Advertisement

These 20 universities stiffed female athletes the most on scholarships. We asked them why

Louisiana State University, located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, shorted female athletes by nearly $1 million on scholarship money, according to its public-facing data. But the school said those numbers are wrong and that it complies with Title IX.

Fifty years after Congress outlawed sex discrimination in education, including sports, via Title IX, the majority of public schools that compete in the NCAA's Football Bowl Subdivision — the highest echelon of college sports — have failed to comply with Title IX's scholarship requirement, a USA TODAY investigation found.

The calculation for the Title IX scholarship requirement is relatively straightforward: The percentage of athletic scholarship dollars a college awards male and female athletes must fall within 1 percentage point of their representation in the athletic department.

A school where 45% of athletes are women, for instance, must give the female athletes between 44% and 46% of its athletic financial aid. That's according to policy of the U.S. Department of Education, which oversees Title IX.

But of 107 public FBS universities, only 32 complied with the requirement, according our analysis of data the schools reported to the Department of Education and the NCAA.

Read the full investigation: Female athletes stiffed on scholarships at some of the biggest colleges in the country

At each of the 20 FBS public schools whose public-facing data showed the highest levels of discrimination against female athletes in 2020-21, their percentage of female athletes was at least 3.5 points higher than the percentage of scholarship money female athletes received.

We asked the schools why they fell outside the required 1-percentage-point range. Here's how they responded:

Boise State and Georgia State

  • Boise State: 5.6 percentage points outside requirement

  • Georgia State: 3.1 percentage points outside requirement

Boise State University and Georgia State University admitted they did not comply with Title IX's scholarship requirement. Both said their numbers were thrown off by an NCAA rule adopted in response to COVID-19 that gave some athletes an extra year of eligibility.

Georgia State additionally said its reported numbers were incorrect and provided updated numbers, which showed it was still out of compliance but by less.

East Carolina and LSU

  • East Carolina: 5.2 percentage points outside requirement

  • LSU: 4.8 percentage points outside requirement

Louisiana State University and East Carolina University said their public-facing data wasn't accurate. The schools provided alternative numbers to USA TODAY that showed LSU squarely in compliance and ECU off by half a percentage-point.

What the data means: 5 charts show athletic scholarships’ bias toward football — and against women

New Mexico, Wyoming, Ohio, Nevada

  • New Mexico: 8.8 percentage points outside requirement

  • Wyoming: 5.5 percentage points outside requirement

  • Ohio: 4.8 percentage points outside requirement

  • Nevada-Las Vegas: 5 percentage points outside requirement

The University of New Mexico, University of Wyoming, Ohio University and the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, claimed their gaps — all greater than 4.5 percentage points — were explained by permissible, non-discriminatory reasons. For instance, they said a greater share of their male athletes came from out-of-state or attended summer school, while more female athletes received non-athletic academic aid.

Eastern Michigan

  • 4.7 percentage points outside requirement

Eastern Michigan University said it complied with "all aspects of Title IX" and provided no explanation for its disparity. The school’s athletics program currently operates under a consent decree and monitoring by a court-appointed referee. The decree resolved a Title IX lawsuit filed four years ago. The referee’s first report, in August 2021, said the university was making satisfactory progress and working in good faith to comply.

South Florida, Central Michigan and New Mexico State

  • South Florida: 8 percentage points outside requirement

  • Central Michigan: 7.4 percentage points outside requirement

  • New Mexico State: 5.4 percentage points outside requirement

The University of South Florida, Central Michigan University and New Mexico State University did not dispute their noncompliance but did not answer USA TODAY's question. They provided statements touting their progress on Title IX in the last 50 years and compliance with the law in other areas.

San Diego State, Florida International, Utah State, Miami (Ohio), Appalachian State, Bowling Green State, Minnesota

  • San Diego State: 6.6 percentage points outside requirement

  • Florida International: 7 percentage points outside requirement

  • Minnesota: 5 percentage points outside requirement

  • Appalachian State: 4.7 percentage points outside requirement

  • Bowling Green State: 3.7 percentage points outside requirement

  • Miami (Ohio): 5.6 percentage points outside requirement

  • Utah State: 6.1 percentage points outside requireme

San Diego State, Florida International University, Utah State University, Miami University of Ohio, Appalachian State University and Bowling Green State University did not respond to multiple emails.

University of Minnesota officials did not respond after initially asking for more time, which USA TODAY granted.

Michigan State

  • Michigan State: 4.4 percentage points outside requirement

Michigan State University, which was sued for Title IX violations by female athletes last year, declined to comment, citing pending litigation.

Read the full series: Title IX: Falling short at 50

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: These 20 schools stiffed female athletes on scholarships. We asked why