Wisconsin Celebrates 50th Anniversary of Title IX

MADISON, Wis. – The Wisconsin Athletic Department kicks off its 50^th anniversary celebration of Title IX on Wednesday, celebrating the landmark legislation that created a major impact for women in collegiate sports.
 
"The University of Wisconsin is excited to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Title IX," Director of Athletics Chris McIntosh said. "Our staff has a done a tremendous job of planning events to celebrate this milestone, recognizing our incredible women's athletic history.
 
"Title IX changed the landscape of college athletics in the early 70s, giving women equal opportunities to compete and reap the benefits of being an athlete. Every one of our female athletes has contributed to our storied history of women's athletics at Wisconsin and helped create the backbone of what has become one of the top women's athletic programs in the country."
 
Title IX states: "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."

Two-year fight for women's athletics at UW

While the law was passed on June 23, 1972, it was a nearly two-year long fight before women's athletics was added to the Wisconsin Athletic Department.
 
In July of 1972, UW Chancellor Edwin Young appointed a committee to study women's athletics but that committee met only once between July 1972 and March 1973. In April of 1973, a complaint was filed against the UW by the U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare Office of Civil Rights in violation of Title IX. Sixteen days after that complaint was filed, a new committee was formed under Young's direction to study women's athletic programs and facilities. That committee met 18 times over the next year.
 
A full proposal was presented to the committee on December 1973 and then in March 1974 a panel discussion on women's athletics was presented. On May 3, 1974, a news conference was held to announce the first director of women's intercollegiate athletics at Wisconsin – Kit Saunders. Women's athletics were officially added to the UW Athletic Department on July 1, 1974. The original 12 sports were badminton, basketball, cross country, fencing, field hockey, golf, gymnastics, rowing, swimming and diving, tennis, track and field, and volleyball.

Starting as club sports

Women's sports existed at Wisconsin as early as the 1890s but in the early 1970s, the only opportunities for female athletes was at a club-sport level. Coaches were volunteers, uniforms were shared among numerous teams, practice times were limited to early in the morning or late in the evening, and funding for the programs was very limited.
 
Saunders served as the sports coordinator for the UW club sport program and was a key player in getting women's sports added to Badger athletics. Other key members of the Title IX movement at the UW were Muriel Sloan, chair of the women's physical education department; Ruth Bleier, a professor in the UW neurophysiology department who studied gender biases in the sciences; and Assistant Chancellor Cyrena Pondrom.

A year-long celebration

The department is launching a year-long celebration to honor and elevate the contributions and accomplishments of Wisconsin's female student-athletes, alumni, coaches, and staff.
 
With events and moments planned throughout the calendar year, Wisconsin Athletics will find unique ways to tell female stories, celebrate with the community and campus, and highlight past and present accomplishments of teams and individuals.