40 years of Title IX - KMSP-TV

40 years ago, one of the most famous pieces of U.S. legislation was signed into law.

It's called Title IX and it says that "No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity."

It opened the door for women in sports and is credited to this day for the reason millions more girls are playing sports at a young age and going on to play at the college and pro level.

There has been a long-standing myth argued by many people that says Title IX is the reason many men's sports your cut from colleges and universities.

But, research shows that's not the case.

In the 40 years since it passed, Title IX has played an important role in girls' and women's sport participation in the United States. Record numbers of females are playing sports at all levels.

In 1972, the year Title IX was passed, 1 in 27 girls played sports; in 2012 that number is approximately 1 in 2.5. Today, females comprise approximately 40 percent of all interscholastic and intercollegiate sport participants.

But, there's still room to grow. Women are scarce in positions of power within sports organizations. Proportionally fewer female head coaches of female college athletes exist in 2012 (about 43 percent), than in 1972 (about 90 percent).

In collegiate, interscholastic and youth sport, females comprise less than 20 percent of all coaches. Only five of the 120 athletic directors in NCAA Division I-A-the biggest and most prominent collegiate programs-are female.