Iowa settles title IX lawsuit by adding a women’s wrestling team
The University of Iowa announced Thursday an agreement with athletes who are suing the institution for violating Title IX gender equity protections.
As a result of the suit, which was led by swimmers, the university is adding a women’s wrestling team. He had already reversed the cut of the women’s swim and diving team in February, but the relief from the cuts did not apply to the men’s swim team and the other men’s teams have been eliminated.
Iowa Athletics Director Gary Barta said the addition of women’s wrestling had been on the radar for a while, to pair with a national power men’s team.
“I’ll just tell you, and that’s the bottom line, if it weren’t for COVID, we wouldn’t have cut sports,” Barta told the Iowa Gazette. “If it weren’t for the title IX cause, I wasn’t quite ready to add women’s wrestling yet. But I can tell you that while timing can be difficult, the decision is fantastic. We are enthusiastic about it and we are ready to move forward “.
Iowa announced the cuts in August 2020, which will take effect after the 2020-21 season. He cited budget pressures linked to the COVID-19 pandemic. Men’s gymnastics and men’s tennis were also cut in addition to both swimming programs.
Four swimmers filed a Title IX claim by the end of September; a wrestler and rugby player joined the lawsuit filed in southern Iowa in December. The lawsuit alleged that the university was violating its Title IX obligations to female students by not offering equivalent athletic opportunities to men and women based on their representation on campus.
In February, the university reinstated the program after a district judge preliminary ruled that women had a “fair chance” of winning the case. None of the original four plaintiffs remain on the Hawkeye Swimmer and Dive List.
Barta said the school intends to fund women’s wrestling with up to 10 scholarships and 30 NCAA members. The deal also includes a cap on the “likely inflated” number of women on the rowing team, which in 2018-19 was reported as 94. (Rowing is used as a frequent trick to compensate for the large number of soccer athletes, only one sport that does not have a corresponding female equivalent in terms of investment or number of scholarships.) As part of the agreement, the university will conduct annual audits for compliance with Title IX.
“They argued that university students from the University of Iowa were entitled, under Title IX, to additional college sports opportunities and this exciting new development will ensure that such additional opportunities are available,” James Larew, said the lawyer of the six athletes. “Our brave clients have done a very effective job in serving as supporters of the athletes.”
Larew added that the plaintiffs were “happy” with Iowa’s commitment to adding women’s wrestling.
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