College Wrestling and title ix

 National Wrestling Coaches Association Law Suit

On June 11,  United States. District Court Judge Emmet Sullivan dismissed the lawsuit, National Wrestling Coaches Association v. United States Department of Education.  

 The Wrestling Coaches Association maintained that Title IX was the root cause of cuts to men's sports teams and that the 3 part test for participation compliance created a quota system.
Dawn Riley, President of the Women's Sports Foundation stated, "This is absolutely the right decision.  It reflects the intent of the law, the fact that the public wants our daughters and sons to be treated fairly and equitably and it allows everyone to focus on moving forward to achieve the promise of Title IX.  The Women's Sports Foundation applauds the court's decision."

Specifically, the court stated that the wrestlers failed to show that Title IX was the cause of men's  teams being dropped and that even if Title IX were altered, these teams would probably not be reinstated.  The court stated that Title IX's policies provide institutions with flexibility to decide how to structure their sports/athletics programs, and that many factors effect these decisions, in addition to equal opportunity principles.

The court's decision made it clear that Title IX cannot be blamed for cuts to men's teams because educational institutions make decisions based on multiple unrelated factors.  The court also recognized the importance of Title IX, characterizing it as a "landmark" civil rights statute with implementing policies and significant flexibility built into the Department of Education's enforcement considerations, thus negating the allegation of "quotas".