Athletics leaders tell regents committee Twin Cities and Duluth are close to Title IX proportionality

Athletics officials told the University of Minnesota Board of Regents’ Audit & Compliance Committee on June 2025 that both the Twin Cities and Duluth campuses are meeting Title IX requirements for athletics largely through roster management, periodic reviews and targeted outreach.

Jenny Yellen, senior associate director for athletics on the Twin Cities campus, summarized the three-part Title IX test used to evaluate participation: substantial proportionality to campus enrollment, a history of adding women’s sports, or fully accommodating the interests and abilities of female students via regular surveys. Yellen said the campuses use roster-management reviews, twice‑annual compliance meetings and a faculty athletics representative structure to track participation and aid.

“On the Twin Cities campus, our athletics compliance office and our general counsel track official participation numbers and post them publicly,” Yellen said. “We discuss gender equity and Title IX daily in decision-making; we don’t act without considering that impact.”

Forrest Carr, director of athletics at Duluth, told the committee his campus uses the same formula and reported participation and financial‑aid distributions that are “about even,” noting the campus was roughly balanced this year. Carr said the Duluth athletics unit reports to multiple committees, has an associate athletic director for compliance who reviews roster management and financial aid, and works with conference scheduling to improve exposure and fairness.

Yellen described the campuses’ scholarship‑evaluation method (unduplicated counts) and said the Twin Cities figures put athletically related financial aid distribution within about one percentage point of female enrollment. She explained a campus “calculated disparity” of 7.38 female participation opportunities would need to be filled to reach exact proportionality, and that average women’s roster sizes (about 27) are used to interpret that gap.

Regents asked about challenges enforcing equity in practice. Yellen and Carr pointed to two recurring constraints: external media and conference control of broadcast schedules, and the need for continuous communication with coaches to ensure consistent implementation of roster and travel practices. “We can’t control every media decision, but we can make sure we promote women’s sports on our platforms,” Yellen said. Carr added that conferences’ alternating game schedules and outreach at events help expose youth to both men’s and women’s teams.

Regent Davenport and others pressed on youth recruitment and exposure; Mark Coyle, director of athletics (Twin Cities), said summer camps and community engagement are regular parts of both campuses’ outreach to young athletes. Coyle said coach expectations include community service and recruitment outreach that benefit both men’s and women’s programs.

Why it matters: Title IX compliance affects how the university allocates participation opportunities, scholarships and support services across men’s and women’s athletic programs. Regents signaled interest in regular updates on metrics and in continued attention to promotion and roster management as key tools for maintaining compliance.

The presentation was informational; no formal board action resulted. The committee proceeded to the internal audit update and the FY2026 audit plan discussion and vote later in the meeting.