The signing of Title IX in 1972 marked a huge step toward better opportunities for female athletes across the country, including female student-athletes at Northwestern State University of Louisiana.
The Department of Justice states that under Title IX, “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.”
Before the law’s passage, opportunities for women in collegiate athletics looked very different than they do now. At many universities, women’s teams were underfunded, under-promoted and often were not given the scholarship and competitive opportunities as the male teams.
“Before Title IX, girls were forced to study home economics in middle and high schools. Arbitrary quotas or outright bans on female applicants allowed institutions of higher education to reject women without cause,” National Women’s History Museum said. “Girl athletes ‘retired’ after high school because there were no scholarships or sports teams open to them on campuses across the country. Textbooks propagated sexist gender norms, and schools discouraged girls from pursuing certain subjects.”
According to the National Women’s Law Center, “After Title IX, women’s participation in intercollegiate sports skyrocketed. Before Title IX, fewer than 32,000 women participated in college sports.”
Title IX is often verbalized as sex-based violence or discrimination. Due to this, collegiate athletic departments must provide equal opportunities for men and women’s sports. “Title IX does not necessarily mean equality like 50/50,” Kevin Bostian, NSU athletic director, said. “Athletic scholarships need to represent the student body percentage.”
Instead of mandating numbers of scholarships, Title IX requires proportionality, meaning that scholarships must reflect overall university enrollment. According to Congress.gov, “If 60% of an institution’s intercollegiate athletes are women, then the total amount of aid to women athletes should be approximately 60%.”
The proportionality requirement influences football-playing institutions like NSU because of the large roster of football.
Bostian explained that football is the largest roster of sport on campus, with 63 scholarships. There is no comparable women’s sport with that size roster, so universities normally offer additional women’s programs to balance scholarship distribution.
“That’s why most institutions have more women’s sports than men’s sports—because of football,” Bostian said.
Today, NSU offers more women’s sports than men’s. Men’s teams offered by NSU are baseball, basketball, cross country, football and track and field. Women’s sports, on the other hand, include basketball, cross country, soccer, softball, tennis, track and field and volleyball.
NSU did not simply comply with Title IX—it played a key role in the law’s implementation in Louisiana. According to NSU Athletics, in 1975, “Northwestern became the first university in Louisiana to issue full athletic scholarships to women.”
The first group of scholarship recipients, primarily in women’s basketball, included Pat Nolen, Diane Pittman, Cathy Boozman, Paula Pierson, Linda Brown, Sue Mary Donawho, Carolyn Fogleman, Sandi Holloway, Toni Miller, Kathy Riser, Kathy White and Jackie Worthy.
Offering these scholarships to female student-athletes was a huge step toward expanding opportunities for women, just three years after Title IX became law.
Brittany Pajuloma, associate athletic director of sports medicine, serves as the Senior Woman Administrator (SWA) to ensure Title IX is implemented within NSU Athletics. The SWA position was created by the National Collegiate Athletic Association to ensure that female athletes have representation in athletics leadership and decision-making.
One of her main responsibilities is direct communication with student-athletes to address concerns of equity and opportunity. “It is a little bit of a misnomer,” Pajuluoma said. “I am not just here for women’s sports; I am the senior-most woman on staff and serving as a voice for our student-athletes.”
Title IX extends beyond equity, as it also protects against sex-based discrimination and harassment. Pajuluoma helps student-athletes connect with NSU’s Title IX office and reinforces safe and equitable environments for all student-athletes.
More than 50 years since it became law, Title IX continues to influence how NSU structures its athletic department. Title IX is a framework designed to ensure equal opportunities for women’s athletics.
From pioneering scholarships in 1975 to sponsoring more women’s teams than men’s today, NSU’s athletic history reflects growth and equality for women in collegiate athletics.
