ESPN College Sports

BRIDGEPORT, Conn. -- Quinnipiac University coaches manipulated the rosters on some men's teams in the 2007-08 school year to meet gender equity goals, the school's athletic director testified Tuesday.

Jack McDonald appeared in federal court in Bridgeport to defend a lawsuit filed by the coach and some members of the women's volleyball team, which the Connecticut university plans to eliminate.

The players and coach Robin Sparks are asking U.S. District Judge Stefan Underhill for an injunction that would require the university to keep the team until the lawsuit is resolved. The lawsuit accuses the school of failing to provide female students with equal opportunity to participate in varsity intercollegiate athletics.

The issue was first made public Monday, when Sparks testified that some coaches dropped male players from squads before their seasons began to make Title IX reports to the US Department of Education appear more gender balanced. The coaches would reinstate the dropped players days later, Sparks testified. She did not specify which teams were involved.

McDonald said the university did set goals for the size of each team in an effort to get the proportions of men and women in the athletic department more in line with the proportions of the school's general population. But he said, the administration did not condone the practice of dropping and adding players to meet those goals.

"Nobody told coaches that, 'This is how you get around it [the rules], guys,'" he said.

McDonald said the issue has been addressed.

Federal Title IX laws, enacted in 1972, require schools to provide equal access to athletic opportunities regardless of gender.

To comply with Title IX, a school can show proportionality of female athletes to female students on campus; or a history of increasing sports for women; or prove it has met the interest and ability of the underrepresented group.

Quinnipiac has 21 Division I sports -- 10 men's and 11 women's programs. Citing budget cuts because of the recession, the school announced in March that it was ending women's volleyball, cutting men's golf and outdoor track, and promoting cheerleading to varsity status.

The school's student population is estimated to be about 63 percent women next year, and under roster management goals, about 62 percent of its athletes will be women, McDonald said.

Sparks testified that eliminating volleyball and adding cheerleading would be a step backward for women and violates the spirit of Title IX.

On Thursday, the school showed the judge a video of Quinnipiac cheerleaders performing a competitive routine at a national meet, and cheerleading coach Mary Ann Powers took the stand to discuss the validity of her sport.

She said cheerleaders have been unfairly stereotyped as "the bobby socks, the ponytail and skirt and the girl that wants to be liked by all the boys." She said her team is comprised of high-level gymnasts who must perform specific tumbling and throwing elements during competitions.

"I think what offends [cheerleaders] more than anything is other women degrading them and knocking what they do," she said.

But Powers also acknowledged that her sport is overseen by several competing organizations and she did know whether cheerleading could be considered a sport for Title IX purposes.

Sparks, hired in 2007, and several volleyball players say they were assured by Quinnipiac officials that the school was committed to rebuilding the volleyball program and were angered and hurt by the March 4 announcement that their sport would be cut.

McDonald testified Tuesday that Quinnipiac considered as recently as November building a new volleyball facility, but those plans were derailed by the recession. As the recession deepened, administrators decided some programs would have to be cut, he said.

"Clearly, it was never my intent to drop any sport," he said.

Officials are considering converting the gym in which the team plays into office or class space, he said. He also said it would be impractical to move the team to the school's basketball arena or recreation center.

There is no room for volleyball offices or volleyball locker rooms in the TD Banknorth Center -- the 180,000-square-foot building that opened in 2007 with two arenas -- one dedicated to basketball, the other to hockey.

McDonald said he never promised Sparks, who took a $15,000 pay cut to come to Quinnipiac in 2007, that the volleyball program would be continued indefinitely.

"My support for her was high, but that doesn't mean anyone is getting tenure or a lifetime contract because of it," he said.

The volleyball team, which plays in the Northeast Conference, finished last season with a 5-30 record.

Testimony in the hearing is expected to conclude Wednesday. Underhill has not said when he will issue a ruling.

Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press