DULUTH, Minn. -- A federal jury has awarded nearly $3.75 million to a former women's hockey coach who sued the University of Minnesota Duluth for alleged discrimination and retaliation.
The jury on Thursday awarded Shannon Miller more than $744,000 for lost wages and benefits and $3 million for emotional distress.
"It's a big day, really, for women,'' Miller said after the verdict. "For women period, but especially women in college athletics.''
Judge Patrick Schiltz will decide future wage and benefit damages.
The jury found during the eight-day trial that UMD discriminated against Miller on the basis of sex and retaliated against her for making Title IX complaints regarding the disparity between the men's and women's hockey programs.
UMD declined to renew Miller's contract in late 2014 after she had been in the job for 16 seasons. Her teams won five national championships but had failed to qualify for the postseason during her final four seasons.
UMD's attorney emphasized a decline in the team's performance. Miller's attorney pointed to the school's shifting public explanation for the nonrenewal of her contract.
The university said it's considering an appeal.
Miller's salary was slightly more than $200,000 per year. She said she sued because she was the victim of discrimination related to gender and sexual orientation.
Athletic director Josh Berlo and UMD chancellor Lendley Black attended the trial. Berlo, previously a senior assistant athletic director for guest relations and event marketing at Notre Dame, fired Miller after a year and a half on the job.
"I want to say I'm extremely disappointed in this decision and very surprised by the decision,'' Black said during a news conference outside the courthouse. "I still stand behind the actions that I took at UMD.''