This month, marks the celebration of the 50^th Anniversary of the landmark legislation of Title IX.  As a former college student-athlete and woman leader in sports, this day holds great meaning for me, and it feels particularly humbling as it falls at the end of my first year as your Director of Athletics and Recreation at UMass Boston.  Title IX of the education amendments was enacted into law in 1972.  The law prohibits federally funded educational institutions from discriminating against students or employees based on sex. As a result of Title IX, any school that receives any federal money from the elementary to university level must provide fair and equal treatment of the sexes in all areas, including athletics.  In the world of sports, this legislation made it a law for women to have access to equal opportunities in sport through educational institutions.

While I was not an original recipient of Title IX, I can't imagine what my life would look like without it.  With it, my Dad, a track and field coach, would not have been able to fully encourage me to play sports in the way that he did because the opportunities would not have been abundant for me as a girl and young woman.  Sport was and is a thing that forever changed my life and influenced my courage, leadership, and endurance.  If Title IX did not exist, I would likely not be here today, as your leader and Director of Athletics and Recreation.  I would also not be able to speak about how proud I am to oversee 18 sport programs including 9 sports for women at UMass Boston.  

Access to sport for girls and women has forever changed our society.  It's another way that we see the power of what sports can do to influence people and communities. Before Title IX, few opportunities existed for female athletes. The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), which was created in 1906 to format and enforce rules in men's football, but had become the ruling body of college athletics, offered no athletic scholarships for women and held no championships for women's teams. Furthermore, facilities, supplies and funding were lacking. As a result, in 1972 there were just 30,000 women participating in NCAA sports, as opposed to 170,000 men. Since the enactment of Title IX, women's participation in sports has grown exponentially. In high school, the number of girl athletes has increased from just 295,000 in 1972 to more than 2.6 million. In college, the number has grown from 30,000 to more than 150,000. In addition, Title IX is credited with decreasing the dropout rate of girls from high school and increasing the number of women who pursue higher education and complete college degrees.

As we know that sport develops great leaders, access to sports for girls and woman is also an important part of how we continue to build more leaders of high character in the world.  As Title IX turns 50, we see how women who have played sports are now occupying the majority of CEO and C-Suite roles that women hold in our society.  I have been fortunate as one of those leaders to also spend most of my career working to utilize the platform that we have through sports to impact equity and social justice issues, in particular issues that effect women.  I have been a part of organizations utilizing both women and men in sports to educate people in the fight against violence to women, a global issue that disparately effects women in our world.  I have been so proud to see women and men speak out against inequities that still exist in sport as we continue to face challenges since we have started from behind.  

I also see how much men have become educated and inspired to help advance opportunities for women and see the ways that our Beacon administrators, coaches, and alumni work to help us advance and support sports for women and girls.  For the Beacons, this work includes the recent establishment of the Mac Singleton Fund, an endowment that will provide funding to support women's sports programs.  The endowment was established in the name of the former Boston State College Football Coach and recent Hall of Fame Inductee, Mac Singleton by his two daughters, Michelle Stevenson and Becky Singleton, to honor his name and his impact on them as young girls and women.  All of these examples show the impact of the positive changes that have come from the passing of this legislation and the ways that they are helping women and our society.

I am responsible as a leader and mentor for our student-athletes, coaches and administrators to help them understand the importance that Title IX has played in both our society and at UMass Boston. Therefore, to further commemorate this day, I think it's important to note some of the trailblazers at UMass Boston who have paved the way for where we are today and where we will be in the future.  Katherine C. Clark brought athletics and recreation to the UMass Boston campus.  Alfreda Harris, one of the most powerful and respected leaders in all of Boston, is a coach who served as a pillar to our department and was there at the very beginning to help light the way for women's sports on our beautiful campus. Former Beacon volleyball coach and Senior Associate Director of Athletics, Terry Condon, was named one of the most influential people of the Title IX era at her alma mater UCLA. Condon dedicated her entire life to bring equality to athletics in college, the professional and Olympic levels.  These are just some of the leaders that have directly influenced the past, current, and future Beacons.

Throughout the 2022-23 academic year, UMass Boston Athletics will be celebrating many more of these trailblazers and the achievements of women in sports. The Beacons have come so far since their founding, but we still have a lot of work to do to both honor all the sacrifices that came before us and further the excellence of opportunities and experiences for the women in our family. 

I thank you for all that you have contributed to our work as Beacons to help us get to this point and hope you will come and support the Beacons and Beacon women throughout the year to help us honor this amazing milestone as Title IX turns 50.  Our girls and women in sports need your leadership so we can create and celebrate another 50 years of milestones!
 
Jacqueline Schuman, Ed.D.
Director of Athletics and Recreation