The future of women’s sports faces uncertainty

Amy Perko is not a soothsayer by trade.

But once the COVID-19 pandemic exposed some of the cardboard bottoms on the yachts of college athletic departments, it wasn’t hard to see which ships would make it. And which ones would sink.

“I think it’s likely that you will see some fragmentation among Division I (schools) in particular,” Perko, CEO of the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics, told The Post. “(And) possibly different structures.

“The college sports model, frankly, it’ll look very different in five or 10 years. But I strongly believe that whatever model that is, we will see a commitment toward opportunities for women and more compliance with Title IX.”

Others aren’t so sure. Despite Perko’s optimism, a poll of 99 athletic directors taken by the Associated Press a year ago found that 94% of respondents said it “would be somewhat or much more difficult to comply with Title IX gender equity rules if their school were to compensate athletes in the biggest money-making sports.”

As Title IX, the landmark civil rights legislation that prohibits gender discrimination in any school or education program that receives federal funding, turns 50, college athletics as we know it is entering into a state of flux.

Student-athletes can now legally seek to profit off of their respective names, images and likenesses (NIL). The Supreme Court last June voted unanimously in the case of NCAA v.

Alston that limits on education-related benefits to students violate anti-trust laws. The court accused the NCAA of “monopoly power” in its opinion and hinted strongly that it viewed the organization’s bedrock definition of amateurism as anachronistic and anti-commerce.

Athletes and boosters are now unfettered in ways they never have been before, and the NCAA’S traditional wardens — university presidents, athletic directors and coaches — have found themselves in varying degrees of panic.

With athletic departments scrambling to protect their bottom lines, as well as some very significant paychecks, will the equal opportunities for women required by Title IX be preserved? Or will non- revenue- producing sports find themselves endangered as the free market for talent creates accelerated bidding wars in football and men’s basketball?