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TCU 360

TCU 360

All TCU. All the time.

TCU 360

Ben Kirbo competing in an outdoor meet. (Photo courtesy of gofrogs.com)
Ben Kirbo: TCU's pole vault prodigy is springing new heights
By Madeleine Thornhill, Staff Writer
Published Apr 25, 2024
TCU sophomore pole vaulter Ben Kirbo has already set new program records, but he says he is far from done.

40 years later, Title IX tries to give students equal grounds in athletics

Since its enactment in 1972, Title IX has pushed the university to ensure the chances for women and men to compete were equal.

Title IX guarantees that schools receiving federal money must give equal opportunities in athletics to men and women. 

Former student athlete and current Assistant Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs Darron Turner said he remembered the difference between womens' and mens' teams when he was a student.

Turner said most of the athletic events in high school and earlier showed a majority of funding and attention was heavily given to males. The difference between the quality of uniforms compared between men and women were different as well, he said.

“So, the early part of you thinks that’s just how it is,” Turner said. “Female athletes that I knew were very good.  We should have been providing more opportunities earlier, and so I’m excited that we’re providing those opportunities now.”

Currently, all-female teams at the university include basketball, golf, volleyball, soccer, tennis, rifle and equestrian. 

“That’s the power of Title IX, that we see more women excelling in sports at the highest level,“ Kim Johnson, associate athletics director and senior women's administrator, said. 

She said the university isn't lacking when it comes to making resources available to coaches to recruit the best athletes. 

Sarah Scherer competed at the 2012 Olympics as a rifle team member and is a member of TCU’s rifle team. She said the rifle team was unique because the team is all-female and benefits from Title IX’s implications.

She said she believed the university was doing well by keeping the chance for athletes to compete open and equal.

According to the U.S. Department of Education, there were 277 men and 215 women competing at the varsity level at the university in 2011.

Johnson said TCU Athletics wants to create new offices for the coaches that are currently in the Worth Hills Building. This would be one more way administration is trying to make the resources for all teams and their members as equal as possible. 

 

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