Three congresswomen introduced legislation Thursday that would evaluate the source of the problem and provide solutions for the inequity between men's and women's sports.
Some of the issues that came to light during last year's NCAA tournament have not been fixed by the NCAA. They co-authored a federal bill that would lead to the formation of a 16-person commission tasked with reviewing the NCAA's actions and making policy recommendations to improve.
The NCAA paid for an independent review of gender equity issues after social media posts revealed a stark difference between the amenities and benefits received by men's and women's players during last year's tournaments. The NCAA made some changes heading into this year's tournaments, which conclude this weekend with the Final Four games starting Friday night, and said it plans to make more significant progress on the issue in the future.
The Democratic Women's Caucus met with prominent coaches and players from the women's game after last year's tournament. The association's response to concerns raised about last year's tournament was "lackluster" according to a letter co-authored by the chairwoman of the House Committee on Oversight and Reform.
The NCAA leadership has not taken adequate steps to fix the problem.
The members of the committee would include former college athletes and coaches, as well as others with experience in Title IX matters.
The bill is one of a number of proposals the federal government has made in the past two years to give more oversight to the NCAA and college sports. A bipartisan pair of senators introduced a bill this week to reform the NCAA's enforcement process. On Wednesday, a group of Congress members hosted a series of panel discussions about NCAA reform issues, with gender equity among the topics of discussion.
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