INDIANAPOLIS — The federal anti-gender discrimination law Title IX paved the way for women in both academics and athletics. The state where the law was born will soon house a permanent tribute to its impact.
The Marvella Girls Sports Leadership Experience will break ground on the campus of Fair Oak Farms as soon as this spring. The 300,000-square-foot project will feature spaces for basketball, volleyball, soccer, lacrosse, and flag football.
It is named for Marvella Bayh, whose denial from the University of Virginia because of her gender inspired her husband, United States Senator Birch Bayh, to write an addition to the Civil Rights Act. Title IX, a federal ban on gender-based discrimination in education, passed into law in 1972.
"She and my father both may have played some role in helping girls and women have a better life and more opportunity," said their son, former United States Senator and Indiana Governor Evan Bayh. "I can't tell you how good that makes me feel because that means she didn't live in vain."
The Marvella campus will feature a museum dedicated to women's sports and Title IX, which will feature Marvella's story of gender-based denial front and center.
"Marvella was the inspiration in so many ways behind opening the doors for women to go to college, play sports, and receive scholarships," said Allison Barber of the Marvella Foundation.
The foundation will also award scholarships to girls so they can succeed both athletically and academically.
"Creating the best campus in the country for girls is exciting but what's really inspiring for us is that we're growing future leaders for our country," Barber said.
Evan Bayh hopes girls and women learn from the struggles his mother experienced.
"I think that made her even more determined to break down those barriers and create opportunities for the people who would follow her," Evan Bayh said. "What a wonderful legacy. Don't just settle for disappointment. Don't just say, 'That's the way it is, That's too bad.' Say, 'No, things can be better.'"
