Equity in Athletics Awaits JMU’s Decision on Suit

ROANOKE, Virginia, April 2. EQUITY in Athletics (EIA) announced today that it would wait for a further response from James Madison University (JMU) before initiating litigation against JMU over the University's plans to eliminate ten intercollegiate sports. The story broke earlier today on www.ccaa.org, the web site of the College Swimming Coaches Association of America (CSCAA).

On March 19, 2007, EIA sued the federal Department of Education to overturn the "proportionality" standard that JMU claimed prompted it to make the cuts, scheduled to take effect on July 1, 2007. By letter dated March 23, 2007, EIA advised JMU that either it must postpone the cuts during EIA's litigation against the federal government or EIA would bring JMU into the litigation as a defendant and seek a preliminary injunction against the planned cuts.

"JMU has three options: (1) it can join our fight against the federal government by intervening as a plaintiff against the unlawful Title IX standards that have compelled JMU to cut 10 athletic teams, (2) it can sit out the litigation by postponing its cuts until the Court determines the proper Title IX standards, or (3) EIA will bring JMU into the litigation as a defendant and seek an injunction against the cuts," said EIA president John Licata.

"While we hope that JMU will join our fight against this illegal and unfair federal policy," Licata said, "we insist that JMU at least postpone the cuts until the Court determines the Title IX standard that applies in Virginia."

Neither Virginia courts nor the Fourth Circuit have ruled previously on whether schools must follow the original Title IX regulations or a subsequent "policy interpretation" that federal regulators issued and periodically revised, all without following the required rulemaking procedures.

The regulations require schools to provide equal athletic opportunity, based on the interests of both genders. The policy interpretation changes that to equal athletic participation, based on enrollment. JMU announced its planned cuts to comply with the policy interpretation, but EIA argues that those cuts are illegal under the Title IX regulations. No court ever has considered the merits of EIA's argument that the policy interpretation unlawfully amended the Title IX regulations.

Phillip Whitten, Executive Director of the College Swimming Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) and a member of the EIA Board of Directors, commented: "the CSCAA stands strongly in support of the EIA's action. When James Madison first announced it was cutting ten tams, university spokespersons couldn't get their story straight about the reason or the cut – first it was Title IX, then finances, then Title IX, then finances again. Ultimately, they settled on Title IX.

"The EIA," Whitten said, "is now offering JMU the opportunity to prove it acted in good faith in claiming it was only trying to comply with Title IX. If they acted in good faith, they should jump at this opportunity. We will soon see where they come down."

JMU's Board of Visitors reportedly discussed the Title IX situation in private session at its regularly scheduled meeting on March 30. After the Board meeting, JMU's spokesperson declined to comment publicly, citing potential litigation. After that, counsel for JMU and EIA spoke briefly, and EIA expects a more complete response today.

"We have made clear to JMU that it must postpone the cuts and that it must do so in days, not weeks, if it wants to stay out of the litigation," Licata said. "Until talks break down, however, we have told JMU that we would keep the substance of our conversations confidential," he added. "For now, all we can say is that we are talking, and if those talks either break down or linger too long, we will be in court seeking to enjoin these illegal cuts."

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