Law Firm Brings Title IX Lawsuit Against Marshall University After School Threatens to Cut Women’s Swimming & Diving Team
Members of the Marshall University women’s swimming and diving team filed a class action lawsuit against the school and its Board of Governors for violating their civil rights under Title IX, which prohibits sex discrimination in all educational institutions that receive federal funds. The plaintiffs have also asked the court to issue a temporary restraining order and a preliminary injunction to prevent Marshall from eliminating any women’s team, including the swimming and diving team, while the court considers the merits of their claim.
Bailey & Glasser, LLP (“Bailey Glasser”), represents fifteen members of the women’s swimming and diving team. The litigation team is led by partners Cary Joshi and Joshua I. Hammack and includes lawyers Savanna Jones and Gabrielle Marcum. The lawsuit, Dodd v. Marshall University, was filed yesterday in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia.
As set forth in the Complaint, the plaintiffs allege Marshall has violated Title IX by discriminating against women concerning athletic participation opportunities. An independent audit of Marshall’s Title IX compliance situation, done in October 2025, found that Marshall shortchanged women by 210, 250, and 160 participation opportunities in the most recent three academic years. Other publicly available information confirms similar gaps going back even further. Against these substantial and longstanding participation gaps, Marshall chose to eliminate the women’s swimming and diving team, which will make the participation gap even wider.
“This is not an especially close case,” said Joshua I. Hammack. “For years, Marshall has failed to offer women equal opportunities to participate in varsity sports. And now the school seeks to cut a women’s team. The brave women on the swimming and diving team want nothing more—but also nothing less—than the equality Title IX demands.”
Marshall’s Athletic Director, Gerald Harrison, notified the team of Marshall’s decision to eliminate the team just days before their last competition of the season, describing the team as “cuttable.” AD Harrison delivered this message to the student-athletes on the first day of the “Week of HERd: A celebration of Women in Sports,” during which Marshall celebrates its female student-athletes and tries to show its support for the women’s athletic program.