Supreme Court declines to hear Michigan State Title IX case

The Supreme Court declined to weigh in on a dispute over Michigan State University’s decision to end its swimming-and-diving programs.

Female athletes sued over the decision citing Title IX as their basis.

Title IX is a broad federal law, part of which dictates that schools have to provide just as many female athletic opportunities as they do male athletic opportunities. Meaning, if a school has 100 male sports they legally have to have 100 female ones as well. Or close to it.

The Michigan State case centers on a swimming program that had more females than males. The group of female athletes that filed suit claimed that getting rid of the program eliminates too many female athletics spots thus leaving the school out of compliance with Title IX. Their hope is that the suit forces Michigan State to re-establish its swimming program.

The lower court sided with the students however that decision did not mandate the re-establishment of the program in question just a mandate to bring the athletic program as a whole into compliance.

The Supreme Court did not comment on why they declined to hear the case which is typical.

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