By Braden Keith on SwimSwam
A group of former swimmers from Cal Poly have sent a letter to the university alleging Title IX violations as part of a bid to save the women’s swimming & diving program from elimination.
See the letter here.The group is being represented by Equity IX Sports Law and founder Leigh Ernst Friestedt and Champion Women and CEO Nancy Hogshead. Hogshead is a former Olympic swimmer for the United States.
Ernst Friestedt is also representing a group of female athletes who are intervening in the House v. NCAA settlement, claiming it violates Title IX provisions designed to protect equal access to college athletics for women.
The letter reads, in part:
The crux of the claim in the Cal Poly case is based on the equity portion of the Title IX law.
Title IX prohibits three broad categories of discrimination against student-athletes based on sex. First, educational institutions must provide female students with equal athletic participation opportunities. Second, educational institutions must provide men and women with equal athletic scholarships. Third, long-standing federal law mandates female students receive equal treatment and benefits compared to their male counterparts.
Cal Poly is engaging in all three forms of sex discrimination. Specifically, Cal Poly has failed to provide female athletes with equal participation opportunities, equal athletic scholarships, and has not ensured that female athletes receive equal treatment and benefits. These actions represent separate violations of Title IX.
The data provided to support the claim focuses around the nearly 50/50 representation of men and women in Cal Poly’s undergraduate student body. Specifically, Cal Poly’s federal reporting says that in the 2023-2024 academic year, the school had 10,697 men and 10,774 women in undergraduate programs, with women representing 50.2% of total undergraduate enrollment.
During that same academic year, Equity IX and Champion Women say, women comprised only 42.35% of athletic opportunities (38.45% using the unduplicated count of athletes in multiple sports). The letter claims that Cal Poly would have to add 115 more opportunities for women (using the duplicated count) or 141 more (using the unduplicated count) to “achieve equity in athletic participation opportunities.”
They also say that Cal Poly needs to add $1.4 million in women’s athletic scholarship aid and $124,327 in recruiting dollars for women’s sports in order to be in compliance, though reducing men’s aid would also achieve compliance.
Title IX generally applies a three prong test to compliance, requiring schools to meet one of the three tests: Substantial Proportionality (addressed in this letter), History and Continuing Practice of Expansion (which would not apply to a school that just cut a women’s program), and Full and Effective Accommodation of Interests of the student body (which seems to not apply because of the swimming program being cut).
Cal Poly athletics director Don Oberhelman retired last month after 15 years leading the program.
Forcing Title IX compliance has been one of the few avenues that have been successful in saving college swimming programs after cuts were announced in the past, as was the case at the University of Iowa and Dartmouth. The other two most prominent have been scandal among the administrators who oversaw the cuts (William & Mary), massive fundraising efforts (Arizona State), or some combination of the above (which was the case at William & Mary as well).
While the Title IX case does not address the men’s program, sometimes the reinstatement of a women’s program can also bring the men’s program with it (which was the case at Dartmouth) because of the economies of scale on offer.
Cal Poly swimmers, alumni, and families managed to raise $10 million to reinstate the team, which was enough to endow the department’s stated deficit due to the House settlement, but the school set a target of initially $25 million, which was then reduced to $20 million.
After formally rejecting the $10 million pledge, university president Jeffrey Armstrong set a new target of $15 million, though eventually the effort came up short. A group continues to fundraise in hopes of future reinstatement.
In the 2024-2025 season, the Cal Poly men’s swimming & diving team had their first undefeated dual meet season since the program moved to Division I in 1994.
Read the full story on SwimSwam: Cal Poly Swimmers Send School Letter Claiming Title IX Non-Compliance After Swimming Cuts
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