IV 
118TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. CON. RES. 54 
Expressing the sense of Congress that title IX of the Education Amendments 
of 1972 applies to the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA), 
and the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) should work 
to prevent discrimination on the basis of sex in its programs and activi-
ties. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JUNE 23, 2023 
Ms. SHERRILL submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was 
referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce 
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 
Expressing the sense of Congress that title IX of the Edu-
cation Amendments of 1972 applies to the National Col-
legiate Athletics Association (NCAA), and the National 
Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) should work to 
prevent discrimination on the basis of sex in its programs 
and activities. 
Whereas title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (20 
U.S.C. 1681 et seq.) prohibits sex discrimination in all 
educational programs and activities that receive Federal 
assistance, including athletics programs; 
Whereas title IX was intended to avoid the use of Federal re-
sources to support discriminatory practices and to pro-
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•HCON 54 IH 
vide individuals effective protection against such prac-
tices; 
Whereas title IX does not, on its face, confine the list of 
those liable under the statute to ‘‘recipients’’ of Federal 
funds, but simply prohibits discrimination ‘‘under any 
education program or activity receiving Federal financial 
assistance’’; 
Whereas, in the applicable implementing regulations for the 
Department of Education, the Department of Education 
requires educational programs to offer students of all 
sexes equal opportunities to play sports, to allocate ath-
letic scholarships equitably, and to treat athletes of all 
sexes equally with respect to other benefits and services. 
(Benefits and services include equipment and supplies, 
scheduling of games and practice times, travel and daily 
allowance, locker rooms, practice and competitive facili-
ties, medical and training facilities and services, housing 
and dining facilities and services, publicity and pro-
motions, support services, and recruitment of student 
athletes.); 
Whereas the section 908 of the Education Amendments of 
1972 (20 U.S.C. 1687) broadly defines a ‘‘program or 
activity’’ that receives Federal funds to mean all of the 
operations of a list of entities, including colleges and uni-
versities, private organizations principally engaged in 
education, and any other entity established by 2 or more 
of the listed entities—or what Congress termed the 
‘‘catch-all’’ provision; 
Whereas, in interpreting title IX, Federal courts have cor-
rectly held that any entity that exercises controlling au-
thority over a federally funded program is subject to title 
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IX, regardless of whether that entity is itself a recipient 
of Federal aid; 
Whereas Federal courts have held that State athletic associa-
tions exercise controlling authority over interscholastic 
athletics programs and are therefore subject to title IX 
(Among other things, State athletic associations set 
sports seasons, sponsor State championship tournaments, 
and set eligibility requirements for student participation 
in sports. Their membership is comprised primarily of 
educational institutions that receive Federal funds and 
must comply with title IX. In order for State athletic as-
sociations to control and regulate athletics, member insti-
tutions must cede their own ability to control many as-
pects of their athletics programs to the athletic associa-
tion.); 
Whereas Federal courts have correctly reasoned that not sub-
jecting athletic associations to title IX would encourage 
Federal recipients to empower someone else to promul-
gate discriminatory policies to avoid title IX liability. 
Such an interpretation would allow Federal funds to pro-
mote sex discrimination and would therefore run afoul of 
the plain language, meaning, and purpose of title IX; 
Whereas, like State athletic associations, the NCAA exercises 
controlling authority over its federally funded member in-
stitutions’ athletics programs; 
Whereas the NCAA is subject to title IX because, pursuant 
to section 908 of such Act, it is an organization estab-
lished by two or more colleges or universities that receive 
Federal funds; 
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Whereas the NCAA is subject to title IX because, pursuant 
to section 908 of such Act, it is an operation of its feder-
ally funded member schools; 
Whereas, while the Supreme Court ruled in NCAA v. Smith, 
525 US 459 (1999), that the NCAA is not subject to 
title IX by virtue of the dues it receives from its federally 
funded member schools, the Supreme Court left open the 
question of whether the NCAA is subject to title IX on 
alternative grounds, including based on its controlling au-
thority over member schools’ federally funded athletics 
programs or pursuant to the definition of ‘‘program or 
activity’’ in section 908 of such Act; 
Whereas the NCAA is an unincorporated association of ap-
proximately 1,200 members, including virtually all public 
and private universities and 4-year colleges conducting 
major athletics programs in the United States. Members 
of the NCAA that receive Federal funds are subject to 
title IX; 
Whereas member schools cede control to the NCAA by allow-
ing it to host 90 intercollegiate championship tour-
naments in 24 sports across 3 divisions (During cham-
pionship tournaments, the NCAA controls the medical, 
training, housing, dining, and competition facilities, and 
dictates the tournament schedule and the publicity and 
promotion of the teams.); 
Whereas, because the NCAA is subject to title IX, it must 
address documented discrimination against women’s 
teams in the benefits and services provided during cham-
pionship tournaments so that student athletes who expe-
rience sex discrimination during the regular season who 
are able to seek remedies under title IX have the same 
remedies when they experience inequitable access to bene-
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fits or services during intercollegiate championship tour-
naments and other barriers to exercising their rights; 
Whereas, despite being subject to title IX, the NCAA pro-
vided inequitable benefits and services to women’s basket-
ball teams in its 2021 Division I Tournaments, including 
inferior publicity, promotions, equipment, supplies, food, 
facilities, travel accommodations, and health care proto-
cols and resources; 
Whereas these disparities are contrary to the letter and spirit 
of title IX, undermine efforts to ensure gender equity in 
sports and society writ large, and hold women and girls 
back from reaching their full potential; 
Whereas, on March 25, 2021, the NCAA announced the com-
missioning of a comprehensive review of gender equity 
issues in NCAA sports that was completed by the inde-
pendent law firm Kaplan Hecker & Fink (Kaplan), and 
the results of their independent review were released in 
two separate reports on August 2, 2021, and October 25, 
2021, which found that gender inequities at the NCAA 
stem from the structure and systems of the NCAA itself 
and provided an extensive list of recommended actions 
the NCAA should take to address these inequities; 
Whereas more than a year after the release of those reports, 
the NCAA has made progress on some of Kaplan’s rec-
ommendations, but has either not yet begun consider-
ation or declined to implement others, including restruc-
turing NCAA leadership so that the Vice President of 
Women’s Basketball reports directly to the President; 
and 
Whereas the NCAA leadership should make it a top priority 
to expeditiously and thoroughly consider all recommenda-
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tions from the Kaplan report to ensure meaningful 
change: Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 
concurring), That it is the sense of Congress that the Na-
tional Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) is subject 
to title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (20 
U.S.C. 1681 et seq.) and should work to prevent discrimi-
nation on the basis of sex in its programs and activities. 
Æ 
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