Nancy Hogshead-Makar: Senior Director of Advocacy, Women's Sports Foundation

Professor Hogshead-Makar is one of the foremost exponents of gender equity in education, including its application to sports participation, sexual harassment, employment, pregnancy, and legal enforcement under Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972. Her book, co-authored with Andrew Zimbalist, Equal Play, Title IX and Social Change, has received acclaim since its release by Temple University Press. She was the lead author of Pregnant and Parenting Student-Athletes; Resources and Model Policies, published by the NCAA. In 2009 she brought a successful legal challenge against the Florida High School Athletic Association whose cuts to competitive seasons discriminated against female athletes. In the settlement, the competitive seasons were restored for all high school athletes throughout Florida. She has a 25 year history with the Women’s Sports Foundation, starting as a college intern, becoming the third President from 1992-94, it’s the legal advisor from 2003-10, and serving currently as its Senior Director of Advocacy.

Hogshead-Makar has testified in Congress numerous times on the topic of gender equity in athletics, written numerous scholarly and lay articles, and has been a frequent guest on national news programs on the topic, including 60 Minutes, CNN, ESPN, NPR and network morning news programming. She serves as an expert witness in Title IX cases and has written amicus briefs representing athletic organizations in precedent-setting litigation. In 2007 Sports Illustrated Magazine listed her as one of the most influential people in the 35-year history of Title IX.

Hogshead-Makar has received significant awards recognizing her commitment to athletics, including: induction into the Academic All-America Hall of Fame and the International Scholar-Athlete Hall of Fame, receipt of an honorary doctorate from Springfield College, membership in the Hall of Fame for the National Association for Sports and Physical Education, and receipt of the National Association of Collegiate Women Athletic Administrators’ “Honor Award”.

Hogshead-Makar is a tenured Professor of Law at the Florida Coastal School of Law, where she teaches Sports Law courses. She is a founding member of LIGEA, the Legal Institute for Gender Equity in Athletics. She earned her law degree from Georgetown University Law Center and is an honors graduate of Duke University.

Hogshead-Makar capped eight years as a world class swimmer at the 1984 Olympics, where she won three Gold medals and one Silver medal. Through high school and college dual meets she was undefeated. Other major awards include the Nathan Mallison Award, given to Florida’s outstanding athlete, and the prestigious Kiphuth Award, given to the best all-around swimmer nationally. Nancy has been inducted into eleven halls of fame for her swimming accomplishments, including the International Women’s Sports Hall of Fame and the International Swimming Hall of Fame. In 2000, Sports Illustrated ranked her as Florida’s 13th greatest athlete overall of the 20th Century (3rd greatest female).
She and her husband, Florida’s Solicitor General Scott Makar, have a son and twin daughters. They are continuously restoring their 1920s Mediterranean home.