As a basketball player at Maui High School, Patsy Takemoto wasn't allowed to play past halfcourt.

Too strenuous for girls, they said.

As the first minority woman to serve in Congress, Patsy Takemoto Mink co-wrote landmark legislation that wouldn't allow such limitations on women. She co-authored Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, in which:

"No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance."

Title IX was meant to break down some of the barriers Mink and other women at the time faced in their academic and professional pursuits. Mink was turned down by 12 medical schools because of her gender in 1948, so she went to law school. Later, she was turned down for a job at a Honolulu law firm because of her gender.

But the greatest and unforeseen impact — which continues 37 years later — was the tidal wave of opportunities that came for women in high school and college athletics. With a federal law, institutions — sometimes forced through lawsuits — have been held accountable to provide equitable opportunities for women, whether it's funding, scholarships or sporting opportunities.

"Can you imagine what our community and state would look like without Patsy Mink?" said Jill Nunokawa, University of Hawai'i civil rights attorney.

Mink, who spent 24 years in Washington as an outspoken, strong feminist and liberal Democrat, died on Sept. 28, 2002. She was 74, and Title IX was renamed the Patsy T. Mink Equal Opportunity in Education Act shortly after.

Though she had a hand in other legislation that helped women, families and minorities, Title IX is Mink's lasting — if not sometimes forgotten — legacy.

Before Title IX, less than 300,000 girls played high school sports, compared to 3.6 million boys, and college scholarships for women were virtually nonexistent. There was the belief that females were simply not interested in or couldn't play sports.

In 2007-08, more than 3 million girls and 4.3 million boys participated in high school sports, according to the National Federation of State High School Associations. Spending has increased dramatically in women's collegiate sports, in turn leading to the opportunities that have abound for women to play professionally and in the Olympics.

"We've doubled the women's athletic program; the budget has more than tripled," said Marilyn Moniz-Kaho'ohanohano, UH associate athletic director and senior woman's administrator. "It just totally impacted us because we would not have gotten that if it wasn't for Title IX."

UH offers 13 women's sports and $6.5 million was budgeted for fiscal year 2008-09. In 1972, UH only had women's volleyball and track and field. Only $5,000 was spent on women's sports and the lone athletic scholarship went to a drum majorette.

TITLE IX YESTERDAY

Title IX, co-authored with Rep. Edith Green of Oregon, had its roots in parts of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Title IX focused on education and congressional hearings on sex discrimination in higher education were held in 1970 and 1971.

Different proposals emerged from the House and Senate, and the final legislation became Title IX. Mink consulted UH's Dr. Donnis Thompson for Title IX. Thompson was UH's track coach from 1961 to 1965 and became the women's athletic director in 1972.

Not imagining the potential impact on athletics since there was no direct reference to it, the bill moved through the Senate and House. President Nixon signed Title IX into law on June 23, 1972, and it became effective on July 1.

"She said she didn't quite grasp at the time the resonance it would have, the depth of the alternation of our literal perception of what women could do," said Mink's longtime colleague, U.S. Rep. Neil Abercrombie.

"She had hopes for the Civil Rights side. It was only later that the full implications in terms of fundamental institutional changes in every way we look at each other in terms of gender."

Title IX met with much resistance in the 1970s, and in 1978, state Rep. Faith Evans filed a Title IX complaint against UH. It was settled three years later.

Not just a law, Title IX changed attitudes and behaviors about women, their interests and abilities, said Nunokawa.

"The legacy that Patsy left is not just a law, she reshaped the socialization process in the U.S.," Nunokawa said. "If you point at what her legacy is, that is her legacy."

TITLE IX TOMORROW

Academically, Title IX advanced the rate of women receiving bachelor's, advanced, medical, law and doctoral degrees. Women have also broken into traditionally male-dominated professions such as the sciences and engineering.

Although equity gaps remain in athletic and academic fields, women today have endured far less obstacles in opening doors.

Efforts have also been made to resist and erode Title IX, including those several years ago by President George Bush. Title IX lawsuits continue today and without vigilance, tomorrow's generation of females could risk those obstacles Mink fought tirelessly against.

"Title IX affects all aspects of education," said Mink's daughter Gwendolyn, a Washington author and educator. "Doors have been open to professional schools just as gates have been opened to athletic fields.

"There's still a lot struggled over, in part because there's efforts to roll back what Title IX really covers and really guarantees, and also because these gains were not easily won, so they're not easily absorbed into the mainstream."

While Mink's athletic career was short-lived, her political career helped countless women endure. Tireless and determined, Abercrombie said Mink embodied all the qualities of a great coach, knowing when to prod and coax you, when to take the lead and when to ask you to step up. He considers Mink as one of the top five members of Congress ever.

"That kind of leadership and devotion is rare and to be desired," Abercrombie said. "You don't find it very often and when you find it, you need to treasure it."