The NCAA News - Briefly in the News

July 6, 1997

Brown University has agreed to settle a federal lawsuit, ending a six-year legal battle that reached the U.S. Supreme Court.

The proposed settlement of outstanding claims against Brown's program in Cohen v. Brown University was presented to U.S. District Judge Ernest Torres in Providence, Rhode Island, and preliminarily approved.

Under the terms of the agreement, Brown must ensure that its women's intercollegiate athletics participation rate is within 3.5 percentage points of the women's undergraduate enrollment rate at the university.

The percentage applies as long as Brown continues to offer the full array of women's university-funded and donor-funded sports currently in its intercollegiate athletics program and the university does not change the balance between men and women by adding or upgrading men's teams.

However, if Brown eliminates or downgrades a current women's team or adds or upgrades a men's team without adding or upgrading a corresponding women's team, then Brown must ensure that its women's intercollegiate athletics participation rate is within 2.25 percentage points of the women's undergraduate enrollment rate at the university.

In addition, Brown agreed to upgrade women's water polo from club to donor-funded varsity status and to guarantee funding for the four women's teams that the court had previously found Brown had not adequately supported: gymnastics, fencing, skiing and water polo.

While those teams will be called "donor-funded," Brown will fund the teams at significantly increased levels for the next three years (four for gymnastics), regardless of whether sufficient funds can be raised from donors.

For the next four years, Brown also will provide gymnastics with the same benefits and treatment it received last year, when it was treated as a "university-funded" team under a court order.

"We are especially pleased that we obtained increased opportunities and funding for women without sacrificing opportunities or funding for men," said Lynette Labinger, lead counsel for Trial Lawyers for Public Justice (TLPJ), a public interest law firm that sued on behalf of present and future women athletes at Brown.

"The joint agreement preserves our decision-making autonomy and gives us clarity, which is what we were after all along," said Brown spokesman Mark Nickel.

Torres will hear any complaints about the proposed settlement October 8 before making a final decision. The agreement will be in effect pending the final outcome. Legal costs have not yet been addressed.

The Cohen class action lawsuit was filed in April 1992, after Brown terminated funding for its women's gymnastics and volleyball teams.

In 1992, TLPJ won a preliminary injunction requiring Brown to reinstate the women's teams.

In March 1995, Brown was found in violation of Title IX and ordered to submit a proposed plan to come into compliance. In July 1995, the court found Brown's plan unacceptable and ordered it to upgrade four women's teams to varsity status.

In November 1996, the First Circuit Court affirmed the decision finding Brown in violation of Title IX, but that court said the university should be given another chance to develop its own plan for compliance. On April 21, 1997, the U.S. Supreme Court denied Brown's petition for review.

The recent settlement eliminates the need for a previously scheduled hearing on Brown's most recent proposal for compliance.

Fax-on-Demand change

A new number has been installed for the NCAA's Fax-on-Demand System. The number is 770/563-1133.

The passcodes remain the same (1915 for members and 1925 for the general public).

Callers using the old number after July 1 will hear a recording asking them to dial the new number.

WVU donates to hospital

The West Virginia University department of intercollegiate athletics recently donated the proceeds of its Blue and Gold spring football game, nearly $20,000, to the university's Children's Hospital.

West Virginia's total donations to the hospital over the past 15 years exceed $315,000.

Mountaineer football players and cheerleaders made the presentation as part of the Children's Miracle Network telethon.

The annual event was conducted April 25.

-- Compiled by Kay Hawes

Division I notes

Facilities: Seafirst Bank and the University of Washington department of athletics have announced that the Seattle-based bank has made a $5.1 million contribution to the university's Campaign for the Student-Athlete. The gift will go toward the $38 million renovation of the Hec Edmundson Pavilion, scheduled to begin in March 1999. Seafirst also will become a gold corporate sponsor of Husky athletics as part of a new marketing relationship between Washington and Action Sports Media. The combined value of the pledge and corporate sponsorship will total $19 million over the next 10 years.

Sports sponsorship: The Ohio Valley Conference has approved the addition of women's soccer as a the conference's 18th championship sport beginning in 1998. Five schools -- Eastern Illinois University; Middle Tennessee State University; Morehead State University; the University of Tennessee at Martin; and Tennessee Technological University -- will compete for the title. Southeast Missouri State University is expected to add the sport in 1999, and as many as nine league teams could be fielding women's soccer by 2000 ... Western Michigan University will add the sports of women's golf and women's precision ice skating to its intercollegiate program during the 1998-99 academic year. The two additions bring to 20 the total number of sports offered by the university ... Women's golf and women's water polo will become part of the intercollegiate athletics program at Bucknell University during the 1998-99 academic year. The additions will bring Bucknell's total varsity offering to 14 sports for men and 14 sports for women ... The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference has announced that La Salle University will join the league in football. The Explorers will begin membership July 1, 1998, with the first season of annual league competition to be 1999. La Salle becomes the 10th member of the conference, joining Canisius College, Duquesne University, Fairfield University, Georgetown University, Iona College, Marist College, St. John's University (New York), St. Peter's College and Siena College ... Baseball has been discontinued at Portland State University. The school also announced plans to add men's tennis at a future date. In addition, wrestling will be retained as an intercollegiate sport in 1998-99.

--Compiled by Gary Brown