Marshall drops plans to eliminate women’s swimming and diving a week after student-led lawsuit

Marshall University dropped plans to eliminate its women’s swimming and diving program on Wednesday, citing concerns raised in a lawsuit over compliance questions involving Title IX.

The reversal was announced after a special meeting of the Marshall Board of Governors and came a week after a group of swimmers filed a lawsuit seeking to retain the sport.

“Leadership is about making difficult decisions and tradeoffs, and sometimes those decisions are unpopular,” Marshall President Brad Smith said at a news conference. “But leadership is also about having humility to listen, to learn, and to adjust course if new facts and information emerge. And that’s what we have done here.”

Marshall swim coach Ian Walsh said he was “incredibly proud” of those within his program, especially the athletes.

“How you’ve navigated the past month has been nothing short of exceptional,” Walsh said.

Last month, Marshall announced it would drop swimming and add stunt — a sport that incorporates aspects of cheerleading — to its women’s sports offerings. The swim team found out the day before the start of its conference championship meet that its program would end after 23 years.

Athletic director Gerald Harrison told the Marshall Board of Governors on Feb. 17 that the swim team has a $819,000 annual budget, its facilities don’t meet NCAA competition standards and that the athletic department couldn’t commit the funding needed to upgrade the facilities and sustain the program. Stunt, which could support up to 65 athletes, would cost an estimated $320,000 per year, according to Smith.

Title IX ensures equity between men and women in education and prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in any education program or activity receiving federal funds. Compliance can be measured in multiple ways, including whether the overall program’s gender breakdown is proportionate to that of the general student body.

The swimmers’ lawsuit brought to light an independent audit conducted last fall showing Marshall has struggled to meet Title IX requirements for athletic participation opportunities for women. Smith cited the audit Wednesday, saying that eliminating women’s swimming “could potentially place our university outside the safe harbor framework of Title IX.”

Smith said that information was different than the advice it received entering the process. Wednesday’s decision also was influenced by the costs of a potentially lengthy lawsuit, he said.

Marshall will continue plans to add stunt as a varsity sport, Smith said.

Over the past year, a growing number of universities have added or dropped entire sports programs as dramatic changes roll through college athletics under a $2.8 billion NCAA settlement.

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