Concordia Women Athletes Sue Irvine University in Federal Court

Concordia University Irvine (CUI) women athletes are plaintiffs in a class action lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. They allege that when the Orange County private college allocated cutbacks, it violated Title IX.

“They are blatantly depriving women of equal opportunities to participate in intercollegiate athletics,” their attorney Arthur Bryant told OrangeCountyLawyers.com. Read Arthur Bryant’s original Press Release.

Title IX is a nationwide law prohibiting gender discrimination at schools receiving federal funding.

Bryant filed also a emergency motion for a temporary restraining order (TRO) for which the parties argued their positions on August 25.

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“CUI’s decision to eliminate the teams violates Plaintiffs’ civil rights, has irreparably harmed them, and unless this Court grants immediate relief, will continue to irreparably harm them and their academic and athletic careers,” the TRO motion states.

The presiding judge, Honorable Fred W. Slaughter, has yet to rule on the arguments or written briefs.

Concordia University Eliminates Women’s and Men’s Swimming, Diving and Tennis Programs

The legal controversy stems from Concordia’s decision to eliminate its women’s swimming, diving and tennis programs along with the men’s teams in the exact same sports for financial reasons.

“There have been cases all around the country stopping schools from eliminating teams to try to save money,” Bryant said. “The courts have uniformly held that you cannot discriminate against people to save money.”

CUI claims, however, that eliminating both men’s and women’s teams balances the scales.

“After careful review of our financial resources, facility capacity, and overall program sustainability, our leadership concluded that reinstating the women’s tennis and swim and dive programs would create an unbalanced commitment that cannot be supported within our current budget and strategic priorities,” university officials said in a statement.

The plaintiffs, like sophomore swimmer Alexandra Grant, were stunned by when the budget reductions were announced.

“I envisioned swimming here all four years,” Grant said. “Now, I may never finish my collegiate career.”

Jessica Bear, a senior tennis player who ranked among the top 50 Division II players last season, said in the lawsuit that she has no realistic way to finish her career.

“I’m missing out on a final chance to make my mark in tennis, a sport to which I have been dedicated since childhood,” Bear said.

The lawsuit outlines statistics that show women were 59 percent of CUI’s undergraduates in 2024 and 20225 but made up only 51.2 percent of its varsity athletes.

Cutting the two women’s teams will widen the gap to 8 percent, according to the complaint, which requires the school to add 112 athletic opportunities for women in order to be equitable with men.

Despite discontinuing the four NCAA Division II athletics programs, Concordia argues that it still sponsors two more women’s teams than men’s teams.

“Over the past decade, we have added three new women’s teams compared to one new men’s team,” school officials said. “The combined rosters for the four discontinued teams (two women’s teams and two men’s teams) included 37 women and 35 men in the 2024-25 season and the proportional balance of women’s and men’s athletic participation has not changed.”

Bryant dismissed Concordia’s defense that eliminating both men’s and women’s teams is a show of equity.

“When you’re already discriminating against women, cutting women’s teams equally with men just makes the discrimination worse,” Bryant added. “Concordia needs to add at least one hundred opportunities for women athletes.”

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