36:Jenny Breuer: Title IX, A Seat at the Table, and a Spot on the Start Line

In episode #36 of the podcast, Dr. Kate and Dr. Kacy interview runner, coach, mom and Title IX scholar Jenny Breuer. Jenny discusses some of the historic gender inequities in sports including growing up as a distance runner in Florida and her experience in high school cross country where at that time the girls raced two miles whereas the boys’ team raced 3 miles. She talks about the evolution of Title IX over its 50 years (June 23rd, 2022 marks the fiftieth anniversary of Title IX) and some of the recent, “wins,” for women in sports including the U.S. women’s soccer team negotiating for equal pay to the men’s team. She also tells her story as the head coach for Trinity University’s Women’s and Men’s track and cross-country teams and the sacrifices she made as a female coach, including travelling for races and coaching duties even while her children were quite young. She tells the story of pumping breast milk for her young children while on the road as a coach and finding privacy for this in less than desirable locations including pumping in race day port-a-pottys!

Jenny is well versed in Title IX legislation from her experiences as a collegiate all-American distance runner, coaching winning teams in track and cross-country at the NCAA Division III level, and as a Title IX scholar and academic. She conducted her master’s thesis on Title IX in 1996 and went on to teach university-level sports administration courses in which Title IX legislation was part of the curricula. Jenny has fought for her own athletic opportunities as a woman and continues to advocate for women’s opportunities in athletics. She talks about the value of sports to teach life lessons such as persevering through struggle and experiencing successes and failures and learning how to deal with these experiences. If you are a champion of women’s sports, this episode will be sure to capture your interest! Give it a listen for more on this inspiring discussion of women in sports and look at Title IX across its 50-year history.