Overview
- U.S. District Judge Fred W. Slaughter issued a preliminary injunction requiring immediate reinstatement of Concordia University Irvine’s women’s swimming and diving and women’s tennis teams with full varsity funding, staffing and benefits.
- The order bars the university from eliminating any women’s varsity team during the 2025–26 year and remains in effect for the duration of the lawsuit or until further court order.
- Slaughter found the athletes likely to prevail on the merits after previously denying a temporary restraining order, a shift that preserves opportunities while the case proceeds.
- Concordia argued reinstatement was impossible due to midyear recruiting, hiring hurdles and religious-alignment requirements for coaches, but the court rejected those claims as to feasibility; the university said it will comply.
- The suit cites data showing women were 59% of undergraduates but held 51.2% of varsity spots, as the school pursued $550,000 in annual savings from program cuts and advanced $25.5 million in facility upgrades; the judge noted longer-term compliance could come from other roster moves, including a cut to men’s indoor track and a planned addition of women’s lacrosse, reflecting a broader pattern of courts scrutinizing such reductions.