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Winter 2023

Title IX

Karen Troyanello
Fall 2022

The face of the case

Track-and-field standout Karen (Blair) Troianello (’80 Comm.) became the face of the benchmark equal rights case against Washington State University.

Blair vs. Washington State University was a milestone for women’s rights in Washington, setting a precedent for public four-year colleges and universities. The case went to the state Supreme Court, which—in 1987—ruled in favor of the coaches and athletes.

Coaches and female athletes at WSU had sued the university in 1979 over inadequate funding and other support for women’s athletics under the state Equal Rights Amendment, enacted the same year as Title IX of the Education Amendments Act. The 1972 federal law states: “No person … » More …

NCAA-TitleIX logo
Fall 2022

Reflection: On 50 years of Title IX and the state’s equal rights amendment

Four years after Title IX was enacted, I headed off to WSU, hoping to study journalism and run track. At that point, I hadn’t even heard of Title IX, the landmark legislation that codified gender equity in education, though it probably played a role in my high-school sports career. It may be why the cross-country coach had to let a few of us girls turn out with the boys’ team—because we didn’t have one of our own.

I barely remember how I found my way onto the track team. In my memory, I saw a notice on a bulletin board and showed up for the … » More …

Winter 2007

History was made…The fight for equity for women’s athletics in Washington

Back in the late 1960s, when Jo Washburn was athletic director for women’s intramural sports at Washington State University, she had to stretch $1,200 to cover all the expenses of the volleyball, gymnastics, basketball, field hockey, skiing, and tennis teams.

Women’s athletics was a second-class affair. The athletes had to carpool to away games and sleep four to a hotel room to save money. They had to buy their own uniforms. They helped set up spectator seating for their meets. And they trained only when the facilities weren’t being used by the men’s teams. Few, if any, received athletic scholarships.

Meanwhile, their male counterparts traveled … » More …