In the weeks after the settlement was reached, the swimmers and MSU were in close contact to agree on a Gender Equity Review Director to independently conduct the review, the swimmers’ lawyer Lori Bullock said.

Eventually they agreed to reach out to Gabe Feldman, one of the nation’s preeminent experts in sports law, who serves as the director of the Tulane Sports Law Program and editor of The Sports Lawyers Journal.

Then, the swimmers heard nothing, Bullock says.

In June, she reached out to MSU in hopes of an update on whether Feldman had been retained. When the university got back to her, they said that not only had Feldman been hired, but he had already come to campus to tour the facilities and interview coaches and players for his review.

Bullock says the lapse in communication left the swimmers questioning MSU's commitment to a truly neutral review. 

“The women feel it was another way for MSU to outwardly present that they were dedicated to gender equity, while their actions demonstrated otherwise,” Bullock said.

Deputy university spokesperson Dan Olsen said despite that perception, MSU notified the swimmers of Feldman's retention and thus met the conditions of the settlement.

But Bullock argues that even if the means of contact weren't "explicitly in the settlement," the swimmers were right to expect that they and MSU would have equal access to the person they selected for the review.

“He is supposed to be a neutral third party, that means both parties have access to him,” Bullock said. “This shouldn't be a one-sided endeavor.”

The swimmers have since contacted Feldman and scheduled virtual meetings, and while it's "not the same," Bullock says their faith in the review has been restored after speaking to him.

A report with finalized findings is on track to be completed and publicly released by Sept. 1. Any inequity it identifies will have to be remedied by the 2026-2027 academic year, per the settlement agreement.

This new effort to ensure compliance by the athletics department is one part of a years-long reckoning with Title IX in seemingly every part of the university's administration.

MSU’s last two presidents resigned after issues with Title IX; in Fall 2022, faculty and student groups lost confidence in MSU’s board over its issues with Title IX; MSU led a group of universities petitioning the US supreme court to review the Title IX statute; three MSU deans resigned in the last year over either issues with Title IX or issues with the university’s apathy to it; and the president, provost, board and six other top administrators are currently being sued over their handling of one of those resignations, following the board’s $1.6 million outside investigation into the matter.

Hope for Swim and Dive reinstatement

The settlement provided no direct path to bringing back the program. It had stipulations which would mandate that MSU add a women’s varsity team if the participation gap grows greatly in coming years, but that additional team being swimming is unlikely because of the high facilities cost that got it cut in the first place.

When the case settled, swimmers called the resolution “bittersweet,” as it would ensure equality for future athletes but wouldn't get them back in the pool as they had hoped.

But amid the settlement and review, an unrelated effort has created a real chance for reinstatement of the team.

In June, it was announced that after years of advocacy, the group Battle for Spartan Swim and Dive reached a deal with the university: the team can come back if advocates raise $26.5 million to pay for it by Oct. 1.

Interim President Teresa Woodruff said those donations would cover expenses associated with building a new competition pool for the team and five years of operating expenses.

At time of publication, the group has already raised about $5.2 million in pledges on the condition of reinstatement, according to a member of their leadership, former MSU trustee candidate Mike Balow.

They hope to ramp up fundraising in the coming months as they work with MSU to be able to offer naming rights for various parts of the new facilities, Balow said.