Baylor is settling with 15 women who claimed they were sexually abused at Waco University after a long-running lawsuit was filed in 2016

Baylor University has settled a years-long federal lawsuit by 15 women who claimed they were sexually abused at the nation’s largest Baptist school. This ended the largest case that had resulted in a widespread scandal that led to the downfall of the university president and its football coach and damaged the school’s reputation.

The settlement notice was filed in online court records Monday, according to the AP. The lawsuit was first filed in June 2016.

The lawsuit was one of several filed alleging employees and administrators ignored or suppressed reports from women who said they had been assaulted on or near campus. Terms of the settlement announced Monday were not disclosed.

Early allegations by some women in the lawsuit included that school officials sometimes used the campus code of conduct that banned alcohol, drugs and premarital sex to pressure women not to report attacks. Another previously settled lawsuit alleged that Baylor promoted a “hunting ground for sex offenders.”

“We are deeply sorry for anyone associated with the Baylor community who has been harmed by sexual violence,” Baylor University said in a statement.

Baylor University has settled a years-long federal lawsuit filed in 2016 on behalf of 15 women

Baylor helmets rest on the field after an NCAA college football game in Waco, Texas in 2015

While we can never erase the reprehensible acts of the past, we pray that this agreement will allow these 15 survivors to move forward in a supportive manner.”

The scandal erupted in 2015 and 2016 when there were allegations of assault against football players. The school hired the Philadelphia law firm Pepper Hamilton to investigate how it handled these and other assaults.

The law firm’s report found that Baylor, under the leadership of school President Ken Starr, had done little over several years to respond to sexual assault allegations against football players.

It also raised broader questions about how the school responded to allegations of sexual assault across campus.

Starr, the former prosecutor who led the investigation into the Bill Clinton-Monica Lewinsky scandal, was removed as president and later left the university. Starr died in 2022.

Also fired was football coach Art Briles, who denied covering up sexual violence in his program. Briles had led the program to a Big 12 Conference championship but has not returned to coaching at major colleges.

Baylor officials said the school has made sweeping changes to the way it handles sexual assault allegations and victims in response to the Pepper Hamilton report.

That report was never fully released, although the women suing the school tried to make it public.

The company’s report found that Baylor was largely unresponsive under school President Ken Starr

Chad Dunn, an attorney for the women who settled Monday, said the lawsuit and scandal went far beyond the problems in the football program that drew early attention.

“Their courage and strength have established legal precedents that will allow others to seek relief from the injuries caused by their universities while creating a safer educational environment for future generations,” Dunn said.

“Baylor’s focus of media attention on football attempted to divert attention from the institutional failures of the Baylor administration.”

“Our customers wouldn’t get anything out of it,” Dunn said. “Their determination turned the focus on the officials in the ivory tower and on the ‘Baylor way.’