Title IX Breach? UC Davis Eliminating D1 Women’s Championship Equestrian Team

The UC Davis Women’s Equestrian team wins an historic 3rd conference title! We all should be celebrating, right?

The 2026 ECAC Conference Championship in Harrington, Delaware, marked the end of the UC Davis Division I Women’s Equestrian Team’s season, where they finished as the undefeated Conference Champions.

However, despite record-breaking success, the Division 1 team is being cut in July as a result of what parents and supporters say is the Athletic Department’s financial malfeasance.

What?

The winning Division 1 Equestrian team is being eliminated by UC Davis Athletics. They are fighting for reinstatement, while STUNT is being promoted and elevated by UC Davis and the NCAA. STUNT is governed at the collegiate level by USA Cheer.

According to equestrian team parents and supporters the Globe spoke with, the Athletic Director at UC Davis announced the elimination of the D1 equestrian team on January 9, 2026, despite the program’s close alignment with the university’s agricultural and veterinary missions, two-time conference champion wins at the time, UC Davis’ “Women’s Team of the Year” award, and team members’ consistently high GPAs.

Notably, 16 Aggies were selected by the National Collegiate Equestrian Association Committee for their standout academic achievements throughout the season, recognizing the student-athletes on the 2025-26 All-Academic teams and Academic Honor Roll. The NCEA recognized those student athletes who have reached the highest standards of excellence in both the arena and the classroom, UC Davis reported April 8th.

Back to the UC Davis announcement January 9, 2026 kicking the team to the curb:

Equestrian will transition from varsity status to club sport status, and STUNT will be elevated from club sport status to NCAA varsity status beginning in July 2026.

“These decisions were made following extensive external and internal analysis and thoughtful collaboration with campus leadership,” said Rocko DeLuca, Director of Athletics. “As the landscape of Division I athletics continues to evolve, it is important that we regularly evaluate how we best align our resources to support student-athletes, advance gender equity, and position UC Davis Athletics for long-term success. Our student-athletes across the board—including those in Equestrian—are dedicated, talented, and driven. They represent UC Davis with tremendous pride and excellence.”

Only parents and supporters say there was no “extensive external and internal analysis,” no Title IX “gender equity” considerations, and the “long-term success” of the UC Davis Equestrian team was callously interfered with.

January 16, 2026, CBS News reported:

The University of California, Davis announced it will downgrade its NCAA Division I varsity equestrian team to club sport status in favor of elevating another emerging women’s sport to varsity this July.

The student-athletes of the Equestrian Team have had a home on the UC Davis campus for the past eight years. But for the 33 girls on the roster, their current competition season will be their last as DI athletes.

Notably, January 16, 2026, the NCAA announced that at the 2026 NCAA Convention, all three divisions voted to approve STUNT becoming an NCAA championship sport.

It feels like a little collusion here, doesn’t it?

Why can’t UC Davis have both the championship women’s D1 Equestrian Team and STUNT? the Globe asked UC Davis Director of Athletics Rocco DeLuca.

The limited information released to justify the decision was immediately shown to be wrong. “There were so many errors in the announcement,” a parent told the Globe. “We got internal emails from UC Davis, and saw they were manipulating the [equestrian] budget.”

On January 9th, when the girls were told that their team was being eliminated, parents said they discovered the school was still raising funds from parents for the equestrian program. “They were running credit cards before the vote,” another parent said.

“Eliminating a championship women’s team while funneling disproportionate resources to men’s programs does not advance equity — it undermines it,” the parents said.

Parents said the timing of the announcement was to inflict maximum impact. “It could not have been more cruel to the athletes,” a parent said. “The announcement happened in the middle of the season – after the normal application deadline. 50% of new recruits were later denied, and forced to take a gap year.”

Recruited athletes turned down other collegiate opportunities based on UC Davis commitments only to learn — after application deadlines — that the team would no longer exist, nor would their scholarships, parents said.

The parents filed public records requests with UC Davis and discovered the decision to eliminate the D1 Equestrian Team was actually made in March of 2025. “They knew they were cutting the team – while they were still recruiting,” another parent said.

The January announcement gave the least amount of time for the parents to fight back, or for girls to find other schools’ equestrian teams.

As for the financials, parents said “reported expenses for the equestrian team appear drastically increased compared to previous years, to other sports, and other comparable equestrian teams. Furthermore, the 3rd party data had at that time not been released, and no one within academia, veterinary medicine, or the equine industry appeared to have been consulted, which is highly unusual,” parents said. The parents said costs for the equestrian program were manipulated and inflated by more than $1 million.

The parents said they went through all of the budget expenses: horses, equipment, stalls, coaches, game-day, travel, meals… “we came up with $750,000 – $800,000.” They added up the horses, vet bills, travel, memberships, and did not come close to the UC Davis claim of $1.9 million. And a Collegiate Consulting report claimed the figure was $2,066.00.

Then they started digging into claimed expenses and found claims of $30,000 fundraising and marketing charges, which parents said is 23 to 78 times other schools’ fundraising and marketing costs. “There’s a $1.1 million differential we can’t account for,” a parent told the Globe. “The report is really inflated.”

Parents report that the Equestrian expenses were inflated by more than $1 million through accounting distortions, including:

• Misrepresenting operating expenses as operating budgets
• Removing legitimate revenue such as fundraising and tuition impact
• Counting a fictional offset for in-kind donations as a real expense, contrary to standard accounting practices

These inflated figures were later used in the “independent” consultant report referenced publicly by the university — despite metadata confirming the report was completed after the decision was already made. Internal emails further show consultants were asked to “confirm this approach” rather than independently evaluate the data. The consultant’s analysis, therefore, was used to justify a predetermined decision, not to inform it, the parents said.

“We sent numerous emails to the Athletic Director, the Chancellor, and members of the administration requesting a meeting to review the incorrect information; we were denied.”

A lawsuit was therefore filed a month later. “The University is now citing the existence of that lawsuit as the reason it cannot
meet with us. However, for a month prior to filing, we repeatedly sought (and continue to seek) responsible dialogue.”

According to the parents and supporters:

On January 9, 2026, UC Davis Athletic Director (AD) John “Rocko” DeLuca called a 2 p.m. meeting with the university’s D1 Equestrian Team coaches, followed immediately by a meeting with the athletes, in which he announced that the D1 Equestrian Team would transition from a varsity sport to a club sport, beginning with the 2026-27 academic year – despite two historic championships.

• During the meeting, the Athletic Director informed the team that the decision was based on budgetary concerns and a 3rd party report, that the decision was final, and that the athletes should not try to fight it; the athletes felt intimidated and coerced.
• In a press release issued by the University that same day, and then again on February 17th, the University stated that
  the decision was made after reviewing “the competitive landscape, evolving NCAA opportunities, finances, long-range athletics strategy, and gender equity obligations.”

According to the parents, the issue can’t be financial since so many of the girls on the UC Davis Equestrian team are from out of state, and pay top out-of-state fees to attend UC Davis. Whereas the STUNT team is made up primarily of girls from California, paying in-state tuition.

And, in addition to uncovering budget manipulations, parents found serious Title IX violations.

Parents and supporters advocating for the reinstatement of the UC Davis NCAA Division 1 Women’s Equestrian team correctly report that Title IX requires universities that receive federal funding to provide equal opportunities, financial aid, and treatment to male and female student-athletes. However they say that at UC Davis, women make up the majority of varsity athletes but receive a disproportionately smaller share of athletic financial aid.

According to data the university submitted to the U.S. Department of Education, from the 2019–20 through 2023–24 academic years, UC Davis shorted women athletes between $317,970 and $490,026 each year.

What is going on at UC Davis?

Parents’ discovery of the internal university records revealing budget inflation and manipulation, documented Title IX funding discrepancies, and evidence that the decision to eliminate the team was made more than a year ago while the university continued recruiting athletes and soliciting donations, say that “this sequence permanently altered academic and athletic trajectories and raises serious questions about material misrepresentation.”

This sounds like serious fraud.

“Notably, the women’s equestrian program was originally elevated to Division I status during a settlement period to address prior Title IX compliance issues, only to be eliminated after delivering unmatched competitive success,” parents said. “In fact, the team posted a higher win percentage than UC Davis Men’s Baseball, Men’s Soccer, and Men’s Basketball.”

“Eliminating a championship women’s team while funneling disproportionate resources to men’s programs does not advance equity — it undermines it,” the parents say.

Parents and supporters have offered UC Davis a clear alternative: a privately funded endowment to fully support the equestrian program for multiple years, eliminating any short‑term financial concern and allowing time for independent review. The university rejected the offer.

Additionally, UC Davis continues to refuse meetings with parents, donors, elected officials, and independent experts — despite no pending litigation that would prevent engagement. Requests for a temporary pause to independently review data discrepancies were ignored, and even state legislators have been denied meetings.

Parents and supporters of the UC Davis Equestrian Team say these student-athletes did everything asked of them, and UC Davis did not.

The Globe contacted UC Davis Athletic Director Rocco DeLuca with questions, and heard back from another UCD employee who sent the February press release, and a statement of caring:

“UC Davis is committed to our student-athletes and strives to provide the best environment for them to succeed. The decision to return the Equestrian team to a club sport after seven years as an NCAA sport was difficult. As the Athletics Director stated when the decision was announced, the change was driven by an assessment of financial considerations and the national competitive landscape in this sport, including an independent third-party review. As it has for most of its history, the Equestrian team will continue as a club sport. Our current Equestrian student-athletes will continue to receive athletics-related financial aid, academic advising, tutoring and other resources for the entirety of their undergraduate careers at UC Davis.”