National Survey Points Up Inequities in College Sports

April 15, 1994

A 1992 National Collegiate Athletic Association survey revealed sharp differences between men's and women's sports:

* Though college populations are divided roughly 50-50 between men and women, women account for only 31 percent of the athletes at Division I schools (the largest), 32 percent in Division II, and 35 percent in Division III.

* While 99 percent of all head coaches of men's sports are men, less than half of women's team's head coaches are women, a disparity that, ironically, has grown since the Title IX federal gender-equality mandate.

* Total operating expenses and recruitment dollars are much higher for men's sports than for women's. The vast majority of the difference is attributable to football.

* Coaching salaries, though close to parity in sports like golf and volleyball, show significant gaps in many sports, including soccer, baseball/softball, and basketball. Overall, head coaches of men's teams in Division I are paid almost twice what head coaches for women's teams receive.