Student athletes sue university over program cuts, cite Title IX

(The Center Square) – Three wrestlers at California Baptist University have filed a federal lawsuit challenging the school’s decision to eliminate its men’s wrestling program, arguing it violates Title IX and unfairly discriminates against male athletes. The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, comes after the university announced Jan. 2 that it would discontinue its men’s wrestling, golf and swimming and diving teams at the end of the 2025–26 academic year. Women’s athletic programs were not affected. CBU, an NCAA Division I school in Riverside in Southern California, competes in the Big 12 Conference for wrestling. The plaintiffs - Paul Kelly, Cooper Shore and Jesse Vasquez, all CBU students and wrestlers - allege the university is using a federal Title IX compliance standard as a pretext to reduce opportunities for men. The issue is a longstanding 1979 policy interpretation b