Leveling the playing field
50 Years of Title IX
In 1972, Congress passed Title IX as part of that year’s education amendments. Written by Representative Patsy Mink, Representative Edith Green and Senator Birch Bayh, the law prohibits sex-based discrimination in all schools receiving federal financial assistance. Although the text of the law makes no reference to athletics, it was later determined to encompass all aspects of a school’s operations, including intercollegiate sports programs. One study found that, between the implementation of Title IX and 2006, there had been an almost 500% increase in the number of female collegiate athletes.
You can support women’s athletics at Arizona State University by giving to Wings of Gold, which fosters the academic and athletic success of ASU’s extraordinary female student-athletes.
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“No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.”
Enacted on June 23, 1972
By the numbers
ASU currently fields 14 women's varsity teams
ASU's women's teams have won 13 NCAA championships
Since the 1960 Olympics, over 75 current or former Sun Devils competed in women's events.
World-class competitors
Desiree Davila-Linden
A two-degree Sun Devil who won the 2018 Boston Marathon, Desiree Davila was a four-year track/ cross country standout at ASU (2001–04) who earned All-America honors in track and cross country and competed in the 2012 Olympics.
Dallas Escobedo
All-American softball pitcher Dallas Escobedo’s career at ASU earned her selection as the No. 1 National Pro Fastpitch draft pick in 2014; a 115-26 record; three Women’s College World Series tournaments, including the 2011 title; four All-Pac-12 and two All-American honors; and a gold medal at the 2011 World Championships.
Briann January
One of the most highly decorated basketball players in school history, Briann January garnered Pac-10 All-Freshman Team and All-Pac-10 Honorable Mention honors throughout her historic career. She was drafted sixth overall by the Indiana Fever in 2009. She played for nine seasons in the WNBA, winning a title in 2012 and being named an All-Star in 2014.
Missy Farr-Kaye
Missy Farr-Kaye redefines the term Sun Devil for Life. As a student-athlete under legendary head coach Linda Vollstedt in 1990, Farr-Kaye helped ASU bring home its first of seven NCAA Titles in women’s golf. Since joining the staff, she has contributed to two more National Titles, one in 2009 as an assistant and most recently in 2017 as head coach. She was named Coach of the Year by Golfweek, WGCA and the Pac-12 after the 2016-17 season and earned the ASU Alumni Achievement Award in 2018.
A long way to go
Despite the advances made by female athletes in the last half century, there is still a wide resource gap between men’s and women’s athletics. In the United States, high schools offer one million more athletic opportunities to boys than to girls. At collegiate championships, the NCAA has spent thousands of dollars more on male competitors than female competitors. In professional sports, men are regularly paid far more than women. It will take all of us to bring about true gender equality in sports.
You can support women’s athletics at Arizona State University by giving to Wings of Gold, which fosters the academic and athletic success of ASU’s extraordinary female student-athletes by placing an added emphasis on scholarship endowments, sport-specific giving, leadership development/experiential learning and facility enhancements.
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