[PUBLISH]

In the

United States Court of Appeals For the Eleventh Circuit

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No. 23-11670 ____________________

RACHAEL DEMARCUS, ALEXIS SILVER, HANNAH MADDUX, MADDIE SOBOLESKI, CAITLIN TIPPING, et al., Plaintiffs-Appellants, versus UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH ALABAMA, ALEXIS MEEKS-RYDELL, ROBERT CHILCOAT, PATRICIA GANDOLFO, JOEL ERDMANN, et al., Defendants-Appellees. USCA11 Case: 23-11670 Document: 56-1 Date Filed: 04/10/2025 Page: 2 of 25

2 Opinion of the Court 23-11670

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Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Alabama D.C. Docket No. 1:21-cv-00380-KD-B ____________________

Before JORDAN, NEWSOM, and BRASHER, Circuit Judges. NEWSOM, Circuit Judge: Several college volleyball players accused their coach of mis- treating them—physically, verbally, psychologically, and sexually. The players’ accusations are serious, and the coach’s conduct, if it occurred as alleged, may well have violated state law in some way. The question for us, though, is a narrow one: Do the players’ alle- gations assert violations of federal law—specifically, of either Title IX or 42 U.S.C. § 1983? We hold that they do not. We therefore affirm the district court’s order dismissing the players’ claims. I A For two seasons, Alexis Meeks-Rydell was the head coach of the University of South Alabama women’s volleyball team. 1

1 This case reaches us on an appeal from the district court’s grant of Meeks-

Rydell’s and the University’s motions to dismiss. So, for purposes of this ap- peal, we take the facts alleged in the complaint as true and “constru[e] them in the light most favorable to the plaintiff.” Williams v. Bd. of Regents of Univ. Sys. of Ga., 477 F.3d 1282, 1291 (11th Cir. 2007). USCA11 Case: 23-11670 Document: 56-1 Date Filed: 04/10/2025 Page: 3 of 25

23-11670 Opinion of the Court 3

According to eight players, during that time Meeks-Rydell “en- gag[ed] in a pattern and practice of sexual harassment and physical, verbal, and psychological abuse.” Third Am. Compl. ¶¶ 37, 40, Doc. 64. The players—whose names we’ll need to reference be- low—are Rachael DeMarcus, Alexis Silver, Caitlin Tipping, Meaghan Jones, Hannah Kazee, Hannah Johnson, Hannah Mad- dux, and Maddie Soboleski. The players allege that either they or their parents (or both) reported Meeks-Rydell’s misconduct to various University admin- istrators, including Athletic Director Joel Erdmann, Senior Associ- ate Athletic Director Jinni Frisbey, and Associate Athletic Director Chris Moore. They also assert that assistant women’s volleyball coaches Rob Chilcoat and Patricia Gandolfo witnessed Meeks-Ry- dell’s abuse on an ongoing basis. The players accuse Meeks-Rydell of engaging in all manner of sexual abuse. They generally allege that Meeks-Rydell pinched their buttocks, required them to participate in “floor hugs” (which involved Meeks-Rydell lying on top of