Throughout my undergraduate experience, I embarked on a research project revolving around

gender equality and Title IX in NCAA Division III athletics. This work allowed me to gain a wider
perspective on the ways in which feminist theory can be applied to gender equality in Division III
athletics and helped me to develop an interest in not only the legislation of Title IX itself, but also in the
various perceptions regarding the legislation.
This interest led me to draft a proposal for a NCAA graduate grant looking at the perceptions of
gender equality within Division III athletics. This proposal, currently under review, took a look at surveys
conducted with 176 female and male student-athletes from four Division III institutions in the Landmark
Conference located in Pennsylvania, Maryland, and New Jersey to answer the overarching question of,
Do college athletics at your institution promote gender equality? The questions in the surveys asked
for general opinions and experiences regarding the ways in which those students see their gender roles
being played out in the realm of college athletics. The surveys showed that 67% of female student-
athletes felt that there was a significant discord in the ways female student athletes were treated within
their institutions athletic department while 71% of male student athletes surveyed also felt the same.
There were an even amount of female and male participants.
This data is important to understand as we do not always take into consideration how our
students perceive issues on a college campus. It is easy to take a look at the numbers, deduce whether
or not our institution is Title IX compliant, and make sure we are playing by the rules, but what do our
students think? How does all that is going on in the media revolving around Title IX in conjunction with
what student-athletes see happening on campus play a role in what our students think and how it is
impacting them? Perceptions can, at times, be just as important as the numbers.
The next step in this project is to conduct interviews with selected survey participants and
compare and contrast the quantitative data with that of the qualitative results. Gathering stories and
experiences from student-athletes will play a significant part in this research project.
Gathering student-athlete perceptions of gender equality within the realm of Division III
athletics is important in our ability as student affairs professionals to give our students what they need
most to be able to succeed. Without being able to gauge where our students are at, it is impossible to
meet them where they are.