In April, Quinnipiac University announced that it was demoting its women’s varsity rugby program to club status while adding a men’s distance track team. A few weeks later, 23 current and incoming women’s rugby players sued. Quinnipiac’s move, they alleged, discriminated against female athletes in part by denying them equal access to revenue sharing and to NIL (name, image, and likeness) opportunities.
The Quinnipiac experience is a harbinger. The 2025 House v. NCAA settlement, which expanded NIL opportunities for athletes, has introduced elements of market justice into college sports. Title IX, as currently enforced, still demands proportionate parity in resources allocated between men’s and women’s sports. The House NIL settlement puts colleges on a collision course with Title’s IX’s reigning demand for engineered proportional outcomes.
