Sky Kickoff Title IX Celebration
Sky Kickoff Title IX Celebration
Passed on June 23, 1972 as part of the Education Amendments Act, Title IX requires gender equality for women and men in all educational institutions, public or private, receiving federal funding in 10 key areas including employment, higher education and athletics.
At todays press conference President and CEO of Girls in the Game, Amy Skeen, discussed the impact Title IX has had on women today and showed In the Game, a documentary about Title IX featuring the Sky. Chicago Sky Chairman and Minority Owner Margret Stender and Programs Director for Girls in the Game, and former University of Illinois basketball player and Northern Illinois basketball coach, Melissa Parker discussed how Title IX has impacted their lives and the opportunities they were afforded due to the passing of this law.
The Chicago Sky is excited to celebrate Women of Inspiration and the 40th Anniversary of Title IX this season, said Director of Operations & President of Sky Cares Erika Swilley. Through our season-long initiative we plan to educate and celebrate this milestone with numerous programs and events and cant wait to get started.
As part of the Title IX celebration this year, the Sky will offer a variety of programming, events and exclusive ticket offers for fans. The Sky will select nine women who have inspired change across Illinois to be part of a Title IX Team. They Sky will accept nominations for the Title IX Team starting on February 1 through August 1; nomination forms are available online here.
The Sky will honor each member of the team individually starting on June 1 at Sky home games and will honor the entire team with a pre-game reception and on-court recognition on August 17 at the Women of Inspiration Celebrating the 40th Anniversary of Title IX Game when the Sky take on the Atlanta Dream at 7:30pm at Allstate Arena.
A special $40.00 Ticket Package will run throughout the season in honor of the landmark Title IX legislation. The ticket package includes 2 tickets and 2 Sky Title IX Commemorative t-shirts for any 2012 Sky home game. The Sky will also sell special $9 dollar tickets in certain sections of the arena for the Title IX game on August 17. Also, through the Sky Cares Foundation, companies and individuals will have the opportunity to sponsor nine girls to attend a Chicago Sky game for $81.
The Sky will also provide fans information and activities related to Title IX on chicagosky.net throughout the season.
Before Title IX, 2% of women participated in college sports. Since Title IX was passed in 1972, womens participation has increased 456% with over 200,000 women participating in college athletics and 1 in 3 girls playing sports at the high school level. Title IX has paved the way for some of the most influential women athletes of our time, such as Billie Jean King, who beat Bobby Riggs in the famous battle of the sexes tennis match and Ann Meyers, the first women to sign a 4-year athletic scholarship with UCLA and the first women to sign a NBA contract with the Indiana Pacers.
For more information on the Chicago Skys Title IX initiative and to purchase a ticket package, call 866.SKY.WNBA or click here