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Becky Anderson always thought it was unfair. She grew up in Salt Lake City as one of seven children, but she was the only one who couldn't play organized sports.
She was the only girl.
"I remember asking my mom, 'I don't get it. How come we don't have this opportunity?' " Anderson said.
Now an assistant director of the Utah High School Activities Association, Anderson says Title IX had a profound impact on her life, and she, in turn, is putting it to use to impact others.
Anderson graduated from Skyline High School in 1974, and only as a senior was she able to play a sanctioned sport — basketball. She went on to play softball at the University of Utah and was the coach of Murray's Class 4A softball championship team in 1990, the first year the sport was sanctioned by the UHSAA.
Women's sports have come far since Anderson's days of playing in gym uniforms and having annual "play days," when girls could play sports against each other.
"As I work with young people today," Anderson said, "I think how grateful they should be for these opportunities."
But Title IX has opened doors beyond playing for women, Anderson said.
"It opened opportunities for leadership and administration for girls to be involved in," she said, "for women to be involved in coaching and administration."
Then, she added, "And their state administrations."