Title IX: 54 Years Later
We are lucky that in today’s world, most girls have the opportunity to grow up playing sports. They can dream about becoming the next WNBA star, pitching a no-hitter in the Women’s College World Series, being the first woman to swim under 20 seconds in the 50-yard freestyle, or accomplishing any other feat they can imagine. It’s easy to take this reality for granted, but on the 54th anniversary of the signing of Title IX, we wanted to make space for gratitude - for the generations of work that created the possibilities we have today.
What is Title IX & Why Is It Needed?
Signed into law in 1972, Title IX prohibits sex-based discrimination in educational programs and activities that receive federal funding. The legislation doesn't mention athletics at all, yet its impact on sports has been monumental. Prior to Title IX, fewer than 300,000 girls nationwide participated in high school sports annually - roughly 1 in every 27 girls. Today, more than 3.4 million girls play high school sports, and women now make up nearly half of all NCAA athletes.
Before Title IX, opportunities for girls and women to participate in organized athletics were limited, and college athletic opportunities for women were scarce. The issue was never a lack of talent, though. Take diver and University of Michigan student Micki King: King attended the university before it had a women's diving program, training with the men's team because there was no women's team for her to join. King would go on to win Gold in the three-meter springboard in the 1972 Olympics proving that the athletes have always been here, but the support systems were not.
For many women, the changes brought about by Title IX felt immediate and deeply personal. Patrice, mother of Bar IX’s founder Alissa, was part of the first generation to experience those new opportunities firsthand. While attending Lake Superior State University, she became one of the school's first women's varsity basketball players after the university began creating new opportunities for female athletes in response to Title IX. What began as legislation signed in Washington, D.C. quickly became real people joining real teams and discovering possibilities that hadn't existed just a few years earlier.
Why Title IX Still Matters
As the years went on after Title IX, the opportunities didn’t just create themselves, of course. They required advocates, administrators, and leaders willing to build something that didn’t yet exist. Enter Detroit native and University of Michigan alumna Marie Hartwig. A longtime educator and champion for women's athletics, Hartwig became Michigan's first associate athletic director for women as Title IX began taking hold. Under her leadership, women's sports at Michigan expanded rapidly. Marie and her colleagues created opportunities that generations of athletes would go on to benefit from.
So fifty-plus years later, what does this all look like in our present world? Girls lace up their cleats, put on their knee pads, and take to courts, fields, tracks, pools, and rinks every day with an expectation that they belong there. And of course, they do belong there. It looks like girls growing up with role models they can watch on television and fans showing up to support women's sports in record numbers. It’s female coaches, agents, journalists, and community leaders - the wider effect of Title IX can be seen in the careers, communities, and possibilities that have flourished around women's sports. In Detroit, it's record-breaking attendance for the PWHL's Takeover Tour leading to a brand-new franchise for us this season. It's the WNBA coming back to the D in 2029. It's a community busting at the seams with people who don't just want women's sports to exist - they want to gather around them, champion them, and continue building on the legacy that Title IX created.
How We Push the Legacy Forward
That's where the Bar IX community comes in. Over the past year, we've seen firsthand what happens when women's sports fans are given a space to gather. You've shown up for watch parties, fundraisers, championship games, and each other. In many ways, Bar IX is another ripple effect of Title IX - a community built by people who believe women's sports deserve to be celebrated.
We are so excited to be a part of Detroit's ever-growing women's sports landscape and hope you can join us on June 30 at Detroit Shipping Company from 6-10 p.m. to celebrate one year of Bar IX, launch our Crowdfunder, and watch the Aces and Liberty battle it out in this year's WNBA Commissioner's Cup. Chat with our founder, test your knowledge with women's sports trivia, learn about Founding Member opportunities, and yeah, party.
Because if Title IX taught us anything, it's that incredible things happen when people come together to create opportunities and communities around women's sports. And we are so here for it.
