For the die-hard fan of high school and collegiate athletics, Title IX has a significance that is difficult to put into words. Putting its records and numbers on display, however, is what turns the heads of those who don’t spend time around the arena of sports. On June 23 of 1972, President Richard Nixon signed off on a portion of that year’s Education Amendment stating that no person shall be denied participation in, the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance. Celebrating 40 years of bringing greater gender equality to high school and collegiate sports, Title IX’s numbers remain jaw-dropping. Even in 1978, massive changes occurred with the percentage of girls playing team sports jumping from four percent to 25 percent. Aside from getting to participate in athletic programs that didn’t always exist, women have also benefited in life; Title IX is responsible for 40 percent of the rise in employment for 25-to-34-year-old women and has been associated with a seven percent decline in obesity for women in their late 30’s and early 40’s who were affected by the law. At N.C. State, Title IX has helped in creating and maintaining 11 women varsity programs. Here is a look at some of the Wolfpack programs that have been aided since the portion of the amendment’s inception. Gymnastics: Since the 1980s, State Gymnastics has taken off under the watchful eye of Mark Stevenson, the only coach in program history. Through 32 seasons, Stevenson has guided the Wolfpack to five conference championships along with making NCSU a school routinely seen in the nation’s top-25 teams. As one of the most attended non-revenue sports, the program has ranked in the top-20 nationally the last six years with several season averages over 2,000 people per meet. Gymnastics is commonly considered one of the University’s brightest athletic programs with over 90 different gymnasts have been named to the ACC academic honor roll since 1984. With more scholarships available, Stevenson has made a point to recruit gymnasts with outstanding marks in the classroom. Golf: Despite only being reinstated as a varsity sports in 2000, coach Page Marsh has ignited the women’s golf program in her 12 seasons of work. On the course, the Wolfpack has five top-four finishes in the ACC Championship and recently became ranked for the first time in school history. 2012 was a special year for NCSU, as it ended up being the best season in program history; State notched three team wins, sophomore Brittany Marchand became the winningest golfer the program has ever seen, and the Pack finished No. 13 out of 24 teams at its first ever NCAA Championship. In addition to the success on the course, three players (Marchand, Amanda Baker, and Ana Menendez) received All-ACC Academic honors. Softball: Being built from the ground up starting in 2002, the first women’s fastpitch softball team at N.C. State has already collected ACC Championships in both regular-season and tournament play. Lisa Navas, the only coach in State’s history until her dismissal last Wednesday, also got the Softball program to the NCAA Tournament on two occasions and was the 2006 ACC Coach of the Year. State also produced three All-ACC Academic selections (Emily Weiman, Kirsten Grant, Morgan Peeler) in the 2012 conference academic honor roll and consistently has several players on the list each year.