Quinnipiac Rugby Title IX Battle
Quinnipiac Women’s Rugby Players File Federal Lawsuit Alleging Title IX Violations and Retaliation
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More than 20 Quinnipiac University women’s rugby players filed a Title IX complaint and then brought a federal lawsuit seeking to stop the university from ending the program’s Division I varsity status and moving it to club level after the 2025-26 season, with effects extending into 2026-27. The athletes allege Quinnipiac is violating Title IX by giving women’s teams unequal benefits and support compared with men’s programs and that the demotion is retaliatory for repeated Title IX concerns raised by head coach Becky Carlson, including an earlier complaint to the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights. Named plaintiffs include current roster players and incoming recruits who say they were blindsided and face limited time to transfer or find alternatives. They are asking the court for immediate relief, including a temporary restraining order and a preliminary injunction, to reinstate the varsity program while the case proceeds. Quinnipiac has declined to comment on the litigation and previously said the change reflected “strategic realignment” and Title IX compliance, including adding a men’s indoor and outdoor distance track program. The lawsuit cites the team’s historical success, including multiple national championships and Ilona Maher’s Olympic medal, which the plaintiffs say the university undermined despite prior Title IX-related commitments.
Key Points
1
In a joint statement shared with CT Insider, plaintiffs rising junior Regan Perez and rising sophomore Carolyn Melody said Quinnipiac “chose to eliminate one of the most successful programs in school history while adding men’s indoor and outdoor track,” calling it “the worst possible time” and arguing it “treats our futures like line items that can be erased overnight.”
2
Court filings cited prior actions by women’s rugby coach Becky Carlson, including a 2017 complaint to the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights that included allegations about “discriminatory and inappropriate remarks,” such as employees telling female athletes that “the men’s ice hockey team was more deserving of QU’s promotion for media attention.”
3
The lawsuit seeks to prevent not just the demotion but also ongoing effects, alleging that Quinnipiac’s “retaliatory elimination of the women’s varsity rugby team also chills Plaintiffs, proposed class members, witnesses, and other students from raising, supporting, participating in, or pursuing Title IX complaints or this litigation,” according to ESPN’s reporting on the case allegations.
4
Quinnipiac’s athletic director Greg Amodio defended the change in the university’s April statement, saying: “These decisions are never easy, but they are essential to ensuring that Quinnipiac Athletics remains equitable, competitive, and sustainable for the long term.”
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