Colleen Doyle’s involvement in athletics spans many years and many different levels. As a four-sport high school athlete, a college standout, an elite U.S. National Team player, and a veteran coach, she has seen many changes in women’s sports and the athletes who play them.

Doyle’s commitment to gender equity in sport drives her pursuit of a doctoral degree in higher education. As a high school athlete on Long Island, Doyle was among the first generation of female athletes to benefit from Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, commonly known as “Title IX.” This civil rights statute prohibits sex discrimination
in education programs receiving federal funds, requires that schools and colleges provide women and girls an equal chance to play sports, and ensures parity when it comes to scholarships, coaching, equipment,
and facilities.

A lacrosse All-American at SUNY Cortland,
Doyle’s playing career was cut short by a knee injury sustained during tryouts for the U.S. National Field Hockey team. After a brief stint coaching at her alma mater, Doyle arrived at the University of Rochester to coach women’s lacrosse. She soon found herself at the helm of the field hockey team and, over her 14-year tenure, coached the Yellow Jackets to the New York State Women’s College Athletic Association playoffs four times and to a ranking as high as 11th in the nation.

Doyle has experienced firsthand the tremendous gains for girls in sports since the passage of Title IX, but notes that equity has yet to be achieved. “Female coaches are still paid sixty-four cents for every dollar that a male coach is paid.” She is alarmed that many young female athletes today are virtually unaware of Title IX and its impact on women’s athletics. “Coaches need to do a better job of educating kids about Title IX. We are so happy about the progress we have made that we tend to forget about where we came from. We have this false sense of security that the gains we have made can’t be taken away.”

After completing her M.S. in administration with a concentration in higher education at Warner in 2002, Doyle resigned from the coaching ranks to pursue her Ed.D. full time.

She continues to study Title IX, with a special interest in the three-pronged test used by the Office for Civil Rights to determine athletic department compliance with the law. It is the third prong, how colleges show that the athletic interests and abilities of women are being accommodated, that will likely become the focus of her dissertation.

Doyle, the 2005 recipient of the Allison Schmidt Memorial Scholarship, credits the Warner faculty for inspiring her decision to take her passion from the playing field to another level of influence. She will likely seek a position as a college athletic director or in student affairs when she completes her doctorate in 2006. “I feel that, at this point in my career, I can contribute more at an administrative
level than at the coaching level.”

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