SFA discrimination lawsuit moves forward
Posted/updated on: June 17, 2026 at 12:43 pm
NACOGDOCHES — A lawsuit filed in 2025 against Stephen F. Austin State University, claiming to have violated the Title IX rights of student athletes, continues to move forward in court, despite Monday’s ruling to remove five plaintiffs as individuals.
Last year, SFA decided to axe three women’s sports teams: beach volleyball, bowling and golf. According to SFA, the programs were eliminated because of budget deficits and upcoming revenue-sharing requirements.
Consequently, seven student-athletes filed a lawsuit against the institution, claiming that the university discriminated against its female student-athletes by eliminating the teams.
In September 2025, the university filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit on three grounds, as they had already reinstated beach volleyball and golf and claimed that the plaintiffs’ allegations were insufficient to show noncompliance with Title IX.
According to court documents obtained by KETK News, United States District Court Judge Michael J. Truncale ruled on Monday that the motion to dismiss is “granted in part and denied in part.”
GROUND 1: Granted in Part and Denied in Part
Plaintiffs’ request for injunctive relief is moot because SFA has reinstated two of the teams
The judge found that five of the plaintiffs would not benefit from the teams being reinstated since they are no longer students and their athletic eligibility has expired. The judge then ruled to remove the five student athletes from this lawsuit action.
KETK News spoke to their attorney, Arthur Bryant, who says at the time SFA filed the motion to dismiss the case, the plaintiffs hadn’t yet filed their motion for certification to become a class action lawsuit. Additionally, they were “dismissed without prejudice,” meaning they could file the claim again in the future.
For the remaining plaintiffs, the lawsuit remains pending as it moves through the court with a trial still set for December.
GROUND 2 & GROUND 3: Denied
- Ground 2: SFA’s alleged noncompliance with the three-part test does not assert a Title XI violation
- Ground 3: Plaintiff’s factual allegations are insufficient to show noncompliance
The judge found that the three-part test, which is an assessment to determine if an institution complies with Title IX, was valid and denied SFA’s motion to dismiss it as a non-reliant method. The judge also ruled that if the allegations brought by the plaintiffs are found to be true, it would be sufficient to show the university is not in compliance.
Next Steps
Despite the procedural ruling that SFA “won” the first ground, the case can still go “forward, full steam ahead,” Bryant said.
“The court’s decision makes it clear that SFA has no valid defense to this lawsuit,” Bryant said. “The school is violating Title IX and needs to get into compliance with Title IX. Why it refuses to do so and wants to keep fighting, I don’t understand. This is sex discrimination, plain and simple. The judge’s rulings make it clear that the women are being discriminated against and have good causes of action to pursue. SFA ought to just stop and get in compliance.”
The next steps for the plaintiffs are to motion for their class certification and a motion to preserve the claims of all the women athletes, he said, for the trial set in mid-December.
KETK News reached out to SFA, who said they had no additional statements following Monday’s ruling.
