Cohen v. Brown University
United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit
101 F.3d 155 (1996)
- Written by Angela Patrick, JD
Facts
During the 1990–1991 academic year, Brown University (Brown) (defendant) funded 31 varsity sports programs: 16 men’s teams and 15 women’s teams. These student athletes were approximately 63 percent men and 37 percent women. During that same year, Brown’s undergraduate enrollment was 52 percent men and 48 percent women. As part of a cost-cutting effort, Brown demoted four teams from university-funded status to donor-funded status, causing those teams to lose certain privileges: women’s gymnastics, women’s volleyball, men’s water polo, and men’s golf. While more money was cut from the women’s programs than the men’s programs, the relative number of available team positions remained the same: 63 percent for men and 37 percent for women. Amy Cohen and other members of the women’s gymnastics and volleyball teams (plaintiffs) sued Brown in federal district court, alleging that Brown had violated Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 by denying women an equal opportunity to participate in its sports programs. The district court ruled that Brown had violated Title IX. Brown appealed.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Bownes, J.)
Dissent (Torruella, C.J.)
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