EMU Today

YPSILANTI -- The Sixth Circuit Count of Appeals has granted Eastern Michigan University’s request for an emergency stay in the Title IX case involving the reinstatement of the women’s softball program. 

The decision means the University can halt the process ordered by the district court to hire a softball coach and begin the reinstatement of the program, until the merits of the case are decided. 

An excerpt from today’s ruling reads “…Title IX requires equality between men’s and women’s teams, not that certain teams (say women’s softball) be reinstated rather than other sports teams be created, supported, or expanded.”

Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling

The University has maintained that the lower court's preliminary injunction was an overreach, essentially placing it in the role of athletic director and determining which sports the University should have. 

This is particularly important since the University presented and is prepared to implement a solution that more comprehensively addresses its Title IX responsibilities by adding more women student athletes to its rosters through the addition and expansion of other women's sports - actions that would significantly increase the number of participation opportunities for women student athletes, over and above those that would occur under the district court's original order. 

The University continues to demonstrate its commitment to providing more opportunities for women student athletes. In fact, the University's initial actions in eliminating sports in March 2018 helped narrow the participation gap between female and male student athletes -- considerably more male student athletes were impacted by the decision than female. 

As the University has stated repeatedly, its overarching priority in this situation is to meet its Title IX obligations completely and in a way that most benefits student-athletes. Eastern will continue to be guided by this principle as it executes its Title IX plan in the months to come as this litigation continues. 

Background

It is important to note that the decision to reduce the number of sports offered at Eastern Michigan was designed to put the University in alignment with our Mid-American Conference (MAC) counterparts, including Central Michigan and Western Michigan. At the time of the reduction, Eastern offered 21 sports, the most in the MAC. This was not sustainable in the long term, and was similar to the reduction of four sports taken by the University at Buffalo (another MAC school) in 2017.

The University's actions will continue to reflect its determined efforts to be fiscally responsible and to realign resources in order to continue to invest in the academic success, and the support of, students. An example of that is evident in this semester's opening of the newly renovated and expanded Strong Hall, the final project in the University's Science Complex, with state-of-the-art facilities and lab space for students interested in STEM careers. Eastern continues to invest in its future.