The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights released guidelines Thursday that state colleges and universities must make financial aid funds. from name, image and likeness (NIL) related compensation is “proportionately” available to female and male athletes.
OCR IX. Complies with the title, which prohibits sex-based discrimination by schools and programs that receive federal funding. This means that schools must provide all student-athletes with equal access to benefits, opportunities, treatment, financial aid and scholarships, and accommodations.
Schools that provide financial support for sports — such as NIL-based funds — IX. According to the title, “to provide reasonable opportunities for awards to members of each sex in proportion to the number of students of each sex participating in interscholastic or intercollegiate events.” athletics,” saying to the nine-page notice.
The regulations do not require that male and female student-athletes be awarded the same number of awards or that the awards be of equal value. Instead, the agency says it will assess “whether the amount of athletic financial aid a school provides to men and women is fully proportional to the number of students of each gender participating in interscholastic or intercollegiate athletics at that school.”
A view of the NCAA logo on a basketball.
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This includes how the school assists its student-athletes in obtaining NIL agreements through advertising or support services. However, the agency said it will take into account differences brought about by “non-discriminatory” factors.
The agency says it doesn’t view NIL-related compensation provided by a third party as athletic support that would be subject to similar anti-discrimination requirements.
It is unclear how this will affect how schools navigate NIL compensation and athletic representation. The majority of NIL proceeds benefit football and men’s basketball, according to the study Opendorse, a research group focusing on NIL.
An Analysis by ESPNDisney, which shares parent company ABC News, found that most Power 5 sports teams disproportionately post men’s teams over women’s on social media. This difference was strong in almost all the schools analyzed, although the female groups outnumbered the male groups.
Notice that the University of Oregon is suing for a certificate seeking and pursuant to Title IX of the NIL. It comes amid allegations of title violations, in which female athletes say the school did not offer them the same treatment or benefits as female athletes. male counterparts
In the complaint, the athletes argued that the male student-athletes received benefits including: “budgets, customized equipment and gear in seemingly endless amounts; priority scheduling for training, practice and games; chartered flights to away games; hotel stays before home games… 25 hours of access to trainers and medical professionals; virtually unlimited advertising, including their name, image and likeness (NIL) opportunities and revenue advancement; highly paid coaches and assistant coaches with fancy offices and special equipment, including their own hot tub; and countless other types of support that you can hardly imagine.”
The school denied the claim in a March 2024 response to the complaint, saying it wants all athletes to “flourish” and listed many steps it has taken to benefit female athletes, including a “centrally identified and centralized fundraiser.” The women’s beach volleyball facility is located in the heart of the University of Oregon campus.”
The response stated: “There is no evidence that the University of Oregon engaged in gender discrimination against any of its student-athletes, male or female, past or present. Comparing women’s beach volleyball to soccer is not a proper Title IX analysis. This comparison does not recognizes the treatment and benefits provided to male and female athletes in the University of Oregon athletic department.
