Overview
- Twenty-three current and incoming Quinnipiac women’s rugby players filed a class-action Title IX complaint in U.S. District Court on Friday seeking a preliminary injunction to restore the team’s varsity status.
- The plaintiffs ask the court to reinstate varsity status immediately and to compel Quinnipiac to distribute revenue-sharing payments and NIL support in a manner they say complies with federal gender-equity law.
- The suit names Quinnipiac, its board of trustees, president Marie Hardin and athletic director Greg Amodio and alleges the April 14 decision to convert rugby to a club sport was retaliatory and discriminatory.
- Players say the late timing of the announcement left many recruits and current athletes with little time to transfer or find comparable programs and that the downgrade will eliminate scholarships, varsity funding and access to athletic resources.
- The case builds on Quinnipiac’s prior Title IX history, cites long-running complaints by coach Becky Carlson and could shape how colleges use post‑House revenue and NIL rules when changing sport status.