Transforming a Generation
Sweeping Change in Women's Sports
By Diane Acerni

Diane DeSalvo knows that E.R.A. has a meaning other than one pertaining to pitching, as she distinctly remembers the 1970 s as a time of sweeping change in women's sports.

As her daughter Marisa was representing Freeport High School at the 2006 P.I.A.A. track and field finals, DeSalvo made the observation that, "There weren't any opportunities like this when I was in high school."

She knows from experience. For those who grew up with the benefits of Title IX "the Equal Rights Amendment of athletics" gender equity in sports may not be a pertinent issue.

That was not the case 30 years ago.

In 1977, 50,000 men and fewer than 50 women were attending college on athletic scholarships.

In one generation's time, Title IX "and perhaps just as important, the changes in attitudes that came with it" has drastically altered the course of women's sports.

Some examples of the progress in opportunity in the past three decades:

* In 1971, 18 percent of female and 26 percent of male high school students completed a four-year college degree. By 1994, the gap had closed, with both genders graduating 27 percent.

* In 1964, Olympic gold medalist Donna DeVerona was denied a college scholarship in the very same event, swimming. Thirty years later, approximately one third of athletic scholarship money was awarded to women.

* In 1972, approximately 132,000 girls played high school basketball. A more than 300 percent increase over 20 years saw 412,000 participating in the 1994-95 season.

Diane DeSalvo was one of those pioneers of the early '70s, as basketball was the first interscholastic sport made available for girls by the Freeport School District.

MAKING THE MOST OF MORE OPPORTUNITIES

More women are now given the chance at a college education because of athletics. Taking this opportunity, what are these female athletes doing with it?

Comparing graduation success rates of Division I female athletes from 1995-1998 with the overall federal rates, government data readily shows student-athlete rates of graduation were consistently higher than those of the general population.

Whether post-graduate life has been similarly impacted is more difficult to discern, but a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services report offers information that may be accredited in some way to the equity provided by increased athletic opportunity:

* In 1997, 80 percent of female managers of Fortune 500 companies had a sports background.

* In 1972, 9 percent of medical degrees were awarded to women; that percentage rose to 38 percent in 1994 and 44 percent in 2003.

* Dental degrees were given to 1 percent of females in 1972, 38 percent in 1994, and 44 percent in 2003.

* The percentage of law degrees earned by women in 1972 was 7; by 1994 it was 43 percent.

There also seems to be correlation in the career choice of female athletes, especially health-related ones, more specifically those involving some aspect of sports.

Shelly Miller, M.S.P.T., has been a licensed physical therapist for 20 years, the last 15 spent working in the Ford City area for Keystone Rehabilitation Systems.

A two-time Pitt graduate, most recently with a master's degree specializing in orthopedics, Miller played intercollegiate volleyball as a physical therapy major undergraduate student.

"Athletics definitely made an impact on my choice of careers," she says. "Without sports, I don't know if I would have chosen this major."

Miller participated in the volleyball program without a grant. "When I graduated from high school (1982), it was almost unheard of for a girl to get an athletic scholarship. But, I benefited in many other ways. The leadership, as well as teamwork skills, that I developed through playing sports helped me to develop professionally."

Miller sees physical therapy as "a nice blending of sports and medicine." A wife and mother of two, Miller has encouraged both of her children to be active in sports and says she has found the opportunities for her daughter, an 11 year-old aspiring pediatrician, to be "exponentially greater" than the activities available to her as a youth.

Marisa DeSalvo, who was introduced to organized sports through soccer as an elementary school-aged child, will attend West Liberty State College in West Virginia this fall, with the majority of her expenses paid for by a volleyball scholarship.

She credits athletics for helping her maintain good grades. "You aren't eligible to play if your grades are bad," she says, and she looks forward to the structure that an athletic program will provide her in college.

"Players are required to attend study sessions every day," DeSalvo says, "and I know that will help me, too."

And, what will DeSalvo study?

"I want to be an exercise physiologist," she says. "I think it will be great because I'll be able to combine helping others with staying active."

DeSalvo's strategy comes from a sound parental base. Her hoop-shooting mom's nursing career of almost three decades has been a strong influence on her decision making.

Marisa says of her mom, "My mom definitely influenced my choice of a major. I see how happy she is in her work and I'd like to help people, too."