EAST LANSING, Mich. – A federal judge has denied a request by members of Michigan State’s women’s swimming and diving team for an injunction in their attempt to prevent the school from dropping the program.
U.S. District Judge Hala Y. Jarbou said in her opinion Friday that “MSU is best positioned to steward its financial resources for the benefit of the institution and its students.”
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Previous Coverage: Michigan State University dropping swimming and diving teams
The plaintiffs in the case gave notice of their intention to appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.
The request for a preliminary injunction was filed last month and sought to restrain the school from eliminating the women’s varsity swimming and diving team — or any other women’s teams or athletic participation opportunities. The plaintiffs contended Michigan State was in violation of Title IX and had a history of failing to comply with Title IX’s athletic participation opportunity requirements.
Michigan State announced in October it was dropping swimming and diving teams for men and women after the 2020-21 season, citing a financial crisis.
Iowa recently said it wouldn’t drop its women’s swimming and diving program after it had been among four sports the school planned to eliminate. Members of that team filed a legal complaint in September, and a federal judge announced in December she would grant an injunction to stop Iowa from dropping women’s swimming for the 2021-2022 school year.