MILWAUKEE — Thursday marked 50 years since President Richard Nixon signed Title IX into law, barring discrimination on the basis of sex in any educational program or activity that receives federal financial assistance.

"We here at Milwaukee have been doing a Title IX series with our student-athletes," Cathy Rossi, UW-Milwaukee's deputy director of athletics, told Spectrum News 1, "and I think the one thing that has come shining through is that our current student-athletes are just so shocked that not that long ago [there were] just not opportunities for women to participate in high schools and colleges."

Rossi added that equality in athletics faces a new series of challenges as college athletes are now allowed to benefit financially from their name, image or likeness.

"There's definitely work to be done," Rossi said. "The [name, image or likeness] stuff— there's a whole lot of focus in the media on men's basketball and football, getting those opportunities... There's definitely some female student-athletes taking advantage [of it], but there's definitely a huge gap with where that focus has been, and there will definitely be something we'll need to watch as it progresses."

Watch the entire interview above.