

The University of San Diego offers nine women's sports and eight for men. The Toreros have a non-scholarship football program.

UC San Diego fields a dozen men's teams and 11 for women, while Cal State San Marcos has six men's teams and seven women's squads. Neither the Tritons nor Cougars play football.

—City News Service