Building off of our recent series, The Life and Legacy of Muhammad Ali Blog Series, the Sport in American History blog is happy to announce a new series titled Title IX at 45.

On June 23, President Richard Nixon signed into law the Educational Amendments Act of 1972, which included Title IX. This law, which bars discrimination based on sex in educational institutions, had wide-reaching effects. It has opened opportunities for girls and women in STEM fields and in technical education. It also made it possible for pregnant and parenting students to continue their education. Sexual harassment at schools and colleges also falls under the purview of Title IX. However, one of the most culturally significant impacts of Title IX was in the world of sport, as high schools and universities introduced girls’ and women’s teams to alleviate past discrimination.

U.S. Women’s National Team at the 2012 CONCACAF tournament. Courtesy of rachael.c.king (Flickr)

In 2012, celebrations of Title IX’s 40^th anniversary included cultural analyses of how the law impacted women’s sport. Prominently, ESPN produced a Nine for IX series (in the vein of their 30 for 30 documentary series) that explored the advances and challenges faced by women athletes, coaches, and journalists. This blog series aims to continue these conversations about the impact Title IX has had on girls’ and women’s sport, physical education, and exercise.

The editors of this blog series seek submissions for posts that examine a wide variety of topics regarding Title IX. Submissions may include, but are not limited to, posts that look at specific athletes or teams directly affected by Title IX, the challenges still facing women and girls in sport, the legal implications of Title IX, controversies that have arisen in the 45 years since the law’s implementation, and how differing impacts of Title IX work together (e.g., sexual harassment and sport).

Full post submissions should be 1,500-3,000 words, written for a general audience, and include hyperlinked and/or endnote citations. Posts will be reviewed by guest editor Colleen English and the Sport in American History editorial team. For full considerations, please submit posts by May 26, 2017. Questions and submissions should be emailed to SportinAmericanHistory@gmail.com.

Guest editor Colleen English is an Assistant Professor of Kinesiology at Penn State Berks. Her research focuses on the philosophic and historical dimensions of sport, with emphasis on gender. Her upcoming work will appear in the Journal of the Philosophy of Sport. She can be reached at cue113@psu.edu or on Twitter @colleen_english.