'Title IX UnsportsMAN like' by Steve

Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 stands as a cornerstone of American civil rights law, prohibiting sex-based discrimination in federally funded education programs. While celebrated for expanding opportunities for women, particularly in athletics, its broader impact on admissions and campus policies has been transformative—and contentious. For historically male-only institutions like the Virginia Military Institute (VMI) and The Citadel, Title IX, alongside constitutional challenges, catalyzed a seismic shift, dismantling their single-sex traditions. Title IX pressured these institutions to integrate, effectively "destroying" their male-only identities, with a focus on VMI’s landmark case and The Citadel’s integration, spotlighting alumna Nancy Mace as a symbol of change.

Enacted to ensure equal educational opportunities, Title IX applies to any institution receiving federal funds, covering admissions, scholarships, facilities, and campus climate. Private undergraduate colleges are exempt from admissions-related sex discrimination, but public schools and those accepting federal aid (e.g., student loans, grants) must comply fully. For men’s-only colleges, particularly public military academies like VMI and The Citadel, Title IX’s anti-discrimination mandate, amplified by Fourteenth Amendment equal protection principles, posed an existential challenge to their exclusionary models. While no colleges closed outright—exemptions allow opting out by forgoing federal funds—the legal, financial, and cultural costs of compliance reshaped these institutions, ending their all-male legacies.

Founded in 1839, the Virginia Military Institute, the nation’s oldest state-supported military college, epitomized male-only education with its "adversative method"—a grueling regimen of physical and mental discipline designed to forge "citizen-soldiers." Women were barred, with VMI arguing that coeducation would undermine its unique ethos. Title IX’s passage in 1972 indirectly pressured VMI as a public, federally funded institution, subjecting it to scrutiny by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) for sex-based disparities in programs and facilities.

The pivotal challenge came in 1990, when the U.S. Department of Justice sued Virginia and VMI on behalf of five women denied admission, alleging violations of the Equal Protection Clause. Although Title IX itself was not the direct legal weapon—its admissions exemptions applied—the law’s principles bolstered the federal case. A federal district court initially upheld VMI’s policy, citing its "unique" educational value. In response, Virginia proposed the Virginia Women’s Institute for Leadership (VWIL) at private Mary Baldwin College as a parallel program for women, offering leadership training but lacking VMI’s military rigor, barracks life, ROTC access, faculty prestige, or alumni network.

The case reached the U.S. Supreme Court in United States v. Virginia (1996). In a 7-1 decision, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg ruled that VMI’s male-only policy was unconstitutional, rejecting "inherent differences" between sexes as justification for exclusion. VWIL was deemed a "pale shadow" of VMI, unequal in tangible (e.g., facilities, funding) and intangible (e.g., prestige, networking) benefits. The Court mandated equal access for women, requiring states to provide "exceedingly persuasive justification" for single-sex public education and substantially equal alternatives.

VMI faced a choice: privatize to evade federal oversight or integrate. Privatization was untenable—the Department of Defense threatened to withdraw ROTC funding, critical for 40% of cadets. In 1997, VMI admitted its first female cadets (four in the Class of 1999). Integration demanded significant changes: gender-neutral bathrooms, revised dress codes, and mandatory sensitivity training. Alumni donations dropped 20–30% initially, and some male cadets transferred, citing a diluted "brotherhood." By 2023, women comprised ~12% of VMI’s 1,700 cadets, fully integrated into the "Rat Line" hazing ritual and all programs.

Post-integration, Title IX enforcement continued. A 2014 OCR investigation found VMI in violation for a "sexually hostile environment," citing inadequate responses to harassment and pregnancy policies forcing female cadets to resign. VMI agreed to annual climate surveys, consent training, and revised grievance procedures. These changes, while promoting equity, further eroded VMI’s insular, male-centric culture. Critics argue the "adversative" ethos, rooted in male exclusivity, was irreparably altered, constituting a "destruction" of VMI’s traditional identity, though the institution persists with a $600 million endowment and stable enrollment. Justice Ginsburg later remarked (2018) that women "made VMI a better place," but traditionalists lament the loss of its all-male heritage.

The Citadel, South Carolina’s public military college founded in 1842, followed a similar trajectory. Like VMI, it maintained a male-only policy, emphasizing a rigorous military environment. Title IX pressures began in the 1970s, as OCR scrutinized federally funded programs for equity. The turning point came in 1993, when Shannon Faulkner applied for admission, sparking a legal battle predating VMI’s ruling. Faulkner’s case, supported by Title IX’s ethos and equal protection arguments, challenged The Citadel’s exclusionary policy.
In 1995, Faulkner became the first woman admitted to The Citadel’s Corps of Cadets, but her experience was fraught. Facing intense harassment—male cadets protested with "No Women" banners—she withdrew after one week due to health issues. The VMI ruling in 1996 sealed The Citadel’s fate, mandating integration. That year, four women, including Nancy Mace, enrolled as cadets.

Nancy Mace, now a U.S. Representative (R-SC), became The Citadel’s first female graduate in 1999, earning a bachelor’s degree in business administration. Her journey was emblematic of the challenges and triumphs of integration. Mace faced hostility, including verbal taunts and physical rigors of the "knob" year, yet persevered, mastering the same drills and standards as her male peers. In her 2001 memoir, In the Company of Men: A Woman at The Citadel, Mace detailed the isolation and resilience required to navigate a male-dominated institution. She credited her success to grit and supportive mentors, noting, "I wanted to prove I could do it, not just for me, but for the women who’d come after."

Mace’s graduation marked a cultural shift. By 2023, women comprised ~10% of The Citadel’s 2,300 cadets, with traditions like the "Citadel Ring" ceremony adapted for coeducation. Post-1996 OCR investigations addressed harassment, leading to mandatory training and policy reforms. Mace’s prominence as an alumna—elected to Congress in 2020—underscores the transformative impact of integration, though alumni surveys (e.g., 2000 Citadel report) reveal persistent traditionalist resentment, with 25% of respondents citing a "weakened" institutional identity.

Title IX’s influence extended beyond VMI and The Citadel. Other institutions faced similar pressures:
 
From 1972–2000, at least 10 men’s military programs integrated due to Title IX and equal protection rulings. No closures occurred—Hillsdale College (Michigan) privatized in 1985 to stay all-male—but cultural shifts were profound. Enrollment initially dipped (e.g., 15% at VMI, 10% at The Citadel), and alumni donations fluctuated. Critics argue integration homogenized elite male spaces, reducing applications from traditional demographics (e.g., VMI’s applicant pool shrank 20% from 1996–2000). Conversely, women’s enrollment in higher education surged from 43% in 1972 to 57% today, reflecting Title IX’s broader impact.

Title IX did not shutter men’s-only colleges but fundamentally altered their identities. VMI and The Citadel, forced to integrate by legal mandates, lost their male-only traditions, with compliance costs (e.g., VMI’s $20 million in reforms) and cultural shifts reshaping their ethos. Nancy Mace’s trailblazing at The Citadel symbolizes the opportunities created, yet traditionalists mourn the "destruction" of a distinct male experience. As Ginsburg noted, integration strengthened these institutions’ inclusivity, but for many alumni, it marked the end of an era.

For more, see United States v. Virginia (518 U.S. 515) and Mace’s memoir.

Editorial comments expressed in this column are the sole opinion of the writer.