With college athletes on cusp of revenue-sharing, there are Title IX questions that must be answered

The looming athlete pay system that will upend the traditional college sports model and still-to-be-determined details about how millions of dollars will be distributed are certain to bring questions about gender equity. “If the universities are going to end up exerting control over the revenue sharing,” Konidaris said, “you’re going to need to address pay equity very head-on.” A New York sports attorney, Christina Stylianou, said her first instinct is that Title IX would not apply because athletes would be essentially selling their media rights to their school. Athletic departments work under what is known as “equal in effect,” meaning a benefit for a men’s or women’s team in one area can be offset in another area as long as “the overall effects of any differences is negligible.” LeRoy said he understands the rationale for arguing that football and men’s basketball players should receive larger portions of the upcoming revenue because their sports account for nearly all the conference and NCAA broadcast rights fees. “Knowing that you can go invest or start a business, stuff like that, to just kick-start your life.” Konidaris said schools that take care of their female athletes monetarily could develop stronger women’s sports programs. “The universities that really double down on equity in college sports will be rewarded by better programs for female athletes that I think in the coming 10 years are going to be revenue-generating, just based on public interest and momentum for women’s sport,” Konidaris said.