College equestrians sue UC Davis after women’s team axed

The plaintiffs say they didn't receive the same opportunities for financial aid as their male counterparts.SACRAMENTO, Calif. (CN) — Over a dozen former members of UC Davis’ women’s equestrian team filed a class action on Tuesday, seeking almost $1.4 million for what they call a deprivation of equal athletic financial aid.“This lawsuit seeks to make UC Davis pay damages to its female varsity student athletes for depriving them of equal athletic financial aid, including the opportunity to compete for aid on an equal basis with men, and to require UC Davis to provide its female varsity student athletes with equal athletic financial aid, including the opportunity to compete for aid on an equal footing with men, in the future,” the plaintiffs write.The sex discrimination class action comes some nine months after the Davis, California, university announced it would eliminate its NCAA Division I women’s varsity equestrian team. Instead, it would transition into a campus club sport.The university based that decision on an assessment by a third party. It also showed UC Davis wasn’t providing women with a required, proportional share of athletic financial aid — a legal requirement, the women say.The plaintiffs argue UC Davis hasn’t paid women varsity student-athletes an equal athletic financial aid share since 2017-18. Additionally, the university overpaid athletic financial aid to student-athletes who are men.The women ask for about $1.4 million for depriving them of athletic financial aid that went to men during 2023-24 and 2024-25. They also seek damages for not receiving financial aid in other years, as well as a court order forcing UC Davis to comply with Title IX.According to the women, student-athletes could and did receive financial aid in the form of scholarships, fees, room and board, and books, along with other kinds of aid.Title IX prohibits gender-based discrimination for educational programs that get federal assistance. The women say UC Davis opted to violate Title IX. It gave much less athletic financial aid to women student-athletes as compared to their male counterparts.“None of the plaintiffs received all of the athletic financial aid for which she was eligible at UC Davis,” they add.The women say they faced gender-based barriers to athletic financial aid their male counterparts didn’t, making it more arduous to get that aid. Not only were they denied an equal chance to get financial assistance, they did, in fact, face the denial of their fair shares.“Each of the plaintiffs was treated like a second-class citizen at UC Davis because of her sex, which is inherently degrading, stigmatizing and affected each of the plaintiff’s experiences,” the women say.For Anna Donovan, one of the plaintiffs, UC Davis’ decision to eliminate the Division I women’s varsity equestrian team led her to consider transferring schools. However, that decision occurred late in the academic year. Other schools had no empty roster spots on their teams or didn’t offer her psychology major.Donovan said the reasons for the team’s downgrade “rang untrue.”“Plaintiff Donovan has been devastated by UC Davis’ elimination of the women’s equestrian team and felt blindsided by the decision, given how well she and her teammates work together and support each other,” they say.Another plaintiff, Carmen Gonzalez, says she selected UC Davis because of its women’s equestrian team and head coach, along with its animal science program. The announcement about transitioning the team appeared disrespectful, lacked empathy and contained wrong information about its performance.The decision shocked her, her teammates and coaches, she adds.“The school did not directly inform the women’s equestrian team members that, while their team was going to be downgraded, the stunt team was being upgraded to Division I varsity status,” the women say. “The women’s equestrian team found out from the public press release.”Attorney Arthur Bryant, lead counsel for the women, called the financial aid situation clear and indisputable sex discrimination in a statement.“When UC Davis cut the equestrian team, it showed what it cared about was the money,” Bryant added. “So, this case focuses on the money.”A representative of UC Davis referred comment to the University of California Board of Regents.Subscribe to our free newslettersOur weekly newsletter Closing Arguments offers the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world, while the monthly Under the Lights dishes the legal dirt from Hollywood, sports, Big Tech and the arts.Additional Reads