Former University of Hawai'i-Hilo athletic director Kathleen McNally has filed a $10 million lawsuit against the university and five administrators, claiming she was the subject of personal and institutional discrimination on the basis of her race, gender and age.

McNally, who now works as chief administrative officer for the YWCA in Hilo, served as athletic director from 2002 until 2008, when she was placed on paid suspension until her contract expired.

Named as defendants in the suit are UH-Hilo chancellor Rose Tseng; former vice chancellor for student affairs Keith Miser; former vice chancellor for administration Bill Chen; vice chancellor for student affairs Luoluo Hong; and director of media relations Alyson Kakugawa-Leong.

McNally's complaint, filed on Aug. 7, alleges she was effectively "fired" in retaliation for repeatedly complaining about violations to Title IX, the federal law that requires equal access to educational programs and activities at institutions that receive federal money.

UH-Hilo fields men's teams in baseball, basketball, golf, cross country, soccer and tennis, and women's teams in basketball, volleyball, cross country, soccer, tennis, softball and golf.

Because of budget concerns, the men's tennis and women's golf programs are scheduled to be suspended in the fall 2010 semester.

McNally's lawsuit says she was stripped of her administrative authority and ordered not to talk to her staff in February 2008. McNally was placed on paid administrative leave from March 7, 2008, until her contract expired on Sept. 30, 2008.

According to McNally's complaint, administrators blamed McNally for a $500,000 budget deficit during her last year as athletic director.

The complaint argues the accusation was unfair because McNally had been repeatedly denied the resources needed to run the department, in part because of "a historic institutional bias against female athletics and plaintiff's perceived aggressiveness in promoting women's sport at the UHH campus."

Hong declined to comment specifically on the suit but said, "Due process is one of the gifts we have in this country, and everyone should be able to use it."

'OUT OF THE BLUE'

Other administrators named in the suit either declined comment because of the pending litigation or could not be reached in time for this story.

"(McNally) had been given excellent evaluations before she was terminated out of the blue," said Andre Wooten, McNally's attorney. "There were allegations that she was responsible for the deficit, but there's more to it than that. The university raised tuition 100 percent over five years but never increased the amount of scholarships or support, and that created a negative situation annually because the administration refused to respond to her requests.

"The question is: Would someone in the same position at UH-Manoa be fired for the same thing?" Wooten said. "She should have been given some warning and some opportunity to correct the situation."

Wooten said the UH-Hilo athletic department finished the 2006-07 fiscal year with a $180,000 surplus.

Wooten said various factors played a role in the 2008 deficit, including the closings of Aloha Airlines and ATA, which limited options for team travel — a major expense for every athletic department.

Wooten also said the school added three new sports during McNally's tenure.

ONE-TIME FUNDING

The school received a one-time allocation of $500,000 in Title IX funding from the state in 2007. Wooten said McNally asked for additional money from the school to start up the new men's sport and was denied, thus leading McNally to believe that the Title IX funds were expected to cover all three new sports.

The suit alleges that Kakugawa-Leong linked the budget deficit to McNally's termination and made other "false claims" in press releases.

Kakugawa-Leong said no press releases were issued related to the end of McNally's term as athletic director.

McNally's complaint further alleges she was underpaid in comparison with athletic directors at comparable programs. McNally was paid $88,500 per year.

McNally's suit alleges that Miser at one point stated that the school's athletic director should be a Japanese male. McNally is Caucasian.

Miser declined to comment on matters related to the suit.

POSITION UNFILLED

The permanent athletic director position remains unfilled, with Hong serving as acting athletic director since McNally was suspended.

The school had initially hoped to have a permanent director in place by the end of last year, but the process had to be restarted after two of the three initial finalists pulled out.

A search committee last month met with three new finalists — Dixie State athletic director Dexter Irvin, Notre Dame de Namur athletic director Joshua Doody, and former New Mexico State associate athletic director Troy Franklin — and has submitted a recommendation for final approval.

Hong said the new athletic director could be introduced as early as the end of the month.