Jennifer Simonetti, the former University of Akron women’s soccer head coach, has sued the college, alleging her termination last year was in retaliation for discrimination complaints.
Simonetti, hired by the university in July 2022 and fired in May 2025, alleged she received disparate treatment due to her gender, including unequal work conditions and inferior institutional support compared to her male colleagues and the men’s soccer program. She said that treatment led her to file a Title IX complaint.
Title IX prohibits sex-based discrimination in schools that receive federal funding.
Simonetti was fired less than a month after she filed that complaint.
Simonetti filed discrimination charges with the Ohio Civil Rights Commission and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. She received notices of her right to sue in state or federal court from both agencies earlier this summer. Her filing on Nov. 4 seeks a jury trial and demands for back pay and compensatory damages.
Complaint alleges unequal treatment by university
Simonetti’s lawsuit alleges years of disparate treatment from the university compared to the men’s teams and coaches, including:
- UA’s former athletic director gave players contradictory instructions during matches she coached. Charles Guthrie was not named in the lawsuit but was the athletic director at the time.
- Hostility directed at her when she used university facilities, including the men’s soccer coach berating Simonetti in a “profanity-laced tirade” after she used the men’s field.
- Restrictions on recruiting players.
- Smaller staff offices and fewer support staff, including a less experienced personnel trainer and the elimination of a graduate-assistant position.
- Unequal marketing opportunities featuring the women’s soccer program, which impacted potential sponsorship and community support.
Former UA head coach previously faced anonymous complaints
Simonetti was fired in May 2025 after being placed on paid administrative leave that February.
An internal investigation — not mentioned in the lawsuit filed this week — found Simonetti dismissed athletes’ injuries, forced them back onto the field too soon and criticized those same athletes for their injuries or for seeking medical attention. The university received anonymous complaints about Simonetti as early as 2023.
During her tenure in Akron, the Zips went 11-32-9 overall in three seasons.
Prior to working at UA, Simonetti spent three seasons as the head coach of Case Western Reserve University’s women’s soccer program. She also had coaching stints at Eastern Oregon University, Marietta College, University of Massachusetts Lowell, Oberlin College, Westfield State University and Chatham University.
Signal Akron has reached out to the University of Akron and Simonetti’s attorney, Gregory Napolitano, for comment.
