U.S. High School Girls Sports and Booster Clubs

Abstract

This paper explores United States high school booster club activity and its potential effect on gender equity by examining high schools' booster club models -one all-school, all-sport booster club or a booster club for each sport -and club reporting requirements.The U.S. Title IX of the Education Amendment of 1972 prohibits schools from discriminating on the basis of sex in any educational program. However, schools can escape compliance by allowing each sport to have its own booster club, a model which heavily favors boys' sports, coupled with an absence of club reporting requirements to school district officials. All 414 Wisconsin public high schools' athletic directors were surveyed in September 2015 on booster club activities. A quarter of high schools do not require their booster clubs to report their activities to a school district official, and only 46% have one all-sport booster club. Factors that predict booster club model were identified. Federal laws on gender equity may be undermined by booster clubs. Solutions include requiring the public release of booster club expenditures and an adoption of one all-sport booster club.