Utah State Ranks Eighth in the Nation in Gender Equity Study

Utah State University’s Athletics Department ranked eighth in the nation in providing equal opportunities for women in sports, according to the fourth annual Gender Equity Scorecard that was recently released.

The study was conducted by Charles L. Kennedy, a professor at Penn State University-York.

 

The Gender Equity Scorecard graded the colleges in Division I-A according to their degree of commitment to women’s sports for the 2004-05 academic/athletic year. The scorecard was based on the criteria of participation, scholarship, coaches’ salaries, recruitment budget and operating expenses.

 

Overall, Utah State was one of just 11 schools to receive an “A” on its scorecard, while the Western Athletic Conference was awarded the top conference honor as Nevada and Hawai’i also received an “A.” In all, 113 colleges from 11 major Division I conferences were studied.

 

Utah State sponsors nine women’s varsity sports that feature approximately 135 student-athletes. During the last 12 years, Utah State has added two sports with the addition of women’s soccer prior to the 1996 season and the reinstatement of women’s basketball in 2003 after a 17-year hiatus.