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Authors

Mary W. Gray

Abstract

I. Introduction In the past several years, four federal court decisions interpreting Title IX 1 have sent tremors through the collegiate athletic establishment. 2 In all of these cases, the courts found the universities to have failed to provide effec- tive accommodation for the athletic interests and abilities of their women students, as required by the regulations issued pursuant to Title IX. 3 Al- though the regulations state that such accommodation is only one of the factors to be considered in determining compliance with Title IX, it was because of deficiencies in this area that courts found the institutions in viola- tion of the statute. In particular, courts asserted that the universities did not provide participation opportunities to women and men in numbers "substan- tially proportionate" to their respective enrollments. Unfortunately, the courts failed to supply guidance as to the precise meaning of "substantially propor- tionate." This Article suggests a statistical framework for such guidance. II. Statutory Background A. The Title IX Statute and Regulations Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 requires that institutions not discriminate on the basis of sex in their athletics programs, including intercollegiate athletics. 4 When Congress originally enacted Title IX, it pro- vided that the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare issue regula- tions that would assist educational institutions in complying with the stat- ute. 5 After the Title IX regulations were promulgated, the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) of the Department of Education issued a Policy Interpretation Manual ...

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