Proposed Settlement in Slippery Rock Case May Save Women’s Swimming and Women’s Water Polo Team

SLIPPERY ROCK, Pennsylvania, June 15. ACCORDING to a link posted on the official athletics site of Slippery Rock University, the school has reached a proposed settlement in which the school plans to retain women's swimming and women's water polo as varsity teams for another year.

The proposed settlement, which still must pass through a Fairness Hearing on July 20, states the following as the Summary of the Proposed Settlement:

"IV. SUMMARY OF PROPOSED SETTLEMENT
As a benefit to the Class, SRU has agreed to do the following, as set forth in the Agreement:

# Retain women's swimming and water polo as varsity teams for one full academic year after SRU has achieved compliance with the proportionality requirement of Title IX within two percentage points and accord to these teams funding, staffing, and all other benefits commensurate with their status as varsity intercollegiate teams;

# Allocate to women's varsity athletics an additional amount of money (the Additional Fund¨) for the academic year following any year during which the participation of SRU female varsity athletes was not within two percentage points of the proportion of full-time female undergraduates;

# Provide various items of participation-related documentation (including, for example, National Collegiate Athletic Association eligibility and clearance forms, squad lists, and attendance records) to Class Counsel on a quarterly basis so that counsel may evaluate SRU's compliance with pertinent Title IX requirements;

# Develop a unified athletic budget with input from coaching staff that includes athletic funding from all sources and that achieves equity in funding for men's and women's varsity athletics;

# Provide various items of treatment-related documentation (including, for example, athletic budgets, athletic expenses, and coaching assignments by team, experience level, and salary) to Class Counsel on an annual basis so that counsel may evaluate SRU's compliance with pertinent Title IX requirements;

# Adopt and publicize policies that set forth gender equitable treatment in such areas as Uniforms and Equipment; Transportation and Lodging; Publicity; and Scheduling of trainers, medical personnel and training facilities;

# Designate $300,000 (the "Additional Fund") in new spending, to be budgeted and expended at the rate of $100,000 in each of the three academic years beginning in 2007-08, with at least $50,000 to be used for scholarships to recruit women athletes to compete on SRU varsity teams;

# Make improvements to on-campus athletic facilities including the Softball Field and the Morrow Field House."

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