Judge denies injunction for Quinnipiac women's rugby team as lawsuit proceeds

A judge has denied current and future Quinnipiac women’s rugby players an injunction to reinstate the team.

“For the foregoing reasons, the Court concludes that Plaintiffs have not met their burden of demonstrating either likely success on the merits of their claims or sufficiently serious questions going to the merits to make them a fair ground for litigation on the issue,” said Judge Kari A. Dooley in her memorandum of decision on Tuesday.

In April, Quinnipiac demoted the varsity team to a club team and announced it would be replaced with a men’s distance track team. They cited Title IX compliance and fiscal sustainability as their reasons for the choice.

The decision on Tuesday concerned whether Quinnipiac University must temporarily maintain its women’s varsity rugby team while a lawsuit challenging the program’s elimination proceeds.

The lawsuit, filed by 23 current and future Quinnipiac women’s rugby players, alleges the university violated Title IX by eliminating opportunities for women’s rugby players. The suit also claims the decision was retaliation for complaints previously raised by the women’s rugby coach and for prior legal action involving the program.

Closing arguments on the players’ request for a temporary injunction were heard Friday in federal court in Bridgeport.

Attorneys for the players argued the evidence supports their allegations and said the university’s decision has caused serious harm by leaving students’ athletic and academic futures in limbo.

Quinnipiac attorneys disputed those claims, arguing that the decision was not retaliatory but rather a cost-cutting measure intended to bring the athletic department into compliance with Title IX.

The university’s attorneys said no one feels good about the decision, but argued the school has the right to make choices it believes are in the university’s best interest.

After the hearing, attorney Lori Bullock said she was encouraged by the opportunity to fully present the players’ case.

“We feel like we got the opportunity to put on our case take the time we needed, I have done a lot of these TRO hearings around the country for women’s athletic programs and that’s not always the case and we feel grateful we had that opportunity here,” Bullock said.