Title IX · Episode 8 of 10 · 47 min
Is Title IX Unfair to Men? The Cut-Teams Debate
The most common charge against Title IX is that it killed men's teams, and hundreds of wrestling, gymnastics and swimming programs did disappear. The episode gives that grievance its full weight, then shows the law never requires cutting a men's team; schools chose to cut minor sports rather than trim football budgets or add women's teams.
Who's who
- Julie FoudyWorld Cup soccer captain who co-filed the commission's minority report
- Donna de VaronaOlympic swimmer who co-filed the commission's minority report
- Amy Cohen+1 more episodeLead plaintiff in Cohen v. Brown, which rejected the lesser-interest defense
Timeline
- December 11, 1979HEW's Policy Interpretation sets the three-part test, including proportionality
- November 21, 1996First Circuit upholds the three-part test in Cohen v. Brown University
- June 2002The Bush administration creates the Commission on Opportunity in Athletics
- May 14, 2004D.C. Circuit affirms dismissal of the wrestling coaches' suit for lack of standing
- 2020Iowa and Minnesota drop men's gymnastics, leaving about 12 to 15 NCAA programs
- 2025-26The House v. NCAA settlement replaces scholarship caps with roster limits
Still debated
Defenders call proportionality a court-approved safe harbor, while critics call it a numbers trap that ignores demand. Whether interest in sports can ever be measured neutrally, and whether protecting football rosters would have saved minor sports, remain open.