2 days ago
Photo: Southeastern Conference
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (February 3, 2022) – The Southeastern Conference on Thursday begins a year-long celebration of the anniversary of Title IX, the landmark legislation enacted half a century ago that has had a dramatic and lasting impact on opportunities for women in collegiate athletics.
Under the banner of “50th Anniversary of Title IX: Creating Opportunities,” the SEC’s celebration will include recognitions at Conference championship events, commemoration of achievements through online and social media channels, commemorative memorabilia and a collaboration with the SEC Network highlighting the advancement of women’s sports.
“Title IX has made an important impact on American society by providing women with opportunities to compete and succeed in sports,” said SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey. “The Southeastern Conference has been a leader in supporting women’s sports and today we cheer as those opportunities result in competitive success, academic accomplishment and community involvement for young women across our region. We look forward to recognizing those successes through this celebration.”
On June 23, 1972, the Title IX of the Higher Education Act was passed as U.S. legislation. It was enacted to ensure “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.”
The first Southeastern Conference title in a women’s sport was awarded in 1979 and over the ensuing years the SEC has won 112 national championships in all sports while thousands of young women have earned their college degrees on athletics scholarships.
The SEC launched www.SECsports.com/TitleIX on its official website Thursday, a site that will be updated throughout the year with information on activities around the Title IX anniversary celebration as well as a timeline of great moments in SEC women’s sports history. The SEC’s social media channels will also celebrate the anniversary over the course of the coming months.
On Thursday, all SEC women’s basketball teams will wear a commemorative pre-game warmup shirt that features a specially designed SEC-Title IX anniversary logo. The shirt will be worn throughout the remainder of the year by SEC teams in all sports on their first weekend of conference competition.
The anniversary will be commemorated at each of the SEC’s championship events the next 12 months, including the 2022 SEC Women’s Basketball Tournament in Nashville where 28 “SEC Title IX Trailblazers” – two individuals from each institution who were significant to the advancement of women’s athletics – will be honored. SEC Title IX Trailblazers are defined as those who “pushed the game forward” and laid a path advancing opportunities that have benefited and continue to benefit women in SEC sports.
The SEC has created a one-minute video celebrating the anniversary, with narration by Hall of Fame basketball player Tamika Catchings, that will be seen in arenas across the SEC and at all SEC championship events during the year as well as across the SEC’s social media channels.
The SEC will also highlight individual campus celebrations of Title IX by amplifying those efforts on the Conference’s digital platforms throughout the year.
Source by www.secsports.com
