CS Fullerton Reinstates Women’s Volleyball, Adds Soccer

Cal State Fullerton agreed Wednesday to reinstate its women’s volleyball team, add women’s soccer and achieve equity for female athletes within 10 years.

The changes are the key elements of an out-of-court settlement reached in a sex-discrimination lawsuit filed against the university after it dropped women’s volleyball Jan. 28 as a cost-cutting move. Men now compose 72% of athletes, but only 45% of the student body.

The agreement was signed by principals on both sides, including Jim Huffman, the former volleyball coach who was fired in March. It is to be filed in Superior Court on Friday.

Under the agreement, Fullerton has promised to:

--Restore the volleyball team at the funding level of 1991-92. The school also agreed to continue to sponsor volleyball as long as a student-interest survey already in use continues to rank the sport among the top four of the seven women’s sports. The agreement provides for the hiring of a coach but does not seek to resolve the status of Huffman, who has a wrongful-termination grievance pending against the school.

--Adopt a long-range gender-equity plan calling for an improvement in the ratio of male athletes to females to 60-40 within five years. Within 10 years, the ratio is to be proportionate to that of the student body, within an allowable 5%.

--Add women’s soccer, thus reducing the disparity between the number of male and female athletes.

--Provide comparable facilities, coaching, playing times and equipment for men’s and women’s teams.

--Assign a nine-member committee--perhaps the existing Athletics Council--to oversee the status of gender equity and complete an annual assessment of settlement compliance.