[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 91 (Wednesday, June 25, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6380-S6381]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                             FAIR PLAY ACT

  Ms. SNOWE. Mr. President, I am extremely pleased to note that this 
week we celebrate the 25th anniversary of title IX, landmark 
legislation that has played an enormous role in leveling the playing 
field--literally--for women in sports. I was also pleased last week to 
join my colleagues, Senator Moseley-Braun, Kennedy, and Mikulski, to 
mark this anniversary by introducing the Fair Play Act, legislation 
which will take the next important step in increasing educational and 
athletic opportunities for young women.
  There is no question that sports are just as important an activity 
for girls and women as they are for boys and men. Through sports, girls 
and women can get a feel for the positive competitive spirit which was, 
until recently, the almost exclusive property of boys and men. Women 
and girls who participate in sports develop self-confidence, 
dedication, a sense of team spirit, and an ability to work under 
pressure--traits which enhance all aspects of their lives. In fact, 80 
percent of women identified as key leaders in Fortune 500 companies 
have sports backgrounds.
  When I was a young girl growing up, girls and women did not have much 
opportunity to participate in competitive athletics. But the enactment 
of title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 changed all that, by 
requiring that women be afforded equitable opportunities to participate 
in high school and college athletics. Since title IX's enactment, women 
and girls across the Nation have met the challenge of participating in 
competitive sports in record numbers. Since 1972, the number

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of college women participating in competitive athletics has gone from 
fewer than 32,000 to over 110,000 in 1994-95. Before title IX, fewer 
than 300,000 high school girls played competitive sports. By 1996, that 
number had climbed to almost 2.4 million.
  Today, women across America are taking bats, lacrosse sticks, and 
javelins to the glass ceiling--shattering the myth that there are 
``men's'' sports and there are ``women's'' sports. But a quarter-
century after title IX's enactment, there is still much more to be 
done. According to a recent NCAA study, only 23 percent of all current 
college athletic budgets are allocated to women, and women receive only 
38 percent of athletic scholarship dollars. Only 27 percent of funding 
spent to recruit new athletes target women. In high-school athletic 
competitions, there are two boys to every one girl participating.
  The Fair Play Act, which we introduced to mark the 25th anniversary 
of Title IX, is designed to strengthen this important legislation and 
therefore enhance women's athletic and educational opportunities. Under 
current law, colleges and universities are required to compile 
information about their men's and women's athletic programs, including 
participation rates, operating and recruitment budgets, the 
availability of scholarships, revenues generated from athletic 
programs, and coaches' salaries. They are required to update this 
information annually and make it available to prospective students and 
others upon request. Because there is no central repository for this 
information, however, it is difficult for students to obtain and 
evaluate it or put it into context.
  The Fair Play Act is designed to correct this by directing colleges 
and universities to send information they already collect on their 
men's and women's athletic programs to the Department of Education, and 
directs the department to publish an annual report and make this 
information widely available by distributing the annual report to high 
schools, and establishing a toll free number and a web site. This bill 
will give students and families access to the kind of information they 
need to make informed decisions about where to go to school, and will 
help the Department of Education enforce title IX compliance in the 
area of athletics.
  The first 25 years of title IX have been an enormous success. Now, 
it's time for us to help millions of other girls and women get off the 
bleachers, the sidelines, and the viewing stands and onto the fields, 
the pitchers' mounds, and the courts. I urge my colleagues to support 
this legislation, and look forward to seeing what the next 25 years 
hold for women's accomplishments in sports.

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