Can you imagine being a girl in high school and not having the opportunity to play school sports?

Helen Pruss Halfhill, JM class of 1930, has vivid memories of playing on Judge sports teams.

But by the 1950s and ‘60s, however, high schools across the country dropped girls sports. That means that when the Yerkovich gym was originally built, it was adequate for the sports that were played in it.

“In my time there were only football, basketball, and baseball leagues for boys, so I didn’t participate much in sports,” said Barbara Spaid, JM class of 1953. “Girls didn’t participate in sports as they do now.”

A generation of American girls missed out on school sports until Title IX was passed in 1972. Title IX states: “No person in the U.S. shall, on the basis of sex be excluded from participation in, or denied the benefits of or be subjected to discrimination under any educational program or activity receiving federal aid.”

It is a law that means that every female has a right to play sports and have equal access to facilities. This law is very important because women should have the choice, just as men, on what they want to participate in.

Because of Title IX, girls can participate in organized sports at young ages. Being part of teams teaches female athletes valuable life lessons, not just how to bounce a ball. For example, you learn how to cooperate, negotiate, and support your teammates. Many women have used these skills to build successful careers.

It can be said that if it wasn’t for Title IX, the U.S. women’s soccer team wouldn’t have had the success that they’ve had and maybe never would have won the World Cup in soccer four times, or that the WNBA wouldn’t exist, and that many high school girls now wouldn’t be playing sports right now.

According to an article published in The Physician and Sports Medicine, from 1973 to 2018 the percentage of high school sports played by girls increased from 24% to 43%.

The NCAA reports that in 2022, females made up 47% of Division I student-athletes, compared to 15% in 1972. However the report concludes that there’s still room for improvement in leadership roles for women in athletic departments.