USC equestrians to receive locker room

A gender equity consultant hired by the University of Southern California found that the university must remedy an equal treatment disparity. Apparently, a problem about which the athletic department has been well aware will be fixed soon(ish--dependent on funding). The equestrian team is getting a locker room right next to its practice facility. There is a "lounge" there currently but no showers or lockers. As part of the new facility, which is expected to cost just under half a million dollars, a tack room will be added where students can store saddles.
No information on the above linked article about why USC hired a gender equity consultant or if s/he found anything else of note.
What I found interesting was that the team, which won the national championships in 2005, has grown since that time. The team now averages around 40 riders (and there will be 40 lockers in the new facility). The year it won the championship it had around 25 members. This roster growth offers come insight into how the school is demonstrating compliance with Title IX's equal opportunity provision. Good to see that as they add roster spots, they are also paying attention to the quality of the opportunities provided.

Delaware State Settles With Equestrians

A federal judge in Delaware approved a settlement between Delaware State and the members of the equestrian team affected by the university's decision to eliminate the program, who had sued and challenged the decision as a violation of Title IX. The settlement requires the university to keep the program until it offers proportionate opportunities to each sex not counting equestrian opportunities. The university will also play the plaintiffs' legal fees and court courts, about $500,000.

As I told Inside Higher Ed, the outcome of this settlement is a victory for the plaintiffs. The university had clearly violated Title IX by cutting an existing program from the sex with fewer opportunities to begin with. Delaware State's population is 61% female, yet women receive only 43% of athletic opportunities. But I refused to paint this outcome as entirely positive. While it's great that the legal process protected the athletes from a discriminatory outcome, but it's sad that schools are still screwing up some basic Title IX requirements.

Some Say Delaware State Equestrian Is Safer After Cheerleading Ruling

This article in Delaware Online suggests that the recent Quinnipiac ruling about the Title IX status of competitive cheer will make it harder for Delaware State to prove that its decision to terminate equestrian did not violate the law.

Actually, I don't think the ruling will have much legal effect at all. Unlike at Quinnipiac, Delaware State's proposed opportunities in cheerleading do not even come close to closing the proportionality gap. Its argument that adding cheer demonstrated prong 2 compliance was never a viable argument, in my opinion. No court has interpreted "history and continuing practice of expanding opportunities for the underrepresented sex" to be satisfied by a school that cuts a viable women's team.

But either way, some are now predicting that Delaware State is now more likely to cancel its plans to end its equestrian program.

Interestingly, the article provided a little insight into why Delaware State, an HBCU, has an equestrian team in the first place:

Many see the equestrian legal troubles as an unfortunate legacy of former president Allen Sessoms' administration. In 2005, a faculty steering committee, chaired by Hoff, recommended field as a better way to expand sports for females, but Sessoms later sold the group on equestrian.

The sport has proven to be more expensive than expected, costing close to $600,000 per year.

"Of greatest concern to DSU is the fact that so little of this money goes to student welfare," DSU lawyers said in court documents. "On the contrary, most of the expenses are for the housing and care of the horses."

Daniel, the Title IX consultant, said he would have advised against a school like DSU starting equestrian. Charlie Wilson, president of DSU's faculty senate, said he and other faculty found the creation of the team "curious" and regarded it as a "pet thing" of Sessoms' administration.

Delaware State P.S.

The Delaware State University equestrian team wrapped up its season a couple of weeks ago. As we noted, the team will continue on for one more year, according to the university whose decision not to cut the team this year was reversed after two lawsuits were filed.
One of those filing a lawsuit, recruit Melia Blakely, has signed a letter of intent with University of South Carolina.
Current team members are still working with lawyer on Title IX compliance issues.
I suspect will we hear more eventually on this issue.

DSU changes its mind

Right before a scheduled hearing before a district court judge in Delaware, Delaware State University announced it would keep its equestrian team for another year. This rendered, of course, the hearing, which was an attempt by the plaintiffs to get an injunction against the cut while the lawsuit was pending, unnecessary.
The decision was apparently made known to the judge in the case on Tuesday. But the extension is only for one year, according to university officials, who say the equestrian team will not continue any longer than that. Also, the initial lawsuit filed by a DSU equestrian recruit has reportedly been settled.
The university still contends that it is Title IX compliant--even if it dropped equestrian. But lawyers for the team (in a lawsuit separate from that of the recruit) still plan on pursuing their case against the university for lack of compliance

Delaware State Invokes Prong 2, Cheerleading in Defense

Delaware State University is reportedly defending its decision to cut the women's equestrian team by claiming it nevertheless complies with prong two: the compliance test that requires a university to show a history and continuing practice of expanding women's athletics. The problem with DSU's prong two argument is that all courts that have considered whether cuts to women's teams violate Title IX have recognized that cutting a viable women's team necessarily violates prong two: reducing opportunities

This is the tradeoff for the flexibility prong two provides in the first place: schools don't have to achieve proportionality (prong 1) or full accommodation of interests (prong 3) overnight; they will not violate the law if they are working towards those goals by program expansion. But this flexibility is not boundless: it does not allow a university to stall (hence, "continuing" practice) and it does not allow a university to backslide by cutting a viable women's program. Rather, as the First Circuit said in Cohen v. Brown, it requires a university to "march uninterruptedly in the direction of equal athletic opportunity." More recently, the district court in Connecticut articulated an identical interpretation of prong two when it held that Quinnipiac University necessarily did not show a history and continuing practice of program expansion after it cut its viable women's volleyball team: "That is because, by eliminating a women’s team while there is sufficient interest to field one, the University will have failed to demonstrate that it is committed to expanding opportunities for the underrepresented gender – women."

Coincidentally, it looks like the court's prong two interpretation is not the only reason to compare DSU's case to Quinnipiac's. DSU's second defense of its decision to cut equestrian is the announcement of plans to add a competitive cheer team. However, this does not change a court's likely outcome on the prong 2 question. As long as one sex (here, women) are underrepresented in athletics, prong 2 compliance means the University has to keep its viable programs AND add new ones. Cutting-and-adding does not count.

A second issue is whether adding cheer put the university in compliance with prong 1. If so the prong 2 argument is not necessary. But putting aside the obvious argument that DSU should not be able to count cheer opportunities that don't yet exist, there is no way DSU will satisfy prong 1 by adding cheer. The disparity between the percentage of women students and women's athletic opportunities is so severe that by my calculation, DSU would have to add 156 cheer athletes-- more than doubling the current number of women's athletic opportunities -- to comply with prong 1. Surely this is not what DSU is planning. If it is, it's got other problems, as courts have started to crack down on universities that manipulate prong 1 calculation by padding the rosters of women's teams.

In sum, I continue to predict that this case will resolve quickly and in favor of the present and recruited equestrians who have filed suit against DSU.

Second Lawsuit Filed Against Delaware State

Fifteen members of the recently-terminated Delaware State equestrian team have filed suit in federal court, challenging the school's decision to cut their team as a violation of Title IX. The Women's Law Project and Flaster Greenburg, a Philadelphia-based law firm. The attorneys expect a hearing on their motion for preliminary injunction sometime next month.

DSU already faces a similar lawsuit, filed by an incoming student who had signed a letter of intent to join the team.

As I have mentioned before, this should be an easy victory for the equestrians. DSU does not satisfy the proportionality prong, so it cannot cut a viable women's team without violating the other two alternatives for compliance, which require either program expansion or satisfying the interests and abilities of the underrepresented sex.

Delaware State sued over equestion cut

As Erin subtly foreshadowed last month in her post about Delaware State cutting men's tennis and women's equestrian because of budget issues, a lawsuit has been filed. It is not by a current member of the equestrian team but by a Canadian who signed a letter of intent to ride for DSU next year. She found out the program had been cut via Facebook. More to follow, I am sure.

Changes in Morehead State's Athletic Department

In an effort to increase opportunities for female student-athletes, Morehead State University, is reconfiguring its athletic department. What is especially interesting is how they are going about this. At UNH, OU, JMU all we heard about were cuts, cuts, cuts and the allegedly disparate effect on men.

But at MSU cuts is not a word we are hearing. MSU will eliminate men's and women's indoor track and field. But they are keeping men's and women's outdoor track and field. This means there are probably very few student-athletes who will be without a chance to play as most indoor athletes participate in outdoor track. Also, the men's and women's rifle team will be consolidated into a mixed team. The women's golf team is being elevated to varsity status. And, in the next few years, MSU has plans to add women's bowling and equestrian programs.

The story linked above is actually an MSU press release so obviously the insititution is not going to point out any negatives in this plan. But, from what I have read, this seems like a responsible and creative way to balance financial interests and limitations with gender equity.