USA TODAY’s “Title IX: Falling short at 50” exposes how top U.S. colleges and universities still fail to live up to the landmark law that bans sexual discrimination in education. Title IX, which turned 50 in summer 2022, requires equity across a broad range of areas in academics and athletics. Despite tremendous gains during the past five decades, many colleges and universities fall short, leaving women struggling for equal footing.
What happens if a school doesn’t comply with Title IX? Not a whole lot.
Enforcement of the federal gender-equity law is essentially toothless, mired in red tape and delays as aggrieved students wait years for relief. Read the story
Colleges expel few sexual misconduct offenders while survivors suffer
Tens of thousands of sexual misconduct reports filed across dozens of colleges led to just 1,094 students suspended and 594 expelled over seven years. Read the story
How many students did your university suspend or expel for sexual misconduct under Title IX?
Explore the results of a first-of-its-kind data analysis of Title IX case outcomes from dozens of the nation’s largest public universities. Explore the data
She reported him for rape, but he stayed on campus and struck again
Marshall University didn’t expel a student after a rape claim. Victims reveal how the school failed them under Title IX. Read the story
Female athletes stiffed on scholarship money at top US colleges
The schools that cheated women of their fair share should have given them $23.7 million more in athletic scholarships in 2020-21, USA TODAY found. Read the story
5 charts show athletic scholarships’ bias toward football — and against women
While most football and basketball players receive full-ride scholarships, many athletes' aid falls short of covering their college costs. Explore the graphics
Women still underrepresented in college sports 50 years after Title IX
Many of the nation’s top football colleges don’t give enough roster spots to women. Read the investigation
Padding the numbers
Title IX was intended to close the gender gap in college athletics. But schools are rigging the numbers. Read the investigation
Explore the timeline
Title IX aimed to get women into grad schools. Over 50 years, it shaped their role in sports. Learn more
Is your school skirting Title IX’s intent?
See which colleges inflated their women's rosters to look more balanced and how they did it. Explore the analysis
How to game the numbers for Title IX
You're the new athletic director at Big State University. How can you make your women's sports rosters look bigger without adding any new teams? Explore the graphic novel
Breaking down the roster numbers
College athletic programs rely on three key methods to boost women's roster spots without adding new teams or athletes. Explore the data
‘They’ve had 50 years to figure it out’
Despite progress driven by Title IX, colleges devote fewer resources to women’s sports, based on a first-of-its-kind data analysis by USA TODAY. Read the investigation
Funding of college sports falls short of law’s promise to women
Eight charts detail the disparities in spending on men’s and women’s sports in similar major college programs. Explore the graphics
Inside the numbers
Searchable data offers glimpse into how colleges short-change women’s sports. Search the data
Q&A on law’s impact
Misconceptions persist about how Title IX is enforced, what protections it affords women, and if it’s unfair to male athletes. Read the Q&A
Title IX: 'Revolutionary' legislation, but inequalities still exist 50 years later
Half a century after the passage of Title IX, female students and athletes still struggle to achieve equality in important ways.
Jasper Colt and Hank Farr, USA TODAY