Four female student-athletes have filed a sex discrimination class action lawsuit against Hanover College in Hanover, Ind., for cutting the women’s swim team and an emergency motion for a preliminary injunction to preserve the team as the case proceeds.
According to Arthur Bryant Law, prior to cutting the team, Hanover College was allegedly already falling short of its Title IX requirements by providing women with 170 fewer athletic opportunities.
Former swim team members Lucy Schoenlein, Tallulah Frazier, Shelby Geraghty and Anna Williams brought the case this week, but the swim team was notified of the cut back in March. In the weeks following the announcement of the cut, the women emailed the president of Hanover College, Lake Lambert, explaining that cutting the women’s team was a violation of Title IX. They asked to meet to discuss the future of the team and Title IX compliance. That meeting took place, but no changes were made.
Title IX requires schools to give women and men equal opportunities to participate in varsity sports,” said Schoenlein. “But Hanover College has been depriving women of equal opportunities for decades – and now it’s eliminated the women’s swimming team. So, we’re going to fight for our team, our teammates, and all of the women at Hanover. This sex discrimination has to stop.”
According to SwimSwam, the Division III team was told that it was being cut due to facility maintenance concerns, operational costs and a declining roster. The team was established in 2018 and currently lists eight student-athletes on the roster.
However, even the preservation of the women’s swim team would not bring Hanover into full Title IX compliance. Approximately half of Hanover’s undergraduate students are women, but only 34% of athletics roster spots are for female student-athletes.
“Hanover’s elimination of its women’s swimming team is a flagrant violation of Title IX,” said attorney Arthur Bryant. “According to the most recent publicly available information, women were 50.34% of Hanover’s undergraduates in 2024-25, but they were given only 34.86% of the opportunities to participate in varsity sports. Hanover needs to add around 170 opportunities for women to reach gender equity. It should not be eliminating any women’s teams.”
