By James Sutherland on SwimSwam
The Title IX lawsuit filed against Concordia University Irvine (CUI) by members of its women’s swimming & diving and tennis teams earned Class Certification on Friday.
Federal Judge Fred W. Slaughter issued a 13-page page order granting class-action status on behalf of “All present, prospective, and future female CUI students who participate, seek to participate, and/or are or were deterred or prevented from participating in intercollegiate varsity athletics at CUI.”
Full Decision (PDF)The eight named plaintiffs in the case, swimmers Mikayla Barre, Kiera Gutierrez, Alexandra Leland, Ruby McCullough, Aliyah Treadwell, and Carissa Ward, along with tennis player Bryn Johnson, have been appointed as class representatives.
Among the swimmers, only Grant (junior) and Ward (senior) are on the 2026-27 roster.
“This is a big victory for all female athletes and potential athletes at CUI, now and in the future,” said Grant. “We filed this case to preserve our teams, make CUI comply with Title IX, and win equal opportunities to participate in varsity sports for all women at CUI. Now, we’ll be able to do that.”
CUI, an NCAA Division II school in Irvine, Calif., announced in May 2025 that it was eliminating four athletic programs, men’s and women’s swimming and diving, and men’s and women’s tennis, citing “increasing operational costs, facility limitations, and significant changes in the collegiate athletics landscape.”
Last October, the court issued a preliminary injunction barring CUI from eliminating any women’s teams and ordering the school to reinstate its women’s swimming & diving and tennis teams after the group of female athletes sued the school over Title IX.
Now, with class certification, the case will move forward and is no longer limited to the original plaintiffs.
“The court’s straightforward, well-reasoned decision adds to what the law nationwide makes clear: Title IX athletics cases seeking equality for women are natural class actions,” said Arthur Bryant of Arthur Bryant Law, P.C., in Oakland, CA, lead counsel for the women. “They focus on whether the school is giving all women, as a group, and all men, as a group, equal opportunities and treatment. The class action rules were designed for cases like these. They can ensure that justice is done.”
Eric Grover of Keller Grover, LLP, in San Francisco, co-counsel for the women, added: “The court’s ruling is a major step forward. Instead of providing equality, CUI has been doing all it can to avoid accountability. This decision shows that will not work. CUI is going to have to answer to its female athletes.”
Despite the preliminary injunction barring the school from cutting any women’s teams, CUI still has work to do to become Title IX compliant. According to Arthur Bryant Law, “women were 61.25% of CUI’s undergraduates in 2025-26, but were given only 53.32% of the opportunities to participate in varsity sports. CUI would have had to add 124 opportunities for women to achieve gender equity.”
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