On October 29th, the NCAA announced its plan to pay college athletes for their image, likeness, and name. This has raised a lot of concern among the collegiate community because of its implications on gender equality. Title IX states that male and female athletes must be presented equal opportunities to participate in a sport, which means men and women should get equal funding for their respective sports. 

Since the NCAA has stated they will pay college athletes, many have wondered how this will coexist with Title IX.  Freshman Ricardo Cabrera says that he plans to play sports in college and thinks that, “Paying athletes is a good idea because it gives them a greater motive to play.”  Freshman Angel Villa agrees, “It relieves the athletes stress and gives them the opportunity to have enough time for their schoolwork and athletic commitment.” Either Title IX will have to be adjusted or abolished completely.

According to Business Insider, the highest-earning collegiate sport is football, with the average college earning 31 million dollars annually.  This salary is greater than all female collegiate sports combined. The highest earning female collegiate sport is basketball, which brings in an average of 1.8 million dollars a year per school, compared to men’s collegiate basketball at 8.2 million. The drastic difference in revenue between male and female sports makes Title IX useless with the amount of money that each gender earns. This is very important for younger people to be aware of because this can directly impact future decision making.