Master of Arts, University of Toledo, 2021, History

The focus of this thesis encompasses a developing history of collegiate women's sports at a single institution. I trace the history of the University of Michigan's women's sports from women as participants to achieving equality as amateurs. Female students began participating in sport in the 1890s. This was a result of many factors including European influences, sporting organizations, and the sport of basketball. This was followed by a second wave of collegiate women's sports resulting from local, regional, and national sporting organizations. These institutions organized equality through advancing women's sport to include intersocial and intersorority sporting activity. Furthermore, these developments culminated in a transition to women's intercollegiate sporting competition. I emphasize national sporting organizations and Title IX as tools for institutionalizing equality for collegiate women's sports. The AIAW (Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women) and the NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) both provided structure for collegiate sport. I recount each organizations' impact on women's sporting equality. I also emphasize the legal implications of these organizations' stance on women's competition. This harmonizes with the passing of Title IX in 1972. This legislation, an education amendment banning sex discrimination, was defined by the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare in 1975. The HEW required schools to adhere to their interpretation of the amendment. I recount the impact of this call for compliance by urging consideration of legal exogeneity for institutions' adherence. Women's teams received more funding and resources as schools complied with the HEW and NCAA's vision for women's sport. The main conclusion is women achieved sporting equality through both legal endogeneity and changing ideals for amateurism from 1898 to 1978. I recount this progress at a single institution, the University of Michigan.

Committee: Michael Stauch (Advisor); Kim Nielsen (Committee Member); Roberto Padilla II (Committee Member) Subjects: History