In the past year many Division I schools tried to drop sports. Most tried to drop men’s sports; some, like William and Mary and Stanford, dropped a large number of Olympic sports. Almost immediately, the players took to the internet, finding law firms to help them in their quest to reinstate their teams.

In the past, this has been an uphill battle for the players. Athletic departments could wait out the students and alumni, hoping their initial passion and anger would subside. But this year, something different happened. More often than not, athletes and alumni have been remarkably agile in articulating their perspectives (particularly as they relate to the school’s prior and/or current Title IX compliance), and finding very capable allies waiting to help.

One of those allies is Arthur Bryant. Twice named one of the 100 most influential lawyers in America, Bryant has been a civil rights icon for decades. The Philadelphia native made his initial mark by winning access for girls to the previously all-male elite public high school, Central High, and he hasn’t looked back. He successfully sued Temple University in the early 1980s to improve the standing of women’s athletics, and has now successfully represented more women athletes and potential athletes in Title IX litigation against schools and universities than any lawyer in the country. He has taken on Brown University, Dartmouth College and, more recently, won reinstatement of the Dickinson College women's squash program. 

An important note--we take a deep look at the emerging trend of colleges trying to comply with Title IX via "Prong 3"--fully accommodating the interests of the underrepresented gender. It's an important discussion.