Title IX and Athletics

Title IX prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in education programs and activities receiving Federal financial assistance. Athletics are considered an integral part of an institution’s education program and are therefore covered under Title IX.

The National Collegiate Athletic Association’s (NCAA) Commission to Combat Campus Sexual Violence was created in 2016 by the NCAA Board of Governors to proactively examine issues and propose solutions related to what athletics departments, conferences and the national Association could do to address campus sexual violence to achieve positive culture change.

In accordance with the Association’s sexual violence prevention efforts, the NCAA Board of Governors adopted an Association-wide policy, recommended by the NCAA Commission to Combat Campus Sexual Violence, in August 2017 to reinforce previous Association efforts.

The policy requires schools to focus on sexual violence prevention each year by having each university chancellor/president, director of athletics and Title IX coordinator annually attest that:

  • The athletics department is fully knowledgeable about, integrated in, and compliant with institutional policies and processes regarding sexual violence prevention and proper adjudication and resolution of acts of sexual violence.
  • The institutional policies and processes regarding sexual violence prevention and adjudication, and the name and contact information for the campus Title IX coordinator*, are readily available within the department of athletics, and are provided to student-athletes.
  • All student-athletes, coaches and staff have been educated on sexual violence prevention, intervention and response, to the extent allowable by state law and collective bargaining agreements.
  • The following University of Tennessee NCAA member campuses submitted an attestation form for the 2018-2019 year:

Note: Information on this page retrieved from the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s website at http://www.ncaa.org/about/2020-21-campus-sexual-violence-attestation-form