California Lutheran University Agrees to Reinstate Women’s Lacrosse Team, Conduct Gender Equity Review, Ensure Compliance with Title IX
California Lutheran University (“CLU”) has agreed to reinstate its women’s lacrosse team, have an independent Title IX expert conduct a gender equity review, and ensure its varsity intercollegiate athletic program is complying with Title IX. 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. said, “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