Deena Deardurff Schmidt Wins $1.45 Million

The former San Diego State swim coach reached a settlement with the university.

Schmidt declined to comment. An Olympic gold medalist in 1972, she filed suit in November 2007, alleging several years of mistreatment at the school, plus “unequal and inadequate” facilities, pay, practice times and administrative support during her tenure from 1994-2007. Schmidt claimed her chances of success as a coach were diminished when SDSU closed its old campus pool in 2000, forcing the team to train off-campus. Her swimming and diving program had finished last in the Mountain West Conference championships during her previous five seasons.

Her suit said she had fought to build a new pool. But after SDSU's new $12 million pool facility opened in March 2007, SDSU Athletic Director Jeff Schemmel told Schmidt in June 2007 that her contract wasn't being renewed. At the time, Schmidt was making $68,000 annually. She also was scheduled to undergo surgery for melanoma and previously had been diagnosed with breast cancer.

Read more here.

Read an older post about the suit (from 2007) here.