In 2014, Tulane University’s $70 million football stadium opened its doors, showcasing modern architecture and state-of-the-art facilities. This past year, Tulane announced a $10 million donation towards the school’s athletic facilities titled “Investing in Excellence.” This spending is not unique; many universities around the country pledge exorbitant funds towards their athletics, affirming a sense of pride that trickles down to their students and alumni throughout the years. Tulane is no different, though time and time again its generosity dwindles when addressing the neglected party in the athletics department: the female athletes.
Collegiate female athletics are historically less-watched than their male counterparts, and it has been apparent that Tulane takes that into consideration when allocating funds, maintaining a ratio of 60-to-40 male to female athlete aid ratio. This gender bias is most evident when examining the school’s facilities.
The female athletes’ locker room highlights how the school’s funding priorities reflect an ever-prominent motif of sexism in collegiate athletics. Tulane’s outdated female locker room crams athletes from tennis, track and field, cross country and sailing into one space. Meanwhile, smaller male teams like baseball have their own renovated locker rooms complete with amenities like oak-recessed lockers and a player’s lounge equipped with 10 flat-screen televisions and surround sound.
The disparity between the athletic facilities reveals the preferential treatment that is palpable amongst the athlete community and general student body. “[Women’s locker room’s] are so tight that I can barely access my cubby because it is blocked into a wall and other lockers, Brooke Theis, a player for the university’s tennis team, said. “However, men’s tennis, a group of less than 10 players, gets their own locker room.” These conditions in female locker rooms reveal the school’s abandonment of its pledge to invest in athletic infrastructure for all their athletes.
The university’s “Investing in Excellence” plan dedicates a portion of funds to upgrade training facilities in the James W. Wilson Center for Intercollegiate Athletes, with the rest planned to go towards a renovated football locker room and dedicated sports performance center. Nowhere in the plan, or it’s $10 million, are funds dedicated to improving the female locker room.
Tulane’s gender-based preference is apparent to every athlete, even to its football players. When asked about the school’s regard for female athlete funding, Darion Reed, a football player for Tulane, said: “I think anyone who has knowledge of both the male and female facilities, particularly the locker rooms, would attest to the fact that the disparity is undeniable.”
While there is a definitive preference between sports-goers in terms of viewership between male to female sports, this conflict is also a symptom of Tulane’s prioritizing promoting football and baseball teams over other sports — particularly female-dominated ones.
“You could say our students should do a better job of supporting these women, but they have no idea about the professionalism, the work ethic and the discipline so many of these women have because the university isn’t putting them in front of their faces like they are with men,” Reed said.
Tulane may attribute its negligence of female athletes to a lack of viewership in female collegiate sports, but the lack of student support is also a symptom of the university’s continuous inadequate promotion and funding towards women’s sports. The path to boosting interest and generating more revenue from women’s sports could start with Tulane leveraging its extensive resources in social media, campus events and advertising to raise awareness and engagement. By promoting the achievements of female athletes through campus events or collaborations with men’s teams, the university would demonstrate its commitment to women’s sports — a message that would, in turn, foster greater student interest. After all, how can we expect Tulane’s student body to care about women’s sports when it seems the university does not?
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