University of Tennessee settles Title IX lawsuit for more than $2 million

Ayres Hall at the University of Tennessee Knoxville campus.
(Image credit: Facebook.com/UTKnoxville)

The University of Tennessee has settled a federal Title IX lawsuit filed by eight female plaintiffs who alleged the university maintains a "hostile sexual environment."

If approved by a judge, half of the $2.48 million settlement will be paid by the athletics department and half by the Knoxville campus. The lawsuit claims that the University of Tennessee violates Title IX in the handling of sexual assault cases, and under the settlement UT admits no guilt, but will appoint an independent commission to review sexual assault prevention programs and Title IX. The unidentified plaintiffs include women who accused former basketball and football players of sexual assault, and in one case, assault for refusing sex.

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.