"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 receiving Federal financial assistance."

Everything changed on June 23, 1972, when President Richard Nixon signed the Education Amendments Act, which contained Title IX. The historic legislation created equal opportunities for females and led to the rapid expansion of women's sports around the country.

Throughout the rest of 2022 and until April 2023, the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) will celebrate the 50th anniversary of Title IX being signed into law. 
 
The CCAA has been one of the leaders in the country in creating opportunities for women since the passing of Title IX. The conference has produced 52 NCAA team champions, including seven in 1982. The CCAA has also seen numerous student-athletes earn National Player of the Year honors, with Cal State San Bernardino's Alexis Cardoza being the most recent as she won the AVCA Player of the Year award in 2019 and 2021.

"When you tell current female student-athletes what women's athletics was like prior to Title IX, they look at you like you're crazy,” said CCAA Commissioner Mitch Cox. “And while we have all witnessed great strides over the last 50 years, the fact that we still see issues of inequality popping up at even the highest levels of intercollegiate athletics only proves that we still have work to do. I look forward to sharing the rich history of women's athletics in the CCAA and improving opportunities for all female student-athletes."
 
Over the next nine months, the CCAA will look at the significant moment that has led to changes in policies for women's sports and the great women's leaders that have come from the conference.
 
Beginning on June 23, 2022, the CCAA will start a campaign to look at the history of Title IX and its impact on the development of women in athletics at every level.
 
The campaign will then shift to highlighting the women leaders that have come through and are still part of the conference. This last year, the CCAA featured women as the Director of Athletics at six of the 12 universities, giving the conference the second-highest percentage of women leaders of any NCAA Division II conference.
 
Follow along to learn about those that have paved the way and continue to build the path for women's athletics. The campaign will focus and point of emphasis on all our social media platforms, in-venue reads and the CCAA homepage.

More Title IX Resources