Concordia University Told To Reinstate Women's Teams While Title Ix Lawsuit Plays Out - Beritaja

Concordia University’s effort to bolster athletics pinch 1 manus while slashing 4 sports pinch the different was hampered by a national judge who granted a preliminary injunction preventing the Division II assemblage from dropping the women’s swimming and tennis programs.

Seven members of the women’s swimming and diving squad and 2 women’s tennis players allege successful a activity favoritism people action suit revenge successful August that by dropping the programs, the Irvine schoolhouse is violating Title IX.

Judge Fred W. Slaughter agreed, ordering that the injunction stay successful spot for the long of the lawsuit. Concordia must instantly reinstate the women’s teams and supply them “with funding, staffing, and each different benefits commensurate pinch their position arsenic varsity intercollegiate teams,” Slaughter wrote successful a 19-page ruling.

Concordia announced the cuts of the men’s and women’s swimming and tennis teams successful May, stating the schoolhouse had “determined that the existent exemplary is not sustainable successful the midst of expanding operational costs, installation limitations, and important changes successful the collegiate athletics landscape.”

But the cuts came astatine a clip erstwhile Concordia was plowing $25.5 cardinal into upgrading the university’s diversion infrastructure. A week aft diversion head Crystal Rosenthal calculated the cuts would prevention $550,000 a year, she sent an email to unaffected athletes boasting that awesome improvements would beryllium made to the Concordia’s athletics infrastructure.

Rosenthal, who is besides the school’s softball coach, wrote: “We are presently successful the midst of a awesome $17.5-million building task that includes a caller 19,000-square-foot installation featuring a state-of-the-art weight room, locker rooms, and modern training room space. This installation represents our belief successful the early of our diversion programs and our student-athletes.”

She added that much than $8 cardinal had been earmarked for upgrades to the baseball, softball and soccer/track/lacrosse accommodation — including the installation of outdoor lights.

The suit followed successful August and Slaughter issued the preliminary injunction Friday. Arthur Bryant, the lawyer representing the female athletes, said that women comprised 59% of Concordia’s students but received only $51.2% of the roster spots for sports.

“The court’s thorough, compelling determination confirms what we said from the start: CUI’s determination to destruct the women’s swimming and diving and tennis teams was a flagrant usurpation of Title IX,” Bryant said successful a statement. “Concordia needs to adhd about 100 opportunities for women to scope gender equity. It should not beryllium eliminating immoderate women’s teams.”

The concurrent spending connected infrastructure was peculiarly galling to female athletes and immoderate alumni, according to SwimSwam. The swimming and h2o polo teams train off-campus and spot fewer operational demands connected the school. The swimming programme had 23 men and 25 women connected its rosters past season.

Concordia, a Lutheran-affiliated schoolhouse pinch about 1,500 undergraduates that moved from the NAIA to NCAA Division II successful 2017, is 1 of respective universities whose efforts to trim diversion programs person been thwarted by courts.

A national judge successful Texas issued a preliminary injunction against Stephen F. Austin State successful August, preventing the schoolhouse from eliminating its women’s formation volleyball, bowling and play programs. According to Sportico, astatine slightest 8 different schools since 2020 person been ordered to reinstate programs aft Title IX challenges: Iowa, William & Mary, UConn, Dartmouth, Clemson, East Carolina, North Carolina Pembroke and Dickinson College.