Spectrum - Volume 19 Issue 30 May 1, 1997 - Tech sixth nationally in compliance

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Tech sixth nationally in compliance

By Jack Williams

Spectrum Volume 19 Issue 30 - May 1, 1997

Virginia Tech ranks sixth in the nation among Division I universities that are in compliance with Title IX, the legislation designed to bring equality to women in college athletics.

This was reported recently in USA Today after the newspaper conducted a survey to study the effects of 25 years of Title IX legislation.

To be in compliance with Title IX, the percentage of female athletes at a university must exceed or be within five points of the percentage of its female undergraduates.

The survey revealed that females make up 41 percent of the undergraduate student body at Virginia Tech and that 40 percent of those participating in athletics at the university are women.

The USA Today survey showed that only 28 schools across the nation are in compliance with Title IX guidelines.

The top three schools in proportion of women athletes are the three major service academies, all of which have total female populations of less than 20 percent. At the Air Force Academy, for example, 15 percent of the undergraduate population is female and 26 percent of the athletes are female.

The top six compliers are Air Force, Navy, Army, Georgia Tech, Washington State, and Virginia Tech.

Dave Braine, Tech's director of athletics, said he is delighted the university ranks so high on the compliance list. "Compliance with Title IX always has been a top priority with us," he said. "We are extremely pleased that Virginia Tech is a national leader in the field."