Published: February 14, 2008
We hope you will enjoy having a copy of the latest update from our longitudinal national survey, now in its 31st year. Among many other things, the 2008 data show the highest ever participation by women in our nation's intercollegiate athletics programs. On the other hand, the data also continue to show a depressed representation of women as head coaches both of women's teams and of men's teams.
Among the administrative ranks however, more females (both as a percentage and as an absolute number) serve as athletic directors than at any time since the mid 1970s. Indeed, more women hold positions within the administrative ranks, at all levels, than any time since the mid 1970s.
Thanks for your continued interest in the status of women in intercollegiate athletics. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact us at Acosta/Carpenter, Post Office Box 42, West Brookfield, MA 01585 or contact either the National Association for Girls and Women in Sport (NAGWS) at 703-476-3450 (nagws.org) or the National Association of Collegiate Women Athletic Administrators at 910-793-8244(nacwaa.org). Feel free to make copies of the summary, but please make sure to cite us and to leave the copyright notice intact. Thanks.
Sincerely,
Linda Jean Carpenter, Ph.D., J.D. Professor Emerita, Brooklyn College
R. Vivian Acosta, Ph.D. Professor Emerita, Brooklyn College
Electronic copies are available in PDF format on the web at: http://acostacarpenter.org
This project has been graciously funded by Smith College's Project on Women and Social Change & Brooklyn College of the City University of New York Women in Intercollegiate Sport A Longitudinal, National Study 31st Year Update 1977 - 2008
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Executive Summary R. Vivian Acosta - Linda Jean Carpenter
On the pages of the full summary, you'll find many details but perhaps a very brief summary of the high points will be of some help to you. The 2008 Data Show:
• The highest ever participation by female athletes•Highest ever number of women's teams (8.65 teams per school)
•Highest ever number of women's teams in nation (9101 teams)
•Five most frequently offered sports for women are: basketball, volleyball,
soccer, cross country, softball
•In 1970, two years before Title IX was enacted, there were only 2.5 women's teams per school for a total of about 16,000 female athletes nationally
• Representation of females as coaches of women's teams remains low•Only 42.8% of women's teams are coached by a female head coach
•2 to 3% of men's teams are coached by a female head coach
•20.6% of all teams (men's teams and women's teams) are coached by a female head coach
•In 1972, the year Title IX was enacted, over 90% of the head coaches for women's
teams, and about 2% of the coaches for men's teams were female
• The highest ever number of paid assistant coaches for
women's teams•Of the 11,058 paid assistant coaches, 6308 (57.1%) are female
• Highest representation of female athletic directors since mid 70s•21.3% of athletic directors are female. This represents a significant increase from 18.6% in 2006.
•Division 3 schools have the highest percentage of female ADs at 33.7%
•The percentage of schools totally lacking a female administrator at any level has dropped from 14.5% in 2006 to 11.6% in 2008.
•The most common administrative structure is composed of three administrators, one male AD and one assistant/associate male and one assistant/associate female
•In 1972 when Title IX was enacted, more than 90% of women's programs were
administered by a female athletic director
• Only 27.3% of head athletic trainers are female
(97.7% of NCAA schools have a full time athletic trainer)• Only 11.3% of sports information directors are female
(98.3% of NCAA schools have a full time sports information director)Title IX, a federal law prohibiting sex discrimination in all aspects of an education program or institution which receives federal money, was enacted in 1972. Title IX has been responsible for much of the growth in women's athletics and has also served as the lightening rod for much of the controversy surrounding the impact of that same growth. For details of Title IX's requirements, history, and/or societal and/or legal interactions, please don't hesitate to contact us(http://webpages.charter.net/womeninsport) or consult our recent book entitled, Title IX, published in 2005 by Human Kinetics (800-747-4457, www.HumanKinetics.com) ISBN: 0-7360-4239-3