By James Sutherland on SwimSwam
One of the protections of the NCAA’s House settlement was the fact that student-athletes could not lose their scholarship if they were cut from a team due to roster limits.
But what about when an entire program is cut, with the House settlement at least partially at fault? That’s the case being brought forward by former members and commits of the Cal Poly swim & dive team.
The program was axed on March 7, and university president Jeffrey D. Armstrong was directly quoted as saying that the House settlement played a key role in the ultimate decision to remove the swim and dive team.
“This is an unfortunate reality given the approved NCAA House settlement, state budget and the tenuous situation moving forward for both the state and the NCAA,” he said, according to The Associated Press. “I want to reiterate that the significant and unequitable changes in the NCAA and the House settlement (and new organizations resulting from this settlement) had an impact that weighed heavily in this decision.”
Now, with September 22 marking the deadline for incoming student-athletes to object to the House settlement’s new framework, multiple former or prospective swim & dive team members penned letters to Judge Claudia Wilken describing how the House settlement resulted in lost scholarships and opportunities for them.
Cal Poly was among the schools to opt in to the House settlement—which, as the swimmers note, only approximately 50% of peer schools with football programs in the Big West did—and then the financial situation that put them in led to the program being removed.
The parent of one Cal Poly recruit who had been offered a scholarship but then lost it when the team was cut argued that it’s unjust for the House settlement to protect the scholarships of athletes who are cut from teams, but not those who see their program cut due to the settlement. They allege that the school cut an entire program “rather than selecting individual athletes for roster reductions to address budgetary constraints” to comply with the settlement.
The letter was published on X by sports law attorney Philip Sheng.
Interesting letter was submitted to Judge Wilken concerning a swimmer who lost her scholarship at Cal Poly after the school axed the entire swim and dive program. The letter includes email correspondence with Jeffrey Kessler who says the House settlement’s scholarship protections… pic.twitter.com/QxvIPEZtcU
— Philip Sheng (@PhilipNILIP) September 23, 2025
The letter also delves into the Title IX implications of the designated student-athletes (those who don’t count against the roster cap due to being cut because of the settlement) loophole, arguing that Title IX is being undermined with carve-outs under the current settlement terms.
We respectfully object to the Injunctive Relief Settlement and urge the Court to consider its impact on incoming student athletes like my daughter who have been devastated by the loss of athletic participation and scholarship opportunities, and commitments made to them, with no meaningful recourse or protection. Women should not be forced to sue their universities to enforce a civil rights law that has been in place for more than fifty years. These protections should be part of the Settlement itself to ensure compliance and avoid unnecessary lawsuits.
Two other letters from members of Cal Poly’s roster last year, Scott Iannaccone and Abigail Leight, also penned letters to Wilken, arguing that the school cut corners to remove the swim & dive team and object to the settlement because it opens the door for schools to cut Olympic sports.
Iannaccone, who was a sophomore last season, said:
I respectfully object to the Injunctive Relief Settlement and urge the Court to consider the adverse impact on Olympic non-revenue sports. College swimming and diving has historically been a pipeline to the U.S. Olympic Team, and cutting programs like ours endangers the future of American compeitiveness on the world stage.
Leight, a diver who was a freshman in 2024-25, also dove into the Title IX implications of the cut. Both she and Iannaccone noted that Cal Poly spends $6.9 million annually on its football program while cutting a swim and dive program that operated on a $250,000 budget–$85,000 of which was raised by athletes and families.
She said:
The university’s actions violate both the spirit and the letter of Title IX, and they undermine the importance of protecting Olympic sports that provide opportunities for student-athletes who are not represented in revenue-generating programs like football.
For these reasons, I respectuflly obejct to the Injunctive Relief Settlement and ruge the Court to consider its adverse impact on Olympic sports and gender equity. I hope my experience will underscore the importance of ensuring that schools like Cal Poly cannot use this Settlement as an excuse to eliminate opportunities for female student-athlete.
Yesterday was the deadline for incoming student-athletes to object to the House settlement’s new framework. Additional letters were posted today from athletes impacted by Cal Poly’s decision to cut its swim and dive programs due to the settlement. Far too little has been done to… pic.twitter.com/HDcakGqy6R
— Philip Sheng (@PhilipNILIP) September 23, 2025
There will be a hearing on November 6 in Oakland, Calif., where objections to the injunctive relief settlement in the House case will be heard.
Read the full story on SwimSwam: Former Cal Poly Swimmers, Divers & Commits Object To House Settlement Citing Lost Scholarships
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