The female University of Iowa athletes suing the campus for failing to comply with the Title IX mandate that it offer equal athletic opportunities to men and women “have reached an agreement as to the material terms” of a settlement, according to court documents.
The court filings don’t detail the potential settlement but noted the women and UI attorneys have been engaged in “ongoing settlement negotiations” that have “continued in good faith.”
“It will take some time for the parties to finalize a settlement agreement,” according to the documents, filed Aug. 20. “Given that the parties have agreed to the material terms of a settlement of all claims, and do not want either to increase attorneys’ fees and costs unnecessarily or to burden unnecessarily the parties or witnesses, they are seeking a stay of the litigation.”
Four female members of the Hawkeye swimming and diving team in September 2020 filed a Title IX complaint in U.S. District Court accusing UI of numerous violations under Title IX of the federal education amendments of 1972, which protects people from sex-based discrimination.
The women pursued their complaint after the university announced it was cutting three men’s sports and the women’s swimming and diving team in the wake of a COVID-19 compelled deficit in the tens of millions.
Two more women joined the lawsuit a month later, demanding the UI not only reinstate women’s swimming and diving but add more women’s sports teams — naming wrestling and rubgy, specifically.
After a federal judge in December found the women had a “fair chance” of winning their lawsuit, Hawkeye Athletics in February reversed its decision to cut women’s swimming and diving.
“The women's swimming lawsuit brought forward last September, combined with the recent court order mandating the continuation of the sport during the legal process, has created additional uncertainty that could last several months or even years,” UI Athletic Director Gary Barta said at the time. “We made the decision the right thing to do was to reinstate the women's swimming and diving program and remove any uncertainty moving forward for our current student-athletes as well as high school swimmers considering attending the University of Iowa.”
Thursday morning, Hawkeye Athletics made the historic announcement it’s adding women’s wrestling — making it the first NCAA Division I Power Five program to offer it. The aim, according to the UI Athletics Department, is to start the program for the 2023-24 season.
“A national search for Iowa’s women’s wrestling head coach will begin this fall,” officials said.
Hawkeye officials didn’t explicitly mention the Title IX lawsuit in the announcement. But Barta in a statement said, “We are committed to gender equity and Title IX compliance.”
“As the national landscape related to enrollment continues to change, adding women’s wrestling puts us in a better position for the future.”
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The court filings don’t detail the potential settlement but noted the women and UI attorneys have been engaged in “ongoing settlement negotiations” that have “continued in good faith.”
“It will take some time for the parties to finalize a settlement agreement,” according to the documents, filed Aug. 20. “Given that the parties have agreed to the material terms of a settlement of all claims, and do not want either to increase attorneys’ fees and costs unnecessarily or to burden unnecessarily the parties or witnesses, they are seeking a stay of the litigation.”
Four female members of the Hawkeye swimming and diving team in September 2020 filed a Title IX complaint in U.S. District Court accusing UI of numerous violations under Title IX of the federal education amendments of 1972, which protects people from sex-based discrimination.
The women pursued their complaint after the university announced it was cutting three men’s sports and the women’s swimming and diving team in the wake of a COVID-19 compelled deficit in the tens of millions.
Two more women joined the lawsuit a month later, demanding the UI not only reinstate women’s swimming and diving but add more women’s sports teams — naming wrestling and rubgy, specifically.
After a federal judge in December found the women had a “fair chance” of winning their lawsuit, Hawkeye Athletics in February reversed its decision to cut women’s swimming and diving.
“The women's swimming lawsuit brought forward last September, combined with the recent court order mandating the continuation of the sport during the legal process, has created additional uncertainty that could last several months or even years,” UI Athletic Director Gary Barta said at the time. “We made the decision the right thing to do was to reinstate the women's swimming and diving program and remove any uncertainty moving forward for our current student-athletes as well as high school swimmers considering attending the University of Iowa.”
Thursday morning, Hawkeye Athletics made the historic announcement it’s adding women’s wrestling — making it the first NCAA Division I Power Five program to offer it. The aim, according to the UI Athletics Department, is to start the program for the 2023-24 season.
“A national search for Iowa’s women’s wrestling head coach will begin this fall,” officials said.
Hawkeye officials didn’t explicitly mention the Title IX lawsuit in the announcement. But Barta in a statement said, “We are committed to gender equity and Title IX compliance.”
“As the national landscape related to enrollment continues to change, adding women’s wrestling puts us in a better position for the future.”
Iowa women’s wrestling announcement part of Title IX lawsuit settlement
Hawkeye Athletics had been considering the idea for years, Athletics director Gary Barta said, noting growing national interest in the sport while more women are attending colleges.
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