The Hartford Hawks voted earlier this year to transition from division one to division three. There was quite a bit of controversy around the move, but all was going according to plan. That was until the announcement that the student-athletes and managers of Hartford were joining together to file a federal lawsuit to block the move. The student-athletes are arguing in federal court that the move violates a promise made to them “to play division one basketball for up to five years”.
No one more deserving. @UofHartford this should be the face of your school. Player of the year, scholar athlete but instead he’s gone because of your inept leadership. Go tear it up brother! ?? https://t.co/BBGi34FlA4
— Robert Carmody (@carm157) July 5, 2021
The frustration from the Hartford Hawks student-athletes has become very apparent. They have grown frustrated and feel ignored by the university. The board of regents voted back in May to transition from division one to division three. This move seems mostly focused on the program being able to save an estimated nine million dollars a year. That number seems to be a large portion of the lawsuit. The lawyers for the student-athletes are arguing that this number is misleading or even wrong.
School President Gregory Woodward and the student-athletes seem to be at a harsh standoff that will be settled in court. It is unclear how far this lawsuit will even get or if it will be thrown out altogether. There is a long way to go before the Hartford Hawks plan to submit a formal request with the NCAA to transition down. The request will come in January of 2022 and the actual move will take a few more years. This is a messy situation that has no clear-cut solution.
