JANET COLES
Title IX Presentation
Carroll College – Helena, Montana
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It is an honor / to be here tonight / with all of you / to celebrate 50 years of Title IX.
If I may, allow me to share how this Law impacted me and still impacts me to this day, as a UCLA student athlete.
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Let’s start with a short History of Title IX: The Law was passed in 1972
And for the first time, schools, universities and colleges across the country were required, by law, to provide girls & women the same opportunities as the boys & men, in every aspect of education from the classroom to the playing field.
Some data:
- 1972: 3 million - high school & collegiate boys played sports
- 300,000 - high school & collegiate girls played sports w/ the girls teams receiving about 2% of the budgets and scholarships were non-existent
- 2020: 4.2 million – high school & collegiate boys played sports
- 3.5 million – high school & collegiate girls played sports w/ women’s teams receiving about 45% of the budgets and 55% of the scholarships
In 50 years…. Much has changed. And of course, there’s always more that needs to be done. And that is happening. But we have come a long way…
A Short history of my athletic career through college:
Let’s start in High School. There was not a Girls Golf Team. So, I played on the Boys Team. We were really good. No. 1 in our League. I was the ONLY girl on the Team. I qualified and played on our traveling squad every match, starting my freshmen year.
If I may point out…. At this time, I was a Nationally Ranked player and one of the top 5 Juniors, in the country. So, I played national competition all summer long. And because of this, I was the most experienced competitor on our Boys Team.…
I was not sitting on the bench. They wanted me to play!
Never the less / my Senior year in High School the League passed a Rule,
“NO Girls could play on Boys Teams”. Of course, this was ridiculous!! Golf was not a contact sport and I had ‘tried out’, qualified and earned my spot and was a welcomed member on the Boys Team.
With all of that said, still in my senior year in HS, I was not allowed to compete on the Team, because I was a girl.
I graduated from High School on May 10th, 1972, headed for UCLA.
Title IX passed June 23rd, 1972, just 5 weeks later.
Not long after / UCLA contacted me. The ‘coach’ offered me a spot to play on her ‘newly developed’ Team and told me I would be eligible to receive a scholarship.
I’m thinking, “obviously not an academic scholarship”. She said, “no… this is an Athletic Scholarship. And you and Karen Moe (an Olympic swimmer) will be the first female scholarship athletes here at UCLA.”
Tuition and Books. $700/semester. I fell out of my chair!
This may not sound like much! But it was a start! And because of Title IX, it was a start / of something great / for Women’s Athletics at UCLA!
To become a part of this / instantly changed my life. I would no longer just be going to UCLA as a student, to do well in school / I now would be a student-athlete. Playing for UCLA. An honor and a privilege far beyond myself. And because of Title IX, I would carry a scholarship and with that the responsibility to become a good teammate, commit to ‘a program’ as well as graduate, reflecting this opportunity….
Still today / 50 years later / I carry this with pride!
Three stories I’d like to share, all part of Title IX’s influence on me:
1st story. My Coach.
Because of Title IX / I had a Coach all through college –
My golf coach at UCLA had never played golf. I’m thinking, ‘who came up with this idea?’ So, the first day of practice, I asked her in probably somewhat of a challenging manner, “What is our team goal?” She replied, “Graduate with a meaningful degree & academic honors, make lifetime friendships and forever become a part of what we are building here at UCLA.” / I thought, oh my!
But where does golf fit in?
So, I then proceeded to asked her with some competitive inquiry and spirit,
“What about winning?” She said, “Don’t worry about that / we are UCLA!”
Just to let you know, my Coach and I are still friends, to this day!
2nd story. My Team.
Because of Title IX / I had a Team all through college -
Golf is an individual sport. But in school it is coached as a ‘team activity”. As an athlete, especially a golfer, it was easy for me to become overly self-centered and feel like I deserve to be in the ‘special club’. But being on a Team I had to learn to get along, go along and lead. We were a Unit. And this team experience shaped me as a person. And maybe better said, ‘re-shaped me’.
When I arrived at UCLA, on the wall in the Athletic Department read. R O O T S. It stands for respecting the… R – Rules. O- opponents. O- officials. T- team. S-self. In that order. All I could think was, ‘why is the ‘Self’ last?”
Wow…… did I have a lot to learn!
3rd story. My Parents.
Because of Title IX / I had parents who were also a part of ‘building something new’, all through college –
Even with that said, after two years of school & golf I wanted to quit. Many of my ‘summer golf friends’ had quit college and had qualified for the LPGA Tour. So, I gathered my parents and told them. “My friends are making money playing the Tour!” My Dad said, “Oh.. That’s nice!” Then I said. “I want to quit school”. He said, “OK.. you can quit. PAUSE. (I’m thinking… good.. this is going my way!). Then he said, ‘You can quit… after you graduate.” I quickly said, “No, no…Dad, you didn’t hear me!” He said, “Oh yes, I heard you. But UCLA is providing you an amazing opportunity and you will finish school and you will graduate.”
And that’s what I did. Forever grateful. Thank you, Mom & Dad!
Back to Title IX today –
Not to be political. There is still a ton of work to do. Equality with recruiting budgets, compensating the coaching staffs and scholarships. An on and on…
But the point being… things take time and over time, improvement happens. Sometimes the change is unnoticeable, but not for me. I’ve noticed.
Just last week, a Mom asked me, “My daughter, who is a top 25 ranked player, wants to play golf in college but does not want to play beyond school, she wants to go into computer science & game design. I’m thinking, ‘Wow! What a great kid!” Then she asked me, ‘Is there a place for her?” And I told this concerned Mom, ‘school comes first and foremost’ in 95% of all programs. Graduating from school is always the top priority.
Title IX is NOT about producing professional athletes, it is about participation and graduating student athletes.
Yay Title IX!!
Now-a-days, I tell parents, “If your daughter wants to play golf in college and earn a scholarship, there is a spot for her.” It may not be at her ‘dream school’ but she will find the ‘best fit’.
Just a short while ago, none of this was imaginable!
In 50 years…. You can NOW dream, compete, build, improve and grow as an athlete… and be awarded an opportunity to change your life through education.
And tonight, we are ALL here / because of it. What a privilege!
My final thought.
Combine sports with education, and you will always rise above the crowd!
Onward and upward we go!!
Thank you.