Though the claims from the 2006 case against Slippery Rock University which cut 8 men's and women's teams that year, have been settled, the case is being reopened at the urging of the original 12 plaintiffs. Because current compliance is in doubt, and because the university is being monitored for compliance, the reopening is not especially startling. The judge in the original case is receiving evidence about the situation right now and deliberations will occur in the next few months.
Though a list of specifics was not available in the article, it seems there is some concern over how the university is choosing to meet the accommodations standard. SRU has opted for roster management which means adding spots to existing teams, and has plans to drop women's water polo and swimming after this season. Whether SRU will be allowed to proceed with that plan given that these are currently viable teams will depend, in part, on if they have added enough spots to other teams to compensate.
It will be interesting to see how things proceed but it's also quite interesting to see how a group of students have persisted and pressured their university to follow through. While we hear a lot about initial Title IX complaints and lawsuits, we rarely hear what happens afterwards. The SRU plaintiffs have made sure their issues stay alive until they are satisfactorily resolved.
