The Daily Northwestern — October 27, 2022

Years of Title

Each spring growing up, my family made the short, 25-minute drive to Melbourne, Florida’s cathedral of baseball: Space Coast Stadium.

Living so close to the stadium, we had the opportunity to watch the Washington Nationals prepare for the regular season every year until they moved to a new venue in 2017. While we lived about 900 miles from Washington, D.C, we proudly donned the red, white and blue and viewed the Nationals as our hometown team.

Years later, the little details stick with me. The excitement of getting Dippin’ Dots. Eagerly wait ing at the practice fields, hoping I’d manage to get Bryce Harper’s autograph. The Irish music played for Daniel Murphy’s at-bats.

At that time in my childhood, I didn’t fore see a career in sports journalism. But there was something about the magic of the ballpark and being in close proximity to greats like Harper, Max Scherzer and Trea Turner that drew me into the world of sports.

I never felt like I was treated differently as a fan because I was a young girl, and that feel ing extended to my own athletic pursuits, try ing everything from soccer to track and field to lacrosse.

I don’t think I had a full grasp of just how swiftly conditions have changed for women in sports until I took Intro to Sports Writing with Prof. Melissa Isaacson in spring 2022. While the

class covered a wide range of topics, we frequently discussed the 50th anniversary of Title IX, and our primary assignment in the class was a Title IX-focused feature story.

Before then, Title IX was just a phrase I vaguely associated with sports. For myself, and many other college students, Title IX is better known for its role in giving survivors of sexual violence and harassment a process to file complaints and seek justice. Little did I know, Title IX also dramatically changed the landscape for women’s sports in the United States.

When Title IX was signed into law in 1972, few had any idea how transformational it would be for women’s athletics. The legislation doesn’t say a word about sports — it simply bans sex-based educational discrimination at educational insti tutions and programs receiving federal funding. University athletics programs were lumped into this and greater athletic opportunities followed.

In 1972, just 300,000 girls and women played high school and college sports. By 2012, that num ber had risen to more than 3 million. Title IX was key to this, mandating that universities grant women greater athletic opportunities.

Sitting in Isaacson’s class, I was blown away by the diversity of women’s sports experiences in the post-Title IX era. I spoke with former Northwest ern student-athletes and coaches who paved the way for the growth of women’s sports in the early

1980s, and I couldn’t believe how far things had come in just over 40 years.

In the back of my head, I knew I wanted to be The Daily’s sports editor in the fall. I also knew that, if I was editor, I would dedicate an issue to the 50th anniversary of Title IX at NU.

When I was named sports editor in August, I was excited to follow through on this project. Throughout the fall, my staff and I have developed story ideas, spoken with countless women alumni and sifted through the University archives.

This issue is a product of that work. It’s been an overwhelming undertaking, but I’m proud of the way my staff and I have worked to bring these women’s stories to light.

There are so many former and current studentathletes beyond those highlighted in this issue who have paved the way for the success enjoyed by Northwestern women student-athletes today. I hope you keep the hard work of all these women in mind when reading this issue.

Thank you to everyone who spoke with us for this issue and allowed us to share your stories. Thank you for laying the foundation for the rest of us — the sports journalists, the student-athletes and everyone in between.

Charlotte Varnes Sports Editor charlottevarnes2024@u.northwestern.edu

The Daily Northwestern www.dailynorthwestern.com

Editor in Chief Jacob Fulton eic@dailynorthwestern.com

General Manager Stacia Campbell stacia@dailynorthwestern.com

Holly and John Madigan Newsroom Phone | 847.491.3222

Campus desk campus@dailynorthwestern.com City desk city@dailynorthwestern.com Sports desk sports@dailynorthwestern.com

Ad Office | 847.491.7206 spc-compshop@northwestern.edu

The Daily Northwestern is published Monday and Thursday during the academic year, except vacation periods and two weeks preceding them and once during August, by Students Publishing Co., Inc. of Northwestern University, 1999 Campus Drive, Evanston, IL 60208; 847-491-7206.

First copy of The Daily is free, additional copies are 50 cents. All material published herein, except advertising or where indi cated otherwise, is Copyright 2022 The Daily Northwestern and protected under the “work made for hire” and “periodical publica tion” clauses of copyright law.

POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The Daily Northwestern, 1999 Campus Drive, Evanston, IL 60208. Subscriptions are $100 for the academic year. The Daily Northwestern is not responsible for more than one incorrect ad insertion. All display ad corrections must be received by 3 p.m. one day prior to when the ad is run.

Check out

for breaking news

Alumni, coaches reflect on early days of Title IX

By ALEX CERVANTES daily senior staffer @cervantespalex

When former softball coach Sharon Drysdale arrived at Northwestern in 1979, the team had no field. The Wildcats played at a park on Lincoln Street that featured just benches — no dugouts or fences. Eventually, NU found a home field, but it was still missing fences.

While the resources weren’t always perfect, Dry sdale said her mentality never wavered.

“You went out of any meeting thinking, ‘Yeah, we can do this,’” Drysdale said. “‘We can do this, it doesn’t matter.’ And so the women’s programs were very successful in the early days at Northwestern and continue to be very successful (today).”

Drysdale, the legendary coach whose name adorns NU’s softball field, was part of the first gen eration of women coaching women’s sports at NU following the passage of Title IX in 1972. As colleges sought to figure out funding women’s sports and providing resources in the wake of Title IX, Drysdale and others in women’s college athletics bore the brunt of widespread changes and lack of resources.

Drysdale received her Ph.D. from the University of Iowa in 1972 and took her first coaching gig at the University of Kansas. In Lawrence, Kansas, Drysdale served as the coordinator of women’s athletics and coached basketball, field hockey and softball. During her tenure at Kansas, she said she was strapped with a limited budget. When she asked for $20,000 for her budget, the Jayhawks’ athletic director denied her request.

“I was told even by the athletic director, ‘It’s not gonna work,’” Drysdale said. “‘Nobody cares how you do, whether you play or not. Nobody comes to watch, nobody wants to play. I bet you wouldn’t even find enough to even make a team in some of these sports.’”

But Drysdale found a better situation in Evanston.

Drysdal said then-athletic director Doug Single, who took the job at NU in 1981, was incredibly supportive of women’s athletics, which was “atypi cal” at the time. He told Drysdale that while the University had fewer scholarships and a smaller budget than other Big Ten schools, what NU could do was compete and win.

Drysdale said while Title IX bred animosity between male and female coaches and programs, the University’s advocacy was a beacon of hope.

“We didn’t have what everybody else had, but we had the administration’s support,” Drysdale said. “It was kind of like, ‘We’re the underdog, but let’s go get ‘em.’”

Drysdale and the Cats did, in fact, find great success on the diamond.

At the helm of NU softball from 1979 to 2001, Drysdale led the Cats to three consecutive Wom en’s College World Series appearances from 1984 to 1986. Throughout 23 seasons in Evanston, Dry sdale and NU recorded 13 30-win campaigns.

Karen Stack Umlauf (Communication ‘83), a standout women’s basketball player for the Cats in the early 1980s and now NU’s director of women’s basketball operations, agreed with Drysdale. Stack Umlauf said she and the women’s basketball team felt treated well at the time, and the team’s basic needs like adequate uniforms, bus travel and seem ingly equal practice time were met.

But she felt there was still progress to be made nationally.

“There was still a long way to go,” Stack Umlauf said. “We sometimes traveled to other schools and we played in their auxiliary gym instead of the main gym.”

Nevertheless, NU women’s tennis legend and former President, Chairman and CEO of the United States Tennis Association Katrina Adams, said it wasn’t until years after her collegiate career concluded that she realized the imbalance among various revenue and non-revenue sports teams at the University.

“A lot of these things are kind of looking back and saying, ‘Why didn’t we have this?’ or ‘Why didn’t we have that?,’” Adams said. “Eighteen years later, we finally had an indoor tennis center.”

Adams, who won the 1987 NCAA Doubles National Championship with Diane Donnelly Stone (Communication ‘87), said it’s “unfortu nate” that non-revenue sports will never truly be on level ground with revenue sports like football and basketball.

Since the turn of the century though, women’s sports continue to increase the standard for athletic success at NU.

The women’s lacrosse squad has won seven national championships since 2005, appearing in 13 Final Fours in that span, too. Softball has three WCWS appear ances, a trio of Big Ten regular season championships and a conference tournament title since 2006. Field hockey is the reigning national champion.

Women’s basketball has made the NCAA Tourna ment twice since 2015 and was crowned Big Ten regu lar season champion in 2020. Volleyball, tennis, cross country, soccer and others have also seen success of late.

“There’s still a long way to go,” Drysdale said. “But compared to where we were, I’m really happy with what’s happened. I’m glad I did it at an academic school. It’s not easy, but I’m proud of that, too.”

Charlotte Varnes contributed reporting.

alexcervantes2024@u.northwestern.edu

Daily file photo by Jorge Melendez

Northwestern softball celebrates after its NCAA Tournament opening win over Oakland in May of 2022.

Alumni discuss impacts of Title

By KATE WALTER daily senior staffer @katewalter03

Title IX’s passage not only expanded opportunities for female athletes, but also for women in sports media.

Northwestern women alumni have become leaders in the industry, covering everything from the Rose Bowl to the Olympic Games.

e Daily spoke with ve alumni about how Title IX has shaped their lives and journalism careers.

Helene Ellio (Medill ’77)

Title IX was passed in 1972, shortly before Helene Ellio (Medill ’77) started covering sports as a NU student.

“ ere was a lot of resistance by coaches and administrators to having a woman cover sports teams, but I persevered,” Ellio said. “When you’re young and you’re brave and you have dreams and you’re determined to follow them, you’re strong.”

Ellio started her career at the Chicago Sun-Times and has covered sports at the Los Angeles Times since 1989. She made history in 2005 as the recipient of the Hockey Hall of Fame’s Elmer Ferguson Memorial Award — the rst female journalist to receive the honor.

Ellio said Title IX gave journalists the chance to share the untold stories of women in sport, particularly the perseverance of those who played before the legislation was passed.

Christine Brennan (Medill ’80, ’81)

Christine Brennan (Medill ’80, ’81) remembers meeting Ellio , who was then e Daily’s sports editor, when she was a freshman and Ellio was senior. Brennan said seeing Ellio in a leadership position was very meaningful.

“If I didn’t meet Helene, I still would have become a sports journalist,” Brennan said. “But to see her in that position showed me the way it was possible. I don’t even know how to quantify how valuable that moment was for me.”

Forty-six years later, both women are sports columnists at two of the country’s leading publications: Brennan at USA Today and Ellio at the Los Angeles Times. ey have each covered at least 18 Olympic Games and are both inductees in the Medill Hall of

Achievement.

Brennan also recalled crossing paths with Ellio during di erent Olympic Games and re ected on how far they’ve come since that day in the newsroom.

“We did laugh, as we have on several occasions, about meeting that rst day in e Daily,” Brennan said. “Here we are standing side by side in the mixed zone at the (2022) Beijing Olympics, interviewing Nathan Chen, or trying to interview Kamila Valieva, or ge ing lost together trying to gure out how we’re going to nd the eld hockey venue at the 2016 Rio Olympics. ”

Vicki Michaelis (Medill ’91, ’91)

Entering the Rose Bowl Stadium for the 1999 FIFA Women’s World Cup Final in Los Angeles was a moment Vicki Michaelis (Medill ’91) will never forget.

“I remember walking into the Rose Bowl with Christine Brennan. And I remember her turning to me and just going, ‘ is is incredible, right? Look at all these women and these girls in the stands,’” Michaelis said. “We had never seen anything like that ever before.”

Over her decades-long career in sports journalism, Michaelis has covered sports for the Palm Beach Post,

on

careers

Having played sports throughout high school, Ekeledo said she knew she wanted to work in sports coming into college. She got involved with SportsNight at Northwestern News Network during her freshman year and continued to work there during her time at NU.

Ekeledo has served in several roles during her career, from covering North Carolina sports teams for ABC11 in Raleigh to serving as a host and reporter for the Big Ten Network. She has covered what she calls the “trifecta” in sports media: the Super Bowl, the NCAA Men’s Final Four and the Olympics.

Ekeledo said when she nds herself as the only woman at an event, she reminds herself of her worth.

“I remember that I deserve to be here,” Ekeledo said. “ ere’s women that have fought to give me this opportunity to be here in these spaces.

Ava Wallace (Medill ’15)

Ava Wallace (Medill ’15) played soccer and tennis during childhood and club lacrosse at NU — experiences that have been key to her life and career.

the Denver Post and USA Today, where she was the lead Olympics reporter. Now the director of the John Huland Carmichal Sports Media Institute at the University of Georgia, she is teaching the next generation of sports journalists.

Michaelis said her female students have told her they appreciate seeing a woman in leadership.

“We’re very much now in this if-you-see-it-you-canbe-it situation,” Michaelis said. “It’s really awesome when I have these women come through and they’re like, ‘You know, it’s so cool when we get here and there’s a woman doing this.’ Because even in this day and age a er they’re participating in sports, they wouldn’t necessarily know that naturally.”

Ngozi Ekeledo (Medill ’12)

For Ngozi Ekeledo (Medill ’12), watching Black women both play and cover sports on TV made her realize a career in sports media was possible.

Ekeledo recalled seeing athletes like Serena Williams and looking up to sports journalists like Pam Oliver and Lisa Salters.

“ ese are faces that look like mine — doing my dream,” she said.

“It gave me so many of my mentors in life and kind of my rst people who believed in me who weren’t my parents,” Wallace said. “It gave me huge self con dence that I use every day at work. (It) gave me leadership abilities.”

Wallace started her career at e Washington Post covering Virginia and Virginia Tech athletics. She said it was sometimes hard to nd her place alongside reporters from local papers, mostly men, who had covered these schools for years.

Now working as the Washington Wizards beat reporter for e Post, Wallace said having more female coaches is one of the next steps in the ght for equality in women’s sports.

“A theme that I kind of heard from a lot of people this year around the (Title IX) anniversary was we need more female coaches,” Wallace said. “We’ve talked about it a lot and who’s going to be the rst female NBA coach and things like that, but I think more women coaches (generally) would make a huge di erence in that inequality.”

katewalter2025@u.northwestern.edu

Ngozi Ekeledo/The Daily Northwestern

Ngozi Ekeledo (Medill ’12) reports at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics. Ekeledo is just one of many NU alumni women making waves in the sports media world.

Q&A: Katrina Adams talks Title IX, breaking barriers

By CHARLOTTE VARNES daily senior staffer @charvarnes11

Katrina Adams is no stranger to breaking barriers.

One of the first Northwestern women’s tennis players to earn All-American and All-Big Ten honors, she was also the first Black leader of the U.S. Tennis Association, as well as the first former professional tennis player to hold the position. She is still often the only woman or person of color in the room in advisory and leadership roles.

Adams first began playing tennis in 1975 — just three years after Title IX became law. The legislation has shaped her life, from allowing her the opportunity to play college athletics to paving the way for her professional tennis career. The Daily spoke with Adams about the ground-breaking nature of Title IX, her athletic experiences at NU, her leadership in the world of sports and more.

This interview has been lightly edited for brevity and clarity.

The Daily : At what point did you learn about Title IX and the impact it had on your athletic career?

Adams : While I was on the (Women’s Tennis Association) Tour (and) reflecting back, I started to learn about Title IX and the honor I had of getting a college scholarship. I didn’t focus on it or appreciate it until I retired from the tour and started working with younger players and (encouraged) them to work their hardest to earn a college scholarship. Then I could talk about Title IX — the importance of it, how privileged they were to have this opportunity.

On the flip side, as I started to learn about it, I got frustrated in knowing that we didn’t always have equal opportunities. We are still fighting for equality and parity in many different ways.

The Daily : When you arrived at NU, what was your experience like? What were the resources like?

Adams : We had our outdoor facility on

Sheridan Road. We never had an indoor facility.

(Both the men’s and women’s teams) traveled to local clubs to practice.

I could have gone to other universities with great tennis facilities, but Northwestern was where I wanted to be. It was a great opportunity for education. The facilities were limited for tennis, so that was frustrating, but we didn’t have the best facilities for any sport. Basketball had their arena and football had a stadium, but a lot of the other sports struggled with what we had.

The Daily : Were the resources you had as a women’s tennis player equivalent to what revenue sports had? Adams : Definitely not. I don’t even know if we could use the weight room. (It was) limited to football and basketball. We had physical

therapy trainers, but not fitness trainers or nutritionists or things of that nature for our teams like football and basketball did. There was definitely a disparity in access.

But when you’re young, you don’t know what you don’t know. A lot (of) these things (involve) looking back and saying “Why didn’t we have this?” or “Why couldn’t we have that?”

The Daily : Did you feel playing in the NCAA Tournament was treated with the excitement and celebration it deserved?

Adams : There was not a lot of fanfare, particularly the year we won, which was at UCLA. I don’t recall there being any signage that said ‘NCAA Championships’ or banners. I don’t recall there being a lot of people in the stands. I barely got a photo. I just found the photo recently of Diane (Donnelly Stone). There

were no photographers, no reporters — nothing like that.

The Daily : You’ve held leadership roles and served on numerous boards. How often have you found yourself to be the only woman in the room?

Adams : Quite often. I wrote a book (called) “Own the Arena: Getting Ahead, Making a Difference, and Succeeding as the Only One.” “The only one” references being the only woman or the only person of color in the room. I credit my confidence from my sport to empower me in many of these situations. I can also credit NU for always stressing preparation, to help me be prepared to go into meetings or arenas and be confident in my knowledge.

The Daily : Have you noticed a positive change in recent years in getting more women and people of color in these rooms with you?

Adams : There’s definitely been a push in the last couple of years to be more inclusive. That’s a political push, which is unfortunate. It should be a natural push.

I want to get (others) to join me on these boards and leadership roles as (an) obligation. Men are constantly doing that for one another. If we as women are not nudging someone to join us in these spaces, then shame on us.

The Daily : It’s been 50 years since Title IX has passed, but inequities still persist in leadership roles in the sports world and treatment of college athletes. How can things improve?

Adams : We need more women in leadership roles in colleges, in athletic director positions, in the boardroom, that are making decisions and fighting for equality and parity in women’s sports.

You constantly have men who are making these decisions. They’re not looking at female sports. They don’t value what we bring to the table. They don’t recognize that we add value to the sports at universities. We’re not often included in television packages or marketing. We’re an afterthought. Until we have women in the rooms that are pushing for these actions, we’ll always be behind.

cvarnes@u.northwestern.edu

Work for The Daily

Get real-life journalism experience. In class, you'll learn how to write an event story or produce a video. At The Daily, you'll interview people about actual news and get practice writing for your peers and neighbors. You'll chase stories against the pros and build your skills under deadline. And you'll have fun along the way.

Daily alumni go on to work for major news outlets, including: The NewYork Times, USAToday, Sports Illustrated,TheWashington Post, ESPN,TheWall Street Journal,Deadspin,People, NBC News and Vox

Contact us for more information: EMAIL joinus@dailynorthwestern.com

VISIT dailynorthwestern.com

Katrina Adams/The Daily Northwestern

Katrina Adams and Diane Donnelly Stone a er winning 1987 NCAA Doubles Championship. Adams said the event did not involve much fanfare, and she only found the photo in recent years.

WOMEN’S SPORTS AT NU

Achievements like Big Ten titles, All-American honors and Big Ten Player of the Week nods may seem commonplace for Northwestern athletes. But the ability to compete and succeed at the highest levels has been a long time coming for Wildcat women.

NU women have made strides in the athletic world well before Title IX. Here’s a breakdown of the biggest moments in NU women’s athletics history, from the 19th century to now:

2002: Volleyball makes first NCAA Tournament since 1984

After 18 seasons since its last appearance, NU returned to the NCAA Tournament. The Cats ultimately fell to Missouri in what was then the longest game of tournament history at a total of 78 combined points.

While NU’s program has experienced ups and downs since then, it is in the middle of one of its strongest seasons in recent memory. The Cats have struggled in Big Ten play, but their 12-game start at 11-1 was their best since 2012.

2002: Cross country finishes 30th at NCAA Championships

The first team in history to run in the NCAA title meet despite not having a track team, NU entered the championship ranked 30th. The team was able to finish ahead of Washington, a team that beat the Cats in the Pre-National Race a month earlier, in the 31-team race. Six of NU’s seven runners improved on their Pre-Nationals times.

The Cats recently entered the national rankings for the first time since 2002 and could make a crack at their second-ever NCAA Championships meet this offseason.

1898: Women play NU’s first basketball game

Just a few years after basketball’s invention in 1891, a group of women became the first people to play the game at NU — three years before their male counterparts.

1869: The University begins admitting women In comparison to Ivy League universities, NU was decades ahead of its peers when it began admitting women as undergraduate students in 1869. While the decision opened the doors to coeducation on campus, it would be several more decades before women formed sports teams at the University.

1998: Soccer makes first Sweet 16 and records best record in program history

Like softball, soccer enjoyed success early in its program history. NU’s program was founded in 1994, then went 16-5-1 in 1998 — the program’s current record for wins — and made its first Sweet 16.

Now, the Cats are enjoying revived success as one of the top teams in the Big Ten and the country. NU has made just one Sweet 16 after its appearance in 1998 but looks poised for a run in 2022.

2005: Lacrosse national championship begins a dynasty

Success came quickly after Wildcat lacrosse was relaunched in 2002. The Cats made lacrosse history with their 13-10 victory over Virginia, becoming the first non-Eastern Time Zone school to win a national title.

Within just a few years, NU ruled the college lacrosse world. The Cats won seven national titles in eight seasons and have gone on to play in 13 Final Fours. Along the way, coach Kelly Amonte Hiller has established herself as one of the most dominant figures in college lacrosse history, earning IWLCA Coach of the Year honors four times and getting inducted into the U.S. Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 2012.

2009: Tennis finishes season ranked No. 2 A program with a storied history, tennis reached new heights in 2009. The Cats held the No. 1 ranking nearly the entire season and finished at No. 2 for the second-straight season. NU also set program records for wins and winning percentage that season.

Since then, coach Claire Pollard’s Cats have continued to be a force. NU has cracked the NCAA Tournament every year since Pollard arrived in 1998, finishing a program-high fifth place on three separate occasions.

2014: Golf records best tournament score in program history at NCAA Championships Golf has made frequent appearances in the NCAA Tournament over the past decade. Perhaps its strongest was in 2014, when the Cats recorded their lowest tournament score in program history of 1,166. Their efforts led to a 15th-place finish at the championships.

NU has excelled under coach Emily Fletcher’s leadership in recent years. Among the Cats’ accomplishments include four consecutive top-10 finishes at the NCAA Championships, numerous All-American honors and three Big Ten conference crowns.

2021: Field hockey wins its first national championship After years of success in the Big Ten, the Cats tallied their first national championship in November 2021. It was an emotion-filled day, as players dogpiled goalkeeper Annabel Skubisz, danced outside the Walter Athletics Center upon their return to campus and hoisted their trophies high.

Coach Tracey Fuchs, who also won a national championship as a player at UConn, has been key to the program’s growth. She has coached numerous All-Americans and helped NU to multiple Big Ten titles. Now, the Cats look to build on their success and earn a second national title in 2022.

Isabel Funk, Maia Pandey and Charlotte Varnes

1972: Passage of Title IX

President Richard Nixon signed Title IX into law in 1972.

The legislation was a result of years of work to address widespread educational discrimination, as women had limited opportunities to advance in higher education.

The law did not go into effect overnight, however.

Schools were given until 1978 to comply with the law, and it wasn’t until 1979 that the Department of Health, Education and Welfare delivered a final interpretation of the amendment that said universities had to provide equal opportunities in athletics.

Athletic opportunities for women at NU steadily increased in the years following the passage of Title IX. By 1974, there were a number of women’s varsity sports offered, including field hockey, tennis, track, volleyball and softball. These programs often competed in the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women, which was founded in 1971 as a governing body for women’s college athletics. But, as a 1974 Daily article noted, these sports received “little publicity and even less money.”

1936: Betty Robinson Schwartz (SESP ’34) wins second Olympic gold medal

As a 16-year-old, Betty Robinson Schwartz (SESP ’34) became the first winner of the Olympic 100-meter dash for women. The 1928 Olympics marked the first year women were allowed to compete in the games, and Schwartz broke the world record, clocking in at 12.2 seconds.

Soon after her win, Schwartz enrolled at NU and continued to run. But in 1931, her progress was temporarily dashed when a car crash rendered her nearly unable to walk. Still, Scwartz rebounded for the 1936 Olympics and took home her second gold medal — this time, as a Wildcat.

1984: Softball goes to its first world series

Just eight years after the founding of the softball program, NU booked its ticket to the third-ever NCAA Women’s College World Series in 1984. Pitcher Lisa Ishikawa Sliwa (McCormick ’88) was key to the Cats’ success, earning All-American honors in addition to being named both Big Ten Freshman and Player of the Year. She also set an NCAA record for strikeouts in her first season in Evanston, striking out 469 batters in 302 innings.

This legacy of success remains today. NU has gone on to make six WCWS appearances — including its most recent in 2022. The Cats’ run in 2022 was buoyed by another dominant pitcher in All-American Danielle Williams.

1981: Big Ten adopts women’s sports

After some deliberation, the Big Ten became one of the first collegiate conferences to adopt women’s sports in a 9-1 vote. NU voted in favor of doing so. Ahead of the vote, the University’s Big Ten faculty representative, Laurence Nobles, sent a memo in 1980 to academic officials around the Big Ten setting forth a plan for adding women’s sports to the conference. Following the vote, the first Big Ten women’s conference championships took place in fall 1981.

As more schools offered women’s sports, the NCAA began holding women’s championships in 1982. It was a controversial decision at the time, as many still supported the AIAW’s womenled governance. Soon after, many Big Ten schools began competing in NCAA women’s championships.

2019: NU-Qatar’s Mariam Mamdouh Farid runs at the International Association of Athletics Federations world championships As a communications major at NU-Q, Mariam Mamdouh Farid was among the first Qatari women to represent the country at the IAAF World Athletics Championships. One of two Qatari women competing in the championships for the first time, Farid logged a personal best of 1:10 in the 400-meter hurdles.

Farid has said she intends to work toward a career in sports management, focusing on uplifting Muslim women athletes.

2019: Fencing wins second consecutive Midwest Fencing Conference title, ranks second nationally The Cats placed sixth at the NCAA Championships, finishing the season with a 39-5 record. In this milestone season, the Cats earned 11 victories against top-10 teams. The team dominated at the Midwest Fencing Conference Championship, taking home all three weapon group titles for the first time in program history. The team’s success vaulted it to No. 2 nationally, the highest ranking in program history. Now, NU looks to continue its winning ways in the MFC.

2021: Cheerleaders file Title IX lawsuit, athletic director Polisky steps down In January, a NU cheerleader filed a Title IX lawsuit against the University, alleging fans and alumni sexually harassed cheerleaders and that the athletics department did not respond appropriately. Other cheerleaders also said they had faced racial discrimination on the team.

Among the defendants was Mike Polisky, who was selected as athletic director in May. Nine days later, after a protest attended by more than 200 community members and a petition for his resignation that garnered more than 1,000 signatures, Polisky stepped down.

2020: Katie Robinson promoted to head coach of NU swimming and diving

As associate head coach of NU swimming and diving since 2018, Katie Robinson was elevated to the head position in June 2020. Now, Robinson is just the second woman to oversee both the men’s and women’s programs among the Power Five conferences. She is also one of only six female head coaches of swimming and diving across the conferences.

Under her leadership, NU churned out three Big Ten champions in the women’s program and a record-high score for the men’s program at the Big Ten Championships in 2020.

Prior to the NCAA’s ventures into women’s sports, NU did not support a fast-moving NCAA takeover of women’s college sports. In 1980, Nobles wrote to a colleague at Minnesota that he wanted women’s and men’s conference governance to “move closer together with time.” But he didn’t feel that a sudden joining of conferences would be wise for either men’s or women’s sports.

2020: Basketball wins Big Ten regular-season title When the Cats defeated Illinois in February 2020, it was a game for the ages. Students stormed the court, confetti flew down and players danced in celebration. Finally, for the first time in 30 years, NU had clinched a share of the Big Ten regular-season title.

The NCAA postseason was canceled that year as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. But the legacy of that team lives on through stars Lindsey Pulliam and Veronica Burton, who were both drafted in the WNBA. NU has had some bumps in the road since 2020, including not making the NCAA Tournament in 2022, but looks to rebound this season.

1982: NCAA starts women’s championships as AIAW halts operations

NU alums find professional success in women’s sports

By LUCAS KIM daily senior staffer @lucaskim_15

The passage of Title IX in 1972 and the subsequent establishment of women’s sports at Northwestern have sparked many careers in professional sports. However, not only are many professional wom en’s sports leagues relatively new, but they are also prone to a lack of investment, proper coverage and promotion. Due to this variability, some sports do not currently have a professional women’s league ––something that could change in the future. But that hasn’t deterred Wildcat alums from excel ling on the professional level.

Basketball

NU has sent four players to the WNBA in the league’s 26 year history, the most recent being Veron ica Burton of the Dallas Wings.

Burton, picked seventh overall in the 2022 WNBA Draft, was named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year three seasons in a row and led the nation in steals per game in both her junior and senior seasons. In her first professional season, Burton averaged just 15 minutes per game, but flashed her defensive potential after logging three steals in five separate games.

Competing against Burton is fellow Cat Nia Coffey, who was picked fifth overall in 2017 — the highest draft pick in NU basketball history. In Evanston, Coffey was named to the All Big Ten First Team for all four seasons, the only NU player to accomplish this feat.

After five years in the league and several injuries, Coffey has carved herself a starting role on the Atlanta Dream, averaging six points and five rebounds per game.

Soccer

The Cats have also found success in the 10-year-old National Women’s Soccer League with a trio of players drafted in the 2019 NWSL College Draft. This included program stars Kayla Sharples, Marisa Viggiano and Hannah Davison, all of whom helped lead NU to its best four-year stretch in program history from 2015-18.

Sharples and Viggiano are starters for the Chicago Red Stars and the Houston Dash, respectively, while Davison has played professionally overseas in Sweden and Scotland.

Lacrosse

The Cats are also well-represented in the new Athletes Unlimited Lacrosse League, which takes a unique spin on professional sports: Teams change each week and points are awarded individually instead of by team.

Out of the league’s 57 players, NU alums Lau ren Gilbert, Lindsey McKone, Ally Palermo and Jill Girardi all placed in the top 30 individually for the 2022 season.

Softball

One of the most accomplished professional women’s athletes is softball star Tammy Wil liams, who leads NU all time in hits, runs and total bases.

After graduating in 2009, Williams went on to

play in the now-defunct National Pro Fastpitch league. Between 2009 and 2015, Williams earned two Defensive Player of the Year awards, won the Cowles Cup Championship twice and helped the USA Softball Women’s National Team win the the World Championship.

Pre-2000

While men’s leagues have been around for quite a long time, it took a while for professional women’s sports leagues to be established following the pas sage of Title IX. Thus, many star athletes in the incipient stages of women’s athletics at NU could not compete in professional leagues like those of today.

Perhaps the most prominent example of this is Anucha Browne Sanders, dubbed “one of the most accomplished athletes in the school’s history,”

and arguably the greatest basketball player in NU history.

A two-time Big Ten Player of the Year and the nation’s leading scorer in 1985, the WNBA did not exist when Browne Sanders graduated, as the league came along 11 years later.

NU has also produced several pros in individual sports leagues such as the Women’s Tennis Associa tion, which existed since 1973.

Considering several sports do not have profes sional women’s leagues in the U.S., there are even more athletes who have not had the chance to showcase their talent and effort on a larger scale.

Nevertheless, as women’s sports leagues con tinue to develop and the University continues to invest in women’s sports, NU alumni will likely continue to perform highly at the pro level.

lucaskim2025@u.northwestern.edu

Graphic by Meher Yeda

Graduate attacker Lauren Gilbert looks upfield. Gilbert has worked with camps thanks to new NIL rules.

The Daily Explains: Northwestern’s Title IX policies

By RUSSELL LEUNG and MAIA PANDEY daily senior staffers @rjleung7 @maiapandey

Passed in 1972, Title IX prohibits sex-based discrimination at any U.S. educational institu tion that receives federal financial assistance, including Northwestern. In accordance with this statute, the University employs a suite of policies and staffers to tackle issues of sex discrimination, equity in athletics and sexual violence.

While NU does not have a formal Title IX office, it does staff a Title IX coordinator and three deputy coordinators — one of whom focuses on athletics compliance issues. The coordinators are part of the Office of Equity and oversee sex discrimination complaints across the University.

Along with tracking sexual misconduct incidents and responding to Title IX inqui ries, NU’s coordinators publicize the Univer sity’s policies and organize trainings to prevent sexual harassment and violence.

Janna Blais, deputy coordinator of athlet ics compliance issues, is a point of contact for any Title IX issues within the Athletics Department. Blais organizes training on Title IX issues for both staff and student athletes in the department.

Students have historically criticized NU’s Title IX policy — including its methods for evaluating consent — for not doling out adequate consequences to those accused of sexual assault. In 2021, former NU cheerleader Hayden Richardson (Weinberg ’21) filed a lawsuit against the University, alleging it had violated Title IX by covering up her claims of sexual harassment made in 2019.

According to University policy, NU judges consent questions based on “whether a sober, reasonable person in the same position knew or should have known” that the person implicated was unable to consent.

The confidentiality regarding Title IX issues to which students are entitled varies across per sonnel. While the Title IX coordinator and dep uty coordinators are not required to maintain confidentiality, all University Health Services staff are confidential resources — including athletic trainers and team physicians.

“Title IX Coordinators and Deputy Coordi nators are not a confidential source of support,” the Office of Equity’s webpage states. “While they will address your complaint with sensitiv ity and will keep your information as private as possible, confidentiality cannot be guaranteed.”

Confidential on-campus resources out lined in NU’s interim policy on Title IX sexual harassment for 2022-23 include the Center for Awareness, Response and Education; Counsel ing and Psychological Services; Religious and Spiritual Life; the Faculty Wellness Program; the Employee Assistance Program and the Office of the Ombudsperson. However, these resources may violate confidentiality in situa tions where an individual may be in imminent danger, among other scenarios that are required by law to report.

Community members may also seek Univer sity resources for Title IX issues, even if they do not wish to move forward with formal action. The Office of Equity will guide students on how to contact local and campus law enforce ment, but it does not force any individual to go to the police.

Presidential administrations have also revised and amended Title IX in recent years. In 2017, former president Donald Trump revoked guidance from the Obama administration that allowed transgender students to use the bath room that matched their gender identity.

The Biden administration has rolled back much of the Trump-era Title IX reform, with the U.S. Department of Education unveiling a set of amendments in June that would expand Title IX protections to include LGBTQ+

students. The DOE proposal would also restore the responsibility of schools to investigate all sexual harassment complaints, which the Trump administration rescinded in 2020.

As NU remains embroiled in the cheerlead ing lawsuit, some students’ negative experi ences with the Office of Equity have also raised concerns about the University’s Title IX pro cess. Still, University President Michael Schill told The Daily last month that NU is commit ted to combatting sexual discrimination and harrasment.

“Every university needs to address sexual violence,” Schill said. “That is just entirely unacceptable.”

russellleung2024@u.northwestern.edu maiapandey@u.northwestern.edu

Jonah Elkowitz/Daily Senior Staffer

Northwestern does not have a separate Title IX office, but rather four Title IX coordinators who work within the Office of Equity.

Isaacson: Title IX was a dream for my generation

MELISSA ISAACSON OP-ED CONTRIBUTOR

never

in the

it meant, as a restless fifth-grader who spent most of my time chasing after my brothers

the other boys in the neighborhood, I probably couldn’t have fully grasped it.

I did know is that there were tryouts for a new girls’ basketball team at Lincoln Hall Junior High the following year, and I could not have imagined more exciting news. I could dribble like crazy, and at barely five feet tall, I could launch shots from at least 15 feet out, though they were all hip. But none of that mattered.

There was a team, and a team meant real games. In a gym. With a coach. Maybe even something approximating a uniform. And I wanted in.

The problem was that tryouts were for sev enth- and eighth-graders, and Miss Schoeller was not particularly interested in my forlorn pleas as I peered through the crack in the gym doors.

“Missy, if I let you try out, I have to let all the sixth-grade girls,” she said as I glanced behind me at exactly zero other sixth-grade girls wanting to flout the rules.

So I waited. And wow, was it worth it.

To many of my students, Title IX is most commonly associated with the Office of Equity, the place on every college campus that addresses claims of sex discrimination, sexual misconduct and sexual harassment.

As for me, I consider the law responsible for who I am.

Title IX afforded me and the girls of my

generation the opportunity to take part in activities like organized sports and gain access to the life lessons that have long been passed onto little boys with their first base ball gloves and Little League teams. With it, I learned to set goals, sacrifice for the bet terment of the group and push myself past what I thought were my limitations.

It gave me the foundation and the courage to envision a future in which I could pursue a job traditionally held by men, and to with stand the discrimina tion that came along with that.

Even when there were clear violations of Title IX at our progressive suburban high school — and countless other schools across the nation — with resources tilted heavily toward the boys with superior uniforms, bigger travel budgets and more advantageous gym scheduling, it was certainly better than not having a team or a uniform or a place to play at all.

My teammates and I began our high school careers sharing the same uniforms worn by multiple girls’ teams and practicing and playing in the tiny dance studio or the “Girls’ Gym.” Playing there introduced an element of adven ture, having to stop suddenly after shoot ing a layup lest you might get concussed running into a wall. Four years later, playing in the “Boys’ Gym” to standing-room crowds with our male peers cheering us on, we won

the third-ever Illinois girls state basketball championship, our tournament games in Champaign televised on WGN broadcast to a national audience.

If the words “Title IX” were still not rolling off our tongues, the confidence it instilled in us certainly was. Suddenly, anything was possible. I had watched the 1976 Olympic Games and the first women’s bas ketball competition; I was mesmerized by players like Ann Mey ers Drysdale, Nancy Lieberman and Lusia “Lucy” Harris.

Two years later, the Women’s Profes sional Basketball League was estab lished, and the Chi cago Hustle’s Rita Easterling was the league’s first MVP.

Of course, I could be a sportswriter one day.

I remember the well-worn slogans of the 70’s, one in particular that sprung from Chicago-based ad agency Leo Burnett to promote Virginia Slims cigarettes. It later became the catchphrase of the women’s pro fessional tennis circuit, which the company sponsored: “You’ve come a long way, baby.”

Fifty years later, NU will recognize the most important law of the last half-century with programming Thursday night through Sunday morning. Gathering top scholars, policymakers, activists, executives, coaches, athletes and journalists, we will look at the impact of Title IX, how it has been adminis tered and more importantly, where and how it has failed.

Donna Lopiano, one of our panelists whose name is synonymous with Title IX, said this summer that “90% of institutions are out of compliance” at the Division I level. According to a USA Today investigation pub lished in May, among other inequities, top U.S. colleges and universities have cheated women out of their fair share of scholarship money and doctored rosters to make their athletic departments appear more balanced

despite limiting spots to women.

Amy Wilson, another one of our panelists and the author of the NCAA’s “The State of Women in College Sports,” will share data that show the inequities in women of color as student-athletes, and as coaches and administrators.

We have come a long way, baby, and I want every student on campus, both men and women, to learn about and appreciate the 37 words that altered my life and that of so many others. I want them to enjoy the compelling discussions we have planned, and I want them to be as frustrated as I am with how much further we have to go.

Melissa Isaacson is a Medill assistant professor and organizer of Northwestern’s Title IX at 50 conference. She can be contacted at Melissa. Isaacson@northwestern.edu. If you would like to respond publicly to this op-ed, send a Letter to the Editor to opinion@dailynorthwestern. com. The views expressed in this piece do not necessarily reflect the views of all staff members of The Daily Northwestern.

Classified Ads

THE DAILY NORTHWESTERN is not responsible for more than one incor rect insertion of an ad. Corrections must be received by 10am on the day before ad runs again, call 847-4917206. All Classifieds must be paid in advance and are not accepted over the phone. To run online, ad must run in print on same day. The Daily does not knowingly accept misleading or false ads and does not guarantee any ad or claim, or endorse any advertised product or service. Please use caution when answering ads, especially when sending money.

It is the policy of The Daily Northwestern to accept housing advertising only from those whose housing is available without discrimination with respect to sexual orientation, race, creed or national origin. The presumption is therefore, that any housing listing appearing here is non-discriminatory.

THE DAILY NORTHWESTERN is not responsible for more than one incor rect insertion of an ad. Corrections must be received by 10am on the day before ad runs again, call 847-4917206. All Classifieds must be paid in advance and are not accepted over the phone. To run online, ad must run in print on same day. The Daily does not knowingly accept misleading or false ads and does not guarantee any ad or claim, or endorse any advertised product or service. Please use caution when answering ads, especially when sending money.

HELP WANTED ADS are accepted only from advertisers who are equal opportu nity employers. The presumption, there fore, is that all positions offered here are available to qualified persons without discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual ori entation, marital status, age, handicap, or veteran status.

Complete the grid so each ROW, COLUMN and 3-by-3 BOX (in bold borders) contains every digit, 1 to 9. For strategies on how to solve Sudoku, visit www.sudoku.org.uk

SOLUTION

Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis

Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle

Edited by Patti Varol and Joyce Lewis

OCTOBER 27, 2022

By Michael Lieberman

It gave me the foundation and the courage to envision a future in which I could pursue a job traditionally held by men, and to with stand the discrimination that came along with that.

- MELISSA ISAACSON, Op-Ed Contributor

We have come a long way, baby, and I want every stu dent on campus, both men and women, to learn about and appreciate the 37 words that altered my life and that of so many others.

- MELISSA ISAACSON, Op-Ed Contributor

Photo courtesy of Northwestern University

Mother-daughter athlete duo talks impact of Title IX

By JOANNE HANER daily senior staffer @joanne_n_h

Athletics defined Tamara Bohlig’s North western experience. A varsity field hockey player for four years and varsity lacrosse player for three, Tamara Bohlig (Weinberg ‘91, Kel logg ‘97) spent much of her time in Evanston at practice and games.

Competing for the Wildcats from 19871991, Bohlig never could have imagined that her daughter would play lacrosse at NU 30 years later.

“How cool is that?” Bohling said. “That someday my daughter would end up playing for a national championship!”

When Bohlig played field hockey for the Cats, Title IX was in its infancy. At the time, the lacrosse team was largely dependent on the field hockey players of the time since both teams shared coaches.

At the time, Bohlig and her teams didn’t have their own designated place to play. They shared a field with the football team and prac ticed at odd hours to avoid conflicts. In fact, the women’s lacrosse team wasn’t able to watch football games because when the football team was home, the team was away and vice versa, Bohlig said.

“Who do you think got priority? And I get it,” Bohlig said. “That’s just how it was. It’s not like we complained about it. We didn’t know any different. It wasn’t like, ‘Woe is me.’ We were just so thrilled to be there.”

As she watches her daughter, sophomore midfielder Emerson Bohlig, play for the wom en’s lacrosse team today, she said she sees the impact of Title IX with the increase in resources and support for the team.

Emerson got her start in lacrosse because of her mother. Tamara, a Pennsylvania native, grew up surrounded by the sport, and Emerson said athletics have always been a significant part of her and her family’s lives.

In eighth grade, Emerson began attending training camps at NU over winter and sum mer breaks. At the camps, she learned from NU players. Now, it’s her turn to teach aspiring lacrosse players.

“I never expected to play here,” Emerson said.

“It’s really cool and weird at the same time. Once it became a reality, it’s hard to believe still.”

When comparing their experiences, Emer son and Tamara Bohlig see the differences Title IX made.

Tamara said she took the lessons she learned from her time as an athlete and applied them to her career. She currently works in northern California as a financial marketing executive,

and was invited to speak at the NU “From Ath lete to C-Suite” panel this Friday as part of the University’s 50 Years of Title IX programming commemorating Title IX’s 50 Year Anniversary.

“When equity was created, women crushed it,” Tamara said. “Evening the playing field –look what that did for women.”

Although there is still progress to be made, Emerson said she owes much of her athletic

career to Title IX. Tamara said her work ethic, career and children all exist because of the legislation.

“I wouldn’t be who I am without Title IX,” Tamara Bohlig said. “I can only imagine the fight to get there. I appreciate and am thankful for all the people who came before me.”

joannehaner2024@u.northwestern.edu

The Daily is an independent non-profit funded by advertising revenue and charitable donations from readers like you.

Many of America's top journalists honed their skills in The Daily newsroom. Help ensure this opportunity for future generations.

Your generous alumni contributions to the "We Will" campaign can by designated to The Daily Northwestern.

Visit our website for more information Dailynorthwestern.com/donate

Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but when you're rich and famous (soon) or even just looking to donate to a worthy cause, think of The Daily Northwestern.

Photo courtesy of the Bohlig family

Unlike her mother, Emerson Bohlig grew up in California, where lacrosse isn’t as prevalent of a sport.

50 years after Title IX, coaching disparities persist

By CHARLOTTE VARNES daily senior staffer @charvarnes11

Northwestern women’s basketball associate head coach Tangela Smith made headlines as a high school player. A Chicago native, Smith’s prowess on the court earned All-American honors.

When it came time for her recruiting pro cess, it wasn’t just the talented team that drew Smith to playing at Iowa.

“There was a woman head coach, (who was) like a mother figure away from home,” Smith said. “(Women coaches) are people players can look up to.”

Now, five years into her time at NU, Smith is one of three women coaches on the sidelines and one of two women of color. Yet, 50 years after the passage of Title IX, significant dispari ties remain for women and people of color in the sports coaching world.

Women hold just 41.3% of head coaching positions in Division I women’s sports, accord ing to 2021 data from the Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport. Among assistant coaches across Division I women’s athletics, only 47.2% are women and less than 30% are people of color.

For Smith, the solution to national coaching disparities is an easy one.

“Just hire (women),” Smith said. “It’s as sim ple as that. There are a lot of great women out there who can coach the game of basketball.”

Women’s basketball director of operations Karen Stack Umlauf (Communication ‘83) noted the importance of encouraging women to embrace the journey of coaching. She said she has a niece playing a Division I sport who has realized over the course of her college career that she might enjoy coaching instead of going into medicine.

At NU, the percentage of women head coaches is higher than the national rate at 63.6%, as seven of the 11 varsity women’s sports

are coached by women. Among women’s assis tant coaches, NU is similar to the national aver age at 48%. But the racial disparities are espe cially stark: no head coaches of NU women’s sports are people of color, compared to 17.8% nationally.

Field hockey coach Tracey Fuchs recalled fighting for opportunities to compete with boys when she was younger. Now, she leads a Divi sion I program in a sport that ranks among the “highest percentages” of having women coaches.

Beyond women leading women’s sports pro grams, Fuchs said it’s important that women break into the men’s sports world as well.

“Women should be coaching men’s soccer (and) basketball,” Fuchs said. “I mean, why can’t they coach baseball? We have a lot of men’s baseball coaches coaching softball. It’s just that people haven’t seen it… Having that diversity on any staff is only going to help your program.”

There is just one woman who is the head coach of an NU men’s program: Katie Robinson of swimming and diving. But having just one woman coaching a men’s sport puts NU well above the national average. With Robinson at

the helm of swimming and diving, NU has an average of 12.5% women head coaches of men’s sports. Nationally, the average is 4.5%.

Stack Umlauf made history as the first female assistant coach in the Chicago Bulls organiza tion. During her time with the Bulls, she said few women came to ask her about coaching roles. Instead, most wanted to talk with her about marketing.

Stack Umlauf said her experience with the Bulls taught her that showing interest in coach ing men’s sports can be a solution in itself. She spent decades with the organization before joining the coaching staff. When she did, some of her colleagues asked her why she hadn’t told them about her desire to join the staff sooner.

Returning to the college game at NU for the first time in decades, Stack Umlauf said gender coaching disparities in men’s basketball have caught her attention.

“It’s always struck me that there aren’t more (women coaching men’s programs), with how progressive we are in society,” Stack Umlauf said. “That’s got to improve. The more diversity you have, the better it is for (everyone’s) experience.”

cvarnes@u.northwestern.edu

Breaking down NU’s athletic spending by gender

By KATE WALTER daily senior staffer @katewalter03

Title IX requires that any educational insti tution receiveing federal funding cannot dis criminate in activities or programs, including athletics, on the basis of sex.

However, the legislation does not require equal funding for women’s and men’s college athletics. It only requires equal spending toward athletic scholarships, where schools must fund scholarships in proportion to the participation of men and women in the athletics programs. Beyond that, “treatment” and “benefits” for male and female athletes must be “equitable,” with no specific amount of spending required.

Conducted by the U.S. Department of Edu cation, the Equity in Athletics Disclosure Act Survey, is a mandatory study for any educational higher education institution that receives federal student aid.

The survey analyzes and compares the spending of men’s and women’s college athlet ics programs.

Here are takeaways from Northwestern’s spending in athletics from the reporting year of Sept. 9, 2020 to Aug. 31, 2021. The analysis notes that the COVID-19 pandemic may have impacted the revenues and expenses for the reported year.

Revenues and Expenses

The analysis shows that the total revenues of Northwestern men’s varsity teams in the reported year are around $56 million. Football’s total revenue is around $43 million, accounting for 76% of the total revenue for men’s sports and 64% for both men’s and women’s teams.

The total revenue of women’s varsity teams is $10.5 million. Women’s basketball accounts for over $1.2 million of the total women’s teams revenue, or around 11%,. The remaining sports account for $9.3 million.

Basketball is the only sport where both men’s and women’s teams revenues and expenses are reported individually. The men’s basketball team’s total expenses are $7.5 million, and the women’s basketball team’s total expenses are $3.9 million — 51% of the total men’s team expenses.

The revenue of the men’s basketball team in the 2020-2021 year is $8.8 million, while the women’s team is $1.3 million.

During the 2020-21 season, NU’s men’s basketball team finished with a 9-15 record, finding itself in the bottom three in Big Ten standings. The women’s team record that sea son was 16-9, finishing in the top five of confer ence standings.

These numbers are consistent with overall spending trends in college athletics. According to a June NCAA report, athletic departments in Division I schools spend two times more on men’s sports than on women’s sports, as reflected in the data for NU.

Operating Expenses by Team

The analysis defines operating, or game-day, expenses as all costs attributed to athletic con tests, including transportation, equipment and other costs.

Football clocks in as the NU men’s team with the highest operating expenses at about $2.0 million. Men’s basketball is next with $631,795 and baseball third with $325,822.

On the women’s side, basketball comes in first with its operating expense by team at $514,283, the third highest between both men’s teams and women’s teams. Lacrosse is next with $269,775, the fifth highest overall. Women’s softball fol lows with $215,316.

Overall, total operating expenses by men’s teams come in at $3,469,692 and women’s teams at $1,886,677. The total operating expenses for women’s teams is 54% of the total for men’s.

Athletic Scholarships

Title IX requires that athletic departments spend proportionally when it comes to allocat ing athletic scholarships. NU allocates its spend ing in this area with a 55% to 45% ratio of men to women, according to the data. Men’s teams at NU received $11,408,760 in athletically related student aid, while the women’s teams received $9,488,840. Despite the disparity, these schol arship amounts reflect the 55-45 ratio that NU must follow with its athletic aid.

As the smallest school in the Big Ten and the only private school in the conference, NU has the smallest number of participants out of any Big Ten team, with 267 participants on men’s teams and 265 participant’s on women’s teams. In comparison, Ohio State, the largest school in the Big Ten, has a total of 594 participants on men’s teams and 535 participants on women’s teams.

The report defines athletically related student aid as a scholarship offered by a school for par ticipation in its intercollegiate athletics. Other non-athletic aid isn’t included in the definition.

Despite having the lowest number of partici pants in varsity sports, NU spends only behind

Michigan when it comes to athletic-related stu dent aid for both men and women, and Ohio State for women’s teams. The data includes all Big Ten schools, except Penn State which is not included in the EADA report.

Ohio State spent $10.5 million on men’s teams, less than NU’s spending, but $9.5 million on women’s, more than the University’s spending on women’s teams. Even with OSU’s $369,533 in spending for coed teams, its total spending on athletically related student aid is $20.4 million in comparison to NU’s $20.9 million.

Head Coach Salaries

There are eight men’s varsity sports at NU and 11 women’s varsity sports. According to the report, the average annual institutional salary per head coach for men’s teams is $1.1 million. The average for women’s teams is $262,776, amount ing to an average difference of $892,032 between men’s team head coaches and women’s team head coaches. The total of men’s teams coaches’ sala ries was $9,238,464 and the total for women’s team coaches $2,890,536.

katewalter2025@u.northwestern.edu