Bringing women's volleyball back to QU

Hamden (WTNH) - The battle to get the Quinnipiac University's women's volleyball team back on the court started today.

In an effort to balance the budget, Quinnipiac University chose to eliminate three sports: men's golf, outdoor track and women's volleyball. So the American Civil Liberties Union is helping the women's volleyball team sue the University.

The ACLU claims that Quinnipiac violated the Title IX rules that guarantee women an equal chance to play college sports. The ACLU is seeking an injunction that would prevent the university from cutting the team until the court reaches a final decision on the case.

"We don't believe that Quinnipiac has been following Title IX or been in compliance with Title IX since its existence," said Patrick Doyle, ACLU-CT. "And when they chose to eliminate the women's volleyball program, they really made a big mistake and they really further exacerbated the problem of their non-compliance with Title IX."

First, though, they're seeking an injunction to bring back volleyball this fall. The first witness to take the stand in Bridgeport Federal Court said she's been playing volleyball since she was old enough to touch a ball, and she turned down full scholarships from other schools to play for Quinnipiac. She just finished her freshman year and feels she may have just wasted her time at Quinnipiac.

"These players, and the coach's, life has been thrown into turmoil now. You only have a small window of eligibility the NCAA," Doyle said.

Again, there is a broader lawsuit about whether or not Quinnipiac University is in compliance with Title IX. That's going to go on for a while. The hearing about whether volleyball can continue during that time will probably just last for a couple of days.

A spokesman for Quinnipiac said no one from the University would be available to comment on the case.

More background on the case can be found at: www.acluct.org