Nineteen former members of UC Davis’s recently-eliminated female equestrian team filed a sex discrimination class action against the school today for discriminating against all its female student-athletes by depriving them of equal athletic financial aid in violation of Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972.

The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California, seeks to make UC Davis pay close to $1,400,000 to its female athletes for depriving them of athletic financial aid and paying it to the male athletes instead in 2023-24 and 2024-25, the last two years for which information is publicly available. It also seeks damages for the athletic financial aid the women were and are being illegally deprived of in other years, including last year and this year (the amounts are not yet public), and a court order requiring UC Davis to comply with Title IX and provide equal athletic financial aid in the future.

Title IX, a federal civil rights law, prohibits sex discrimination in all educational institutions that receive federal funds. It requires schools to grant athletic financial aid to male and female athletes in dollar amounts proportional to their athletic participation rates.

UC Davis recently eliminated its women’s equestrian team and cited an “independent external assessment” by a consultant to support its decision. The assessment showed, however, that UC Davis was not providing women with their legally required proportional share of athletic financial aid. The class action is based on that data and on reports UC Davis provided and verified as accurate to the U.S. Department of Education under the Equity in Athletics Disclosure Act.

“We were devastated when UC Davis eliminated the equestrian team, which was successful and thriving,” said Plaintiff and UC Davis senior Anna Donovan, an award-winning former equestrian team member. “Then, we were stunned even more when the school tried to defend its decision by releasing a consultant’s report showing it was depriving women athletes annually of hundreds of thousands of dollars in equal athletic financial aid.”

Former equestrian team members Avery Adamson, Sophia Blake, Addyson Brown, Mya Clader, Sabine Close, Katya Dundas, Chloe Fares, Margaret Franke, Carmen Gonzalez, Liliana Grosz, Laura Holliday, Hannah Janicki, Nicole Jimenez, Nicole Shroyer, Cavan Smith, Zadie Stack, Lola Sullivan, and Mylea Trimble are also Plaintiffs in the case.

“When UC Davis cut the equestrian team, it showed what it cared about was the money. So, this case focuses on the money,” said Arthur Bryant of Arthur Bryant Law, P.C., in Oakland, CA, lead counsel for the women. “UC Davis’s own numbers show it has been cheating its women athletes out of hundreds of thousands of dollars annually in equal athletic financial aid. That is clear and indisputable sex discrimination.”

Eric Grover of Keller Grover LLP in San Francisco, CA, co-counsel for the women, added, “This case isn’t complicated. It’s math. Based on the numbers UC Davis provided to the federal government, the math shows UC Davis is discriminating against its female athletes in violation of Title IX. We intend to hold it accountable.”

Robert Spencer of Keller Grover LLP is also co-counsel for the women athletes.

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Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 is the federal civil rights law that prohibits sex discrimination at all educational institution receiving federal funds.

Shea Simpson, an incoming junior on the women’s lacrosse team said: “Two months ago, CLU announced it was eliminating our team. My teammates and I thought the decision violated Title IX, so we took action. We are proud that CLU has agreed to reinstate our team and make sure it is complying with Title IX. We are eager to get back on the field and keep building the team and program we love.”

The other women’s lacrosse team members who successfully fought for their rights are Christina Arellanes, Nicki-Jean Henderson, Tess Keenan, Marina Markrud, Alexa Miller, Susan Rosas, and Daphne White.

“These women deserve our praise and our gratitude,” said Arthur Bryant of Arthur Bryant Law, P.C., in Oakland, CA, lead counsel for the women. “They understood and confirmed what the history of Title IX has shown: if women want equality, they need to fight for it. CLU will be better for all because they did.”

Eric Grover of Keller Grover LLP in San Francisco, CA, co-counsel for the women, added, “CLU deserves our praise, too, for agreeing to do the right thing. It is going to reinstate the women’s lacrosse team and ensure its women athletes are receiving the equal opportunities to participate and equal treatment and benefits that Title IX requires.”

Benjamin Schenk of Schenk Law Firm in San Diego, CA, and Robert Spencer of Keller Grover LLP are also co-counsel for the women athletes.

The Title IX dispute stemmed from CLU’s announcement on April 28, 2026, that it was immediately eliminating the women’s lacrosse team, when the school was already offering male athletes more opportunities to participate in varsity sports.

On May 26, 2026, Bryant wrote a letter to CLU’s President on behalf of women’s lacrosse team members and informed him that the team’s elimination violated Title IX. The law prohibits

universities from eliminating women’s teams for which interest, ability, and competition are available unless “intercollegiate level participation opportunities for male and female students are provided in numbers substantially proportionate to their respective enrollments.” Bryant’s letter said CLU failed this test. CLU maintains it was not and is not violating Title IX and that it conducted the appropriate Title IX analysis before making any decisions that affected the women’s lacrosse team.

According to the most recent publicly available Equity in Athletics Disclosure Act (EADA) data that CLU submitted and verified to the U.S. Department of Education as accurate, CLU had a total undergraduate population of 2,248 in 2024-25, including 1,228 women (54.63%) and

1,020 men (45.37%). The school’s intercollegiate athletic teams had 615 athletes: 233 women

(37.89%) and 382 men (62.11%), creating a gap of 16.74% between the women’s undergraduate enrollment rate and their intercollegiate athletic participation rate. CLU is adding flag football, but, based on its EADA data, Bryant’s letter asserted that CLU needed to add many more women’s opportunities to comply with Title IX.

Instead of adding women’s opportunities, CLU had just announced it was eliminating the women’s lacrosse team, which it reported as including 15 women in 2024-25. As a result, the school’s athletic participation numbers and rates for women would decrease when they needed to increase. After the cuts, according to CLU’s most recent publicly available numbers, it would need to add approximately 164 opportunities for women to reach gender equity under Title IX. The female athletic participation gap would grow from 149 to 164, not including any new opportunities CLU was adding with flag football.

Bryant said he and his co-counsel would file a class action lawsuit in federal court against CLU for depriving women athletes and potential athletes of equal opportunities and treatment unless the school agreed to reinstate the team, hired a gender equity specialist they approved of, and made sure it complied with Title IX. The settlement agreement, announced today, provides that relief and avoids the need for the suit.

Under the agreement, CLU will immediately reinstate its women’s lacrosse team, hire an agreed gender equity specialist to conduct a gender equity review, and, to the extent necessary, develop and implement a gender equity plan to ensure that CLU’s intercollegiate athletic program complies with Title IX no later than the 2028-2029 academic year and beyond.

The women’s lacrosse team will continue competing in the upcoming academic year.

Contacts:

Arthur Bryant, arthur@arthurbryantlaw.com, 510-507-9972 Eric A. Grover, eric.grover@kellergrover.com, 415-321-8604 Benjamin Schenk, ben@schenklawfirm.com, 858-424-4444

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Nine female student-athletes at CUI filed a sex discrimination class action in federal court, challenging the school’s decision to eliminate the women’s swimming & diving and tennis teams. The lawsuit alleges that CUI is violating Title IX by depriving women of equal opportunities to compete in varsity sports—a right that has been protected for over 50 years.

“We are suing CUI because it refused to comply with Title IX, provide women with equal opportunities to participate in varsity sports, and preserve our teams unless we did,” said Alexandra Grant, a sophomore on the women’s swimming & diving team. “We wish it wasn’t necessary, but we are doing what all women faced with sex discrimination need to do: stand up and fight for our rights.”

Why This Case Matters

Title IX isn’t just a technicality—it’s the foundation of equal opportunity in college athletics. According to the most recent data reported by CUI itself, women make up nearly 59% of the undergraduate student body but receive only about 52% of athletic participation opportunities. To comply with the law, CUI would need to add roughly 100 opportunities for women—not cut existing teams.

Instead, the university announced plans to eliminate both the women’s and men’s swimming & diving and tennis teams, citing financial reasons. Yet, during the same period, the school invested millions in upgrading other facilities, including a new 19,000-square-foot weight room and over $7 million in improvements to baseball, softball, and soccer fields.

The message is clear: some programs—and the women who compete in them—are being left behind.

The Bigger Picture: A Growing Trend in College Athletics

Unfortunately, CUI’s actions reflect a troubling trend in higher education. Faced with budget pressures, many schools choose to protect high-profile, revenue-generating men’s sports at the expense of smaller programs, disproportionately affecting women athletes. When these cuts happen without ensuring gender equity, schools are not just making tough financial choices—they’re breaking the law, and that’s when the role of a **Title IX attorney** becomes essential.

Who’s Fighting for These Athletes?

The plaintiffs are represented by a strong legal team that includes lead counsel, Arthur Bryant of Arthur Bryant Law, P.C. in Oakland, CA, Eric Grover and Robert Spencer of Keller Grover LLP in San Francisco, CA, John Clune and Ashlyn Hare of Hutchinson, Black, and Cook in Boulder, CO, and Anne Andrews and Robert Siko of Andrews & Thornton in Newport Beach, CA—law firms with extensive experience in Title IX and gender equity litigation. These firms have a long history of holding institutions accountable when they fail to uphold the rights of women in education and sports.

What’s Next?

The athletes are seeking a court order to preserve their teams while the case proceeds. They’re not only fighting for their own opportunities but also for the principle that gender equity in sports cannot be sacrificed for convenience or cost-cutting.

As advocates for employee and consumer rights, we at Keller Grover know that change often comes when individuals take a stand. These athletes are doing exactly that—reminding schools across the country that Title IX still matters, and so do the women it was designed to protect.

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