The role of athletic scholarships

In order to field a competitive squad, Duke Football uses all 85 scholarships allotted to it as a way to attract promising players to Duke. The results of this recruitment effort—which Duke has coupled with other investments in the football program—are beginning to show, and we laud the team for its recent successes.

Although football scholarships have proven immensely valuable for the University, the current system of allocating athletic scholarships presents a set of difficult tradeoffs. In 1972 Congress passed Title IX, a portion of which seeks to promote gender equity in collegiate sports. To comply with Title IX, Duke counterbalances the 85 scholarships allotted to football by allocating an equal number of scholarships to women’s sports. As a result, it may put a strain on the allotment of scholarships for male non-revenue sports team, as adding scholarships for male athletes would knock Duke out of compliance with Title IX.

Gender equity in college sports—and Title IX, in particular—is extremely important. Given the historical disparities in funding and support between male and female collegiate athletic programs, Title IX not only has a strong legal justification, but it also aligns with Duke’s institutional priorities. It ensures that, at a University committed to providing all of its students opportunities for personal success, female athletes enjoy the same institutional support as their male counterparts. Diversity in athletics benefits participants—as it gives people who might not otherwise have a chance to hone their skill the ability to compete at a high level—and the student body at large—as it injects a large of number of talented and driven women into the undergraduate population.

It is important to remember, however, that a commitment to a strong football team and Title IX could put a strain on scholarship allotment for men’s non-revenue sports. These programs, and the students who participate in them, brim with skilled athletes. But, as we saw with Duke’s swimming and diving team last spring, programs suffer, in part, when they do not have a sufficient number of scholarships to recruit the top talent. These athletes work very hard and would benefit greatly if men’s non-revenue sports had a greater number of scholarships to dole out. Altering the current structure of Title IX would require legislative changes, however, and though amendments to Title IX might be worthwhile to consider, revisions to the law reside beyond Duke's immediate sphere of concern.

The value of both gender equality in athletics and a strong football team is sufficiently great to justify the current distribution of athletic scholarships. Using 85 of these scholarships to build a successful football team means more funding for all of Duke’s athletics programs, and allotting a large number of scholarships to women’s athletics means Duke can field highly competitive women's teams and, most importantly, offer opportunities and support to its female athletes.

The opinions in the daily editorial are formulated by 13 voting members of the board, who, as an independent group, are explicitly prohibited from writing or editing for other daily or weekly sections. Meet the Editorial Board.