By james art The thrill of victory and the anguish of defeat.
Sports in the US get involved in politics more often than we think, and student-athletes are often at the center of this ongoing debate. Although many athletes and programs strive to keep their sport separate from politics, the two are inherently intertwined and have been for some time.
The passage of Title IX in 1972 opened the door for universities to add female athletes in an attempt to balance the equal number of female and male athletic scholarships, requirement specified in the law. For the women rowers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, it’s an opportunity for athletes to learn, compete and wear the red badge with pride, even if they’ve never touched an oar before. With over 100 athletes in the program, head coach Vicki Opitz stressed the importance of the older generations inspiring the younger ones.
Although Title IX does not mention the sport, the requirement to provide equal funding and scholarships has led to tremendous growth for women’s rowing. In Wisconsin, the program offers a unique join opportunity that allows athletes to join the team without needing any previous rowing experience.
“Title IX really created an open door for a lot of women, certainly, maybe who didn’t grow up playing sports in the ’60s and ’70s,” Opitz told The Daily Cardinal. “I hope the pride continues as long as there is sports in Wisconsin, which should be forever.”
Some athletes had never heard of rowing before stepping foot on campus, but Opitz is committed to introducing them to Wisconsin’s special program.
“We’re taking those young people who maybe weren’t good enough to play the predominant sport in high school,” Opitz said. “Through a lot of hard work, sweat and enjoyment of the sport, they become very good at rowing.”
Wisconsin women’s rowing competes in a competitive and ever-expanding Big Ten Conference, and the Badgers’ program has sent 21 rowers to compete for the USA in the Olympics. Some of them were walks. Most recently, Lauren O’Connor, Grace Joyce, Madeline Wanamaker and Sophia Vitas competed for the USA at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
“I’m really proud to say that Wisconsin values equality in all areas,” Opitz said. “Men’s and women’s resources are exactly the same and they have helped the sport grow tremendously.”
But there is more work to be done
While women in the sport have the opportunity to compete for their respective teams at the Division I level, their media coverage is a miniscule amount compared to the men. Women’s college media coverage rarely exceeds 10% of total sports coverage, according to Purdue University.
“I hope women’s sports continue to grow and get on the television networks and I think there will be a platform that people always want to watch to support women’s sports,” Opitz said.
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The 2024 presidential election has brought women’s representation and equality to the fore, with presidential nominee Kamala Harris poised to become the first female president of the United States. Harris broke down gender barriers by getting up the first female Attorney General in San Francisco and later in California.
This also rings true for women rowers in Wisconsin, where Title IX allowed female athletes to compete at the Division I level and then go on to compete for their respective countries in the Olympics.
Women’s rowing has grown tremendously in resources and competition over the generations.
“There are so many more resources and opportunities for today’s student-athletes to be better in all aspects of not only being a student, but also being an athlete and also being a healthy person,” Opitz said.
College girls will now have the chance to express their voices and vote on issues that directly affect their lives. Harris’ campaign builds on this fact and seeks to mobilize not only female student-athletes, but a younger generation of voters with different priorities. They’ve found the perfect place to find a pool of potential voters: college football stadiums.
The Harris campaign also launched initiatives to pursue and capitalize on a growing audience of young male voters, reaching Americans both at home and in attendance with in-game advertising primetime slot on 5 Oct
“Winners never back down from a challenge. Champions know it’s anytime, anywhere. But the losers, they whine and nod and take the ball home,” the 30-second ad said statedmocking Trump’s decision to refuse a second debate with Harris on CNN earlier this month.
Harris’ campaign ran similar ads during Big Ten football games to audiences in Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania.
Student votes will play a decisive role in the outcome of this election, and there is no disputing that athlete issues are political issues as well. While Title IX has opened the door for many female student-athletes to compete in the sports they love, there is much more work to be done on the basis of equal coverage and representation for women’s sports.
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Shane Colpois is the sports editor for The Daily Cardinal. She has written extensively about the Wisconsin women’s hockey team’s victory.