Schools That Forfeited Volleyball Matches Asked to Pay ‘Damages” To San Jose State University

Two of the five schools which chose to cancel and forfeit their women’s volleyball matches rather than compete against biological male player Blaire Fleming have been asked for money from San Jose State University (SJSU).

Boise State University (BSU) and Utah State University, have been asked by SJSU to pay the school $1,250 each to compensate for revenue lost when the matches were forfeited.

SJSU asked Utah State & Boise State for money over forfeited volleyball matches saying they caused the university reputational harm.

I think they did that all on their own.

The nerve. It is the Bay Area though. Hubris is kind of their thing. https://t.co/NkZSuq4nEe

— Jennifer Sey (@JenniferSey) October 31, 2024

According to emails obtained by Outkick in a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to Boise State, SJSU Athletic Director Jeff Konya wrote to BSU Athletic Director Jeremiah Dickey asking that the school pay SJSU for the forfeit.

Konya wrote:

“Your institution’s arbitrary decision not to play an otherwise eligible NCAA team has resulted in harm to SJSU financially and our institution’s brand. We estimate we missed out on approximately $1,250 in game day revenue by not playing the [match] on Saturday when you add all of the various revenue sources (i.e., concessions, parking among others). I would ask to be made whole at the very least.”

SJSU confirmed to Outkick that it had asked both BSU and Utah State to pay $1,250 for the forfeited volleyball matches and that neither school had honored the request.

The other three schools, Southern Utah, Wyoming and University of Nevada Reno, which chose to forfeit matches against SJSU were not asked for money because those were not home games for San Jose State, according to Outkick.

Of the five teams that chose to forfeit rather than play against a biological male opponent, only the University of Nevada Reno team cited concerns over “fairness” and “safety” as the specific reasons its team chose not to play.

The other schools simply announced that they would be forfeiting their matches against SJSU.

SJSU has portrayed the schools’ decision to forfeit as “arbitrary” rather than concede that males playing in female sports creates an unfair and potentially unsafe environment for female athletes.