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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowFour Hanover College swimmers are suing the Southern Indiana school, accusing it of violating a federal anti-discrimination law when it eliminated their team last spring.
The students say Hanover has failed to provide equal opportunities for female athletes to participate in sports, and that situation will get worse without the swim team, according to a complaint filed earlier this week in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana.
The plaintiffs — Tallulah Frazier, Shelby Geraghty, Lucy Schoenlein and Anna Williams — are seeking class-action status for their case.
They cite the federal law known as Title IX, which requires schools that receive federal funds to provide women and men equal opportunities to participate in athletics and equal athletic financial aid among other things.
“Hanover receives substantial federal funding but fails to provide the required equality to women,” the complaint states.
Hanover announced in March that it was eliminating both the women’s and men’s swimming teams, a move the plaintiffs said was both surprising and devastating.
College representative Peter Ashley said the school’s decision to cut the teams was “due to low participation and financial unsustainability.”
“Women’s sports are and will continue to be a valued aspect of campus life,” he said. “Hanover College takes its obligations under federal law seriously and will demonstrate the College’s commitment to comply with Title IX.”
He declined further comment.
The lawsuit notes that women made up around half of Hanover’s undergraduate student population in the 2024-2025 school year, but they comprised only 35% of total athletes at the school.
A chart in the complaint shows that the percentage of female athletes has consistently been lower than their representation in the total student population dating back to 2005.
“Throughout its history, Hanover has failed to provide equal intercollegiate athletic participation opportunities to its female students,” the lawsuit states.
The swimmers note that Hanover will shift resources for swimming to a women’s flag football program the school is starting.
“However, the possibility of a new team in two years does not erase the current lack of opportunities for women at Hanover,” the lawsuit says.
The case is 4:26-cv-00219-SEB-KMB.
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