The legislation that prohibited discrimination in education whether it was in academics or athletics was known as

Title IX

Title IX bans educational institutions that receive federal funding from discriminating against individuals based on their sex.  The wording of the original legislation was:  "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 passed in 1972 as part of other legislation pertaining to education.  It followed on the heels of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.  One of the initial applications of Title IX law was that equality of opportunity needed to be maintained in college athletics.  Since then, it has been applied to deal with sexual harassment and sexual violence on college campuses as well.