Miami Univ. Wrestling Club v. Miami Univ.

• Decision Date: 09 September 2002
• Docket Number: No. 01-3182.,01-3182.
• Citation: 302 F.3d 608
• Parties: MIAMI UNIVERSITY WRESTLING CLUB; Miami University Soccer Club; Miami University Tennis Club; Michael Ambrose; Nathan Studney; Christopher Tangen; Terrence Wright; Ryan Pallinger; Shaun Soucie; Jason Murphy; Nicholas Binge; Steven Mario Contardi; William S. Bloom, Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. MIAMI UNIVERSITY; James C. Garland; Joel Maturi; Wayne R. Embry; Richard Farmer; Roger L. Howe; Eleanor B. Irwin; Fred Lick, Jr.; Laurel Pressler; Kathleen M. Zouhary; Chandra R. Shah; Fred G. Wall, in their official capacities, Defendant-Appellees.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Sixth Circuit

302 F.3d 608

MIAMI UNIVERSITY WRESTLING CLUB; Miami University Soccer Club; Miami University Tennis Club; Michael Ambrose; Nathan Studney; Christopher Tangen; Terrence Wright; Ryan Pallinger; Shaun Soucie; Jason Murphy; Nicholas Binge; Steven Mario Contardi; William S. Bloom, Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. MIAMI UNIVERSITY; James C. Garland; Joel Maturi; Wayne R. Embry; Richard Farmer; Roger L. Howe; Eleanor B. Irwin; Fred Lick, Jr.; Laurel Pressler; Kathleen M. Zouhary; Chandra R. Shah; Fred G. Wall, in their official capacities, Defendant-Appellees.

No. 01-3182.

United States Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit.

Argued: August 7, 2002.

Decided and Filed: September 9, 2002.

Robert R. Furnier (briefed), Todd J. Flagel (briefed), Furnier & Thomas LLP, Cincinnati, OH, Michael E. Rosman (argued and briefed), Center for Individual Rights, Washington, DC, for Plaintiffs-Appellants.

James A. Dyer (argued and briefed), Kevin A. Bowman (briefed), Sebaly, Shillito & Dyer, Dayton, OH, Robin L. Parker (briefed), Miami University, Oxford, OH, for Defendants-Appellees.

Before SUHRHEINRICH and BATCHELDER, Circuit Judges; LITTLE, District Judge.^*

OPINION

BATCHELDER, Circuit Judge.

The plaintiffs appeal the district court's orders granting summary judgment in favor of the defendants on the plaintiffs' equal protection claim, dismissing the plaintiffs' Title IX claim and denying the plaintiffs' motion for class certification. We find that the plaintiffs wholly failed to state either an equal protection claim or a claim under Title IX, and that the district court's denial of the motion for class certification was within the court's sound discretion. We will therefore affirm the judgment dismissing this action.

PROCEDURAL HISTORY

On November 18, 1999, the plaintiffs¹ filed a complaint against the defendants,² claiming that the defendants' elimination of the men's wrestling, tennis and soccer programs at Miami University [hereinafter "Miami"], a state university of the State of Ohio and a recipient of federal funds, constituted gender discrimination in violation of 20 U.S.C. § 1681 et seq. and violated their rights to equal protection under the Fourteenth Amendment. An amended complaint filed shortly thereafter named as plaintiffs a class consisting of all male students who had enrolled in Miami with the expectation that they would be able to compete in wrestling, tennis or soccer and future male students at Miami who wanted to compete in those sports.

The claims in both complaints were identical: they alleged first, that by eliminating the men's wrestling, tennis and soccer programs because of the gender of the participants, the defendants discriminated against the plaintiffs on the basis of sex, excluded them from participation in educational programs because of their sex, and denied them the benefits of educational programs because of their sex, in violation of Title IX and its implementing regulations, 34 C.F.R. § 106 et seq.; and second, that the individual defendants, while acting under color of state authority, denied the plaintiffs the equal protection of the laws in violation of the Equal Protection Clause and 42 U.S.C. § 1983 by eliminating the sports programs on the basis of the gender of the participants. The plaintiffs requested declaratory and injunctive relief, compensatory damages and the reinstatement of those programs.

The defendants moved to dismiss the complaint pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6). The district court granted the motion in part and denied it in part, dismissing the Title IX claim against all of the defendants and the equal protection claim against Miami only, directing that it would proceed with the equal protection claims against the individual defendants for injunctive and declaratory relief pursuant to § 1983.

Meanwhile, the plaintiffs filed a motion for class certification and a second amended complaint, which was identical to the first amended complaint but for the addition of an alternative due process claim. The district court remanded the case to a magistrate judge for reevaluation of the parties' discovery needs in light of the order for partial dismissal, but advised that it intended to hold the motion for class certification in abeyance until it had considered a motion for summary judgment to be filed by the individual defendants on the sole remaining equal protection claim. Upon the completion of the limited discovery allowed by the magistrate judge, the plaintiffs moved for reconsideration of the order dismissing the Title IX claim.

After the individual defendants filed the anticipated motion for summary judgment, the district court issued a memorandum and order granting the summary judgment motion and denying the motion for reconsideration. It also denied as moot all other pending motions, including the plaintiffs' motion for class certification. This timely appeal followed.

STATEMENT OF FACTS

In 1984, the Office of Civil Rights ("OCR"), which enforces Title IX, conducted a comprehensive review of Miami in response to a complaint filed with that office alleging that Miami discriminated against women in the opportunity to receive coaching and in the accommodation of student interests and abilities. The OCR determined that the "rates of participation in athletics [did] not correspond to the percentage of male and female students," but that the proposed addition of women's sports such as cross country would address this problem.

In 1993, Miami conducted a Title IX self-evaluation, and in 1994, a task force issued a report and recommendation regarding intercollegiate athletics, which revealed that in 1993, females constituted fifty-four percent of the Miami student body, while they contributed only twenty-nine percent of Miami's student-athletes. While female athletic teams were added between 1993 and 1997, female students, who comprised fifty-five percent of Miami's undergraduate population in 1997, contributed only forty-two percent of its student-athletes. In twenty-five years, Miami had added only four female varsity teams, and there was unmet female interest in equestrian, crew, golf, lacrosse and water polo. Moreover, Miami spent proportionally more on male than female athlete recruiting and financial aid.

In light of those statistics and the lack of additional funds to increase athletic opportunities for female students, Miami's Athletic Policy Committee concluded, with the assistance of Lamar Daniel, Inc., an independent consultant which conducted a study and formulated a compliance plan in 1996-97, that in order to comply with Title IX, the university would need to eliminate some athletic opportunities for male students. After rejecting all alternatives, Miami's President, James Garland, and Athletic Director, Joel Maturi, recommended to the Miami Board of Trustees [hereinafter "Trustees"] the elimination the men's golf, soccer, tennis and wrestling teams as of the end of the 1998-99 academic year. On April 16, 1999, the Trustees, unable to identify other viable options, voted to eliminate the men's soccer, tennis and wrestling teams. Men's golf ultimately was not cut because the participants and alumni raised sufficient funds to support the program without Miami's financial assistance.

The immediate effects of the Trustees' actions were the loss of athletic opportunities for the members of the men's soccer, tennis and wrestling teams and an increase in the female student-athlete percentage. During the 1999-2000 academic year, females constituted fifty-five percent of Miami's student body and fifty-three percent of its student athletes. Miami also increased the budget for financial aid to female students by $400,000.

HISTORY OF TITLE IX

A. Title IX

Title IX was enacted as part of the Education Amendments of 1972, Pub.L. 92-318, §§ 901-05, 86 Stat. 373-75 (codified at 20 U.S.C. § 1681 et seq. (1972)), and was modeled after Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. §§ 2000d-2000d-7. 118 Cong. Rec. 5802, 5807 (Feb. 28, 1972) (Sen.Bayh); N. Haven Bd. of Educ. v. Bell, 456 U.S. 512, 529, 102 S.Ct. 1912, 72 L.Ed.2d 299 (1982). With some exceptions not relevant here, section 901(a) provides that "[n]o person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance." 20 U.S.C. § 1681(a).

B. 1975 Implementing Regulations

Section 902 authorizes and directs each Federal department empowered to extend Federal financial assistance to issue implementing rules and regulations. 20 U.S.C. § 1682. Two years after Title IX was enacted, Congress directed the Secretary of the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare (HEW)³ to prepare and publish regulations implementing the provisions of Title IX. Pub.L. 93-380, 88 Stat. 484, 612 (1974). After consideration of the over 9,700 comments HEW received regarding its proposed regulations, HEW published a final rule implementing Title IX on June 4, 1975. 40 Fed.Reg. 24,128 (June 4, 1975) (codified at 45 C.F.R. § 86.1). The final regulations became effective on July 21, 1975. 40 Fed.Reg. at 24,128, 24,137.

The regulations provide that

[n]o person shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, be treated differently from another person or otherwise be discriminated against in any interscholastic, intercollegiate, club or intramural athletics offered by a recipient, and no recipient shall provide any such athletics separately on such basis.

34 C.F.R. § 106.41(a). Further, they require that "[a] recipient which operates or sponsors interscholastic, intercollegiate, club or intramural athletics shall provide equal athletic opportunity for members of both sexes." § 106.41(c). Determinations of equal opportunities include, among nine other factors not relevant here, consideration of "[w]hether the...