SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) – Three Utah School Districts and six of their former students reached a settlement Friday after a six-year lawsuit. 

Girl football pioneer Sam Gordon and 21-year-old Lauren Dixon were two of the six women who sued the Canyons, Jordan, and Granite School District in 2017. They claimed that the three districts were violating Title IX and discriminating against their female students for refusing to create a girls’ football program. 

“We filed this lawsuit in hopes that girls could eventually get their own team to have their own time to shine,” Dixon said.

After six years, they reached a settlement. The districts agreed to add more girls sports like lacrosse, competitive cheer, and girls wrestling. They also plan to hire a Title IX coordinator in each district, and a school sports liaison at each Junior High and High School. 

“We’ve kind of set the foundation for ourselves,” Gordon said. “Any other interest girls are having that isn’t being provided by the schools, now there’s an outlet and opportunity for us to find it.”

It’s a foundation they’re hoping will continue to move forward in the future. 

“Even though it doesn’t include me anymore, it could affect my daughter one day,” Dixon said. “I want her to know that she can go do what she wants to do because there were women before her that fought for it. I want her to be grateful for that.”