Title IX is 50 years old. But these women are still fighting for fairness at St. Cloud State University.

No one knew what the early-morning meeting was about, but Jill Kedrowski remembers nervous energy coursing through the crowd of student-athletes on the campus of St. Cloud State University in 2016.

“We’re sitting there with all the other athletes, and they make an announcement that tennis is cut,” Kedrowski said.

Citing budget constraints, St. Cloud State told the athletes it planned to eliminate half a dozen sports, including women’s tennis and women’s Nordic ski.

“That day was horrible,” said Alexie Portz, Kedrowski’s doubles partner. “They didn’t tell us really anything else other than that and hadn’t given us any heads up.”

Along with their teammates and members of the women’s Nordic ski team, Portz and Kedrowski sued the university, arguing St. Cloud State violated Title IX, which prohibits discrimination in education on the basis of sex.

Last month, a federal judge found that while the university is making progress, it is still violating provisions of Title IX.

The landmark civil rights legislation turned 50 years old this year, but the prolonged legal battle in St. Cloud highlights the inequities in athletics that still persist today, according to Donald Chance Mark Jr., the attorney representing the student-athletes in the ongoing litigation.

“This legislation was passed in 1972,” Mark said. “Why are we still having this discussion 50 years later?”

Title IX goes viral

The inequity in the treatment of female athletes became a viral moment in 2020 during the NCAA March Madness Basketball tournament. Photos and videos emerged, showing stark differences between the men’s and women’s weight rooms, along with other accommodations.

Mark, the attorney, said their lawsuit exposed a similar inequity at St. Cloud State University. The men’s baseball team plays at a field that is maintained by the city. The women’s softball team is responsible for the care of its field, which Mark says has to be watered by dragging a hose across the street and over a 15-foot fence.

The class-action lawsuit alleged gender discrimination in St. Cloud State University’s athletic opportunities and also the “allocation of benefits” for female athletes.

In September, U.S. District Judge John Tunheim wrote in a court order that the university “has failed to show it is in full compliance with Title IX,” when it comes to treatment and benefits.

Interim director of athletics at St. Cloud State University Holly Schreiner said they are in the process of working on a policy to present to the court to show they treat men’s and women’s sports equally, specifically when it comes to travel.

“When we’re looking at travel, do our teams travel by bus? Do they travel by van? Do they travel by airplane?” Schreiner said. “Also thinking about our travel and per diem when it relates to meals and hotel rooms. So no longer will coaches probably be able to choose how many kids sleep in a room, we’ll just have a standard policy, so everyone’s across the board doing the same thing.”

Schreiner stepped in to run the athletics department in May after longtime athletic director Heather Weems left the university.

Weems, who is now the commissioner of the National Collegiate Hockey Conference, did not respond to interview requests.

Generational impact

The legal battle has completely reshaped the athletics program.

In 2019, the university cut football after Judge Tunheim ordered the school to make changes.

Cutting the largest men’s program on campus allowed the university to comply with Title IX by offering more participation opportunities to women than men, the university said at the time of the cuts.

“We never wanted to have men’s athletic opportunities taken away,” Portz said. “Our ultimate goal and what we would like St. Cloud State to do is add women’s athletic opportunities to solve the Title IX issue.”  

During an interview with 5 INVESTIGATES, Schreiner described the lawsuit as a “hindrance,” but did acknowledge the litigation helped the university get to where it is today.

“I think we may not have taken as deep of a dive into the minutiae of all the areas of Title Nine,” Schreiner said. “What we’re excited about is when we can finally not be under the court’s really guidance on this anymore so that we’re not spending our time and energy trying to fulfill the requirements of the court case and really can spend all of our energy focused on doing right for our student-athletes.”

Six years ago, Portz and Kedrowski began this fight for themselves, but they knew it would impact women for generations to come.

“I want opportunities for women,” Kedrowski said. “They deserve the same exact opportunity that I had in college.”