Student Athletes' Perceptions of Title IX Compliance (Paperback)

The study focuses on student-athletes' perceptions of the D-III institutions' achievements in equity between genders in their athletic programs as mandated by Title IX. The study was conducted at the ten institutions in the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (AMCC) providing a final useable data set of 450 student-athletes. Thirteen criteria of equity were assessed (Good Sports Inc. & Title IX and Gender Equity Specialists, 2003). The student-athletes served as a guide to the perceptions of equity at their institution, while the athletic directors provided information concerning the institutional perspectives. The study revealed that male and female student-athletes perceived equity in eight of thirteen programmatic areas. There were five of thirteen areas in which male and female student-athletes perceived that men were treated better than women. The second part of the study investigated whether gender and various college characteristics affected the perception of gender equity among student athletes. The study concluded that gender, GPA, and type of institution (public vs. private) were significant independent variables in the model. The study concludes with recommendations for athletic directors and institutions for improving both the perception and the reality of gender equity among student athletes.