As a woman on a Penn State athletic team, especially the dance team, I witness firsthand the inequalities that women collegiate athletes deal with. While the dance team is incredibly lucky to even be considered an athletic team and get funding from the University, we still struggle to cover everything we need and are often left out. For example, when we traveled to our national competition in Florida, we had to leave two girls behind that were supposed to dance with us because there wasn’t enough money to bring them. We have to pay for our gear sometimes (like our backpacks we had to cover some of the cost), don’t even have our own practice space/locker room, and share an athletic trainer with two other sports. It’s frustrating to hear my friends from men’s soccer talk about the iPads the school gives them, the catering they get for every game, and the gear they get for free that’s even cleaned for them. I don’t even want to imagine everything football players get. It’s also upsetting to dance at energetic, crowded men’s basketball games and silent, empty women’s games.
In 1972, Title IX prohibited discrimination based on sex at colleges. This allowed women to take any classes they want, enroll in any major, and slowly but surely represent their school as athletes. When Title IX was passed, 2% of a college’s athletic budget was dedicated to women, 15% of college women participated in sports, and colleges typically offered 2-3 sports for women. From 2006-to 2016, the number of women in collegiate sports increased by 25% and they were offered around 8 teams to be on. Over this time, the number of women in high school participating in sports also increased by 990%, and more women than men even represented the United States in the 2016 Rio Olympics. While these numbers are promising and we’re heading in the right direction, it doesn’t paint the whole picture.
The Department of Education found that 87% of NCAA schools offered more athletic opportunities to men. Women’s sports receive less funding than their male counterparts. Also, less than half of women’s teams are coached by women. One glaring example of this was during the NCAA March Madness tournament in 2021. The male athletes had large weight rooms and healthy food options, while the women had an almost empty room and poorly prepared meals. Many argue that these teams don’t get as much funding because they aren’t bringing in as much money. However, in the dance team’s case, we are supporting every sport that is “bringing in money” like football, basketball, and wrestling. Women’s teams should still get enough money to thrive, support their athletes, and perform well. It is also hard to be a sport that “brings in more money” when women’s sports are rarely supported by students. This issue requires cooperation from students, athletes, and universities. Universities must distribute funding better, students must support women’s and men’s sports equally, and athletes must continue to speak up even if it doesn’t impact them.
I think this is such an important topic in society now. I remember seeing some videos last year about the different equipment and resources given to the women’s basketball teams at March Madness. However, reading your personal story about the inequality in athletics has really struck a cord. I couldn’t imagine having to leave 2 members of your team behind, simply because the university wouldn’t provide enough funding. It’s terrible that this is our reality as women but I hope as an athlete you continue to speak out against this inequality – I know I’ll supporting you and the other women athletes in this fight.
This is so frustrating to read because I have seen instances of women athletes not getting everything they deserve time and time again. Even in my high school they barely funded any women sports, whereas our (pretty terrible) football team and men’s soccer team got all of the money. When our girl’s soccer team won the D3 championship, they still were funded less than the boys. It’s really sad to see that this happens at Penn State, but I am not surprised. I hope that this issue catches people’s attention soon, or it might not change for a long time. I hope women athletes keep speaking up about this, I know I’ll be there to support them!