Athletics

Overview 

Title IX prohibits discrimination based on sex in education programs and activities, including athletic programs, that receive Federal financial assistance. OCR is committed to ensuring that schools offer athletic opportunities in an equitable way to all students. (“School(s)” is used generally to refer to elementary, secondary, and postsecondary educational institutions that are recipients of federal financial assistance from the Department.) 

The Title IX regulations require schools to provide equal opportunity, regardless of sex. This requirement applies to schools’ athletic programs, including club, intramural, interscholastic, and intercollegiate teams.  

Equal athletic opportunity in athletic programs is measured by: 

Benefits, Opportunities, and Treatment 

When a school offers male and female athletic teams, the Title IX regulations require that the school offer equivalent benefits, opportunities, and treatment to its male and female teams overall. OCR considers numerous areas of a school’s athletic program in determining whether the school is providing equal athletic opportunities, including in these areas: equipment and supplies; game and practice times; travel and per diem allowances; coaching and academic tutoring; assignment and compensation of coaches and tutors; locker rooms, practice and competitive facilities; medical and training facilities and services; housing and dining facilities and services; publicity; support services; and recruitment. OCR compares the availability, quality, and kinds of benefits, opportunities, and treatment afforded to male and female athletes. 

Athletic Scholarships and Financial Assistance 

The Title IX regulations also prohibit a school from discriminating based on sex in the provision of athletic scholarships or other financial assistance to student-athletes. In determining whether a school is providing equal opportunity based on sex as to athletic scholarships and financial assistance, OCR considers whether the total amount of athletic scholarships and financial assistance that a school makes available to men and women is in proportion to the number of male and female students who are participating in interscholastic or intercollegiate athletics. The Title IX regulations do not require the same number of scholarships for male and female athletes or for individual scholarships to be of equal dollar value.  

Meeting students’ athletic interests and abilities 

In determining whether equal athletic opportunities are available, the Title IX regulations require OCR to consider whether a school is effectively accommodating the athletic interests and abilities of its male and female students. OCR assesses compliance in any one of the following ways: 

These options are commonly referred to as the “Three-Part Test.” A school may use any one of these three ways to demonstrate that it is fulfilling its legal duty to meet the athletic interests and abilities of its students. 

Resources