Title IX Compliance Pressures and Institutional Adjustments in Intercollegiate Athletics: Evidence from the NCAA

Gender equity in intercollegiate athletics remains a central regulatory requirement under Title IX, while recent changes in the institutional environment raise new questions about how universities respond to gender imbalance. Using Equity in Athletics Disclosure Act data from 2010 to 2023, we examine how the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) institutions adjust athletic participation and spending following prior-year underrepresentation of women in athletics. We construct imbalance measures comparing women’s share of athletic participation to women’s share of undergraduate enrollment and estimate fixed-effects panel regressions linking prior imbalance to subsequent institutional adjustments. We find that institutions respond to underrepresentation by increasing women’s athletic participation and reducing men’s participation. Following the name, image, and likeness and the transfer-portal changes, universities increase women’s athletic participation even further. Financial adjustments, however, are marginally different. These findings indicate that roster expansion remains the primary mechanism through which institutions move toward proportionality under Title IX in the current intercollegiate athletics environment.