During her career, Mia Hamm was considered to be one of the world’s best all-around women’s soccer players. She held the record for scoring more international goals in her career than any other player, male or female, for nine years. Hamm helped the U.S. national soccer team win gold medals in the 1996 and 2004 Olympic Games.

Hamm was born in 1972, the same year the U.S. government passed a law called Title IX. The law forbids discrimination against girls or women in schools or colleges that receive money from the U.S. government. Title IX reads in part:

“No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.”

In the year before the Title IX law was passed, only 300,000 high school girls participated in school sports compared to more than 3 million boys. Today, over 4.6 million boys play in high school sports, and the number of girls in high school sports has grown to over 3.4 million. It is still true that fewer girls than boys participate. However, these numbers are not as disproportionate as they were 50 years ago.

Some people think that Title IX led to better, or more adequate, representation of women in colleges. For example, the year Hamm was born, only 9% of medical degrees were earned by women. That percentage has jumped to 52%. Many say that these examples illustrate how important it is to have laws that give both men and women the same opportunities in athletics, as well as in college admissions.

One case that highlighted the inequities of college funding for female sports was resolved in the early 1990s. A judge ordered Indiana University of Pennsylvania to restore funding for women’s gymnastics and field hockey. The university wanted to focus its resources or funding on men’s football. But the judge said that money problems and a desire for football prestige were not excuses for violating Title IX.

Is it appropriate for judges and lawyers to determine the sports programs at colleges? Some people feel that colleges know how to make the best decisions for their particular situations and that the law should be more flexible. They say that sports like football and men’s basketball often generate more money and attention for colleges.

What do you think? Should female sports receive the same funding as male sports? Or should schools focus their funding on programs that generate the most money?