Shannon Miller spotted a familiar face on a billboard in March on the way to her federal discrimination trial. It was Josh Berlo, the University of Minnesota-Duluth athletic director who removed the five-time NCAA champion as women's hockey coach in 2014.
With Berlo set to testify in the trial, UMD had posted the billboard along Duluth's Central Entrance, celebrating his selection nationally as Under Armour Athletic Director of the Year. Miller viewed it as another sign of the power struggle for women in coaching.
"Give me a break," she said. "They picked the road many jurors would have to drive down to get the courthouse."
A week later, Miller's case would become the third in as many years to follow a pattern: an outspoken, successful female coach wins a judgment or settlement for her firing, while the man who oversaw the dismissal receives a national award and higher salary.
A jury of eight women and four men delivered a unanimous verdict against UMD, awarding Miller $3.74 million, ruling that the school discriminated against her based on her gender and retaliated against her for making equity complaints.
UMD chancellor Lendley Black sent a campus-wide email, saying, "I respectfully disagree with the verdict. I remain confident our decision (to remove Miller) was not based on discrimination or retaliation." He reiterated his support for Berlo, saying, "I'm incredibly proud of him."
At a time when men hold more than 93 percent of major college athletic director jobs and the percentage of female coaches shrinks, Miller's victory drew national attention. Some have touted the potential impact of the case, but civil rights attorney and Title IX advocate Nancy Hogshead-Makar isn't so sure.
"The (UMD) athletic department so far has basically learned nothing," Hogshead-Makar said. "There's no light bulb moment. There's no 'Ah-ha.' They are essentially saying, 'The jury's wrong.' "
Black and Berlo declined to be interviewed for this story. UMD has not ruled out an appeal in this case.
Miller's trial offered parallels to recent discrimination cases involving Iowa field hockey coach Tracey Griesbaum (from 2017) and San Diego State basketball coach Beth Burns (from 2016).
Each coach lost her job. Each sued her respective university, receiving at least $1.5 million.
In all three cases, a female coach had her career derailed, with no real prospects for another top job. Meanwhile, the athletic directors who ousted them _ all men _ have flourished.
Miller is out of sports, running a tour business in Palm Springs, Calif. In December, UMD gave Berlo a two-year contract extension that includes a third $5,000 pay raise.
Griesbaum, who led Iowa to six NCAA Tournaments, now works for Duke's field hockey team _ as a volunteer assistant. Gary Barta, the Iowa AD who fired her, has since received a five-year contract extension, a $150,000 raise and 2016 Under Armour AD of the Year honors.
Burns, who went 27-7 her final season at San Diego State, is the strength and conditioning coach for the Louisville women's basketball team. Jim Sterk, the AD who jettisoned her, won the same Under Armour AD honor in 2016 and doubled his salary to $700,000 when he became the AD at Missouri.
To fill that AD opening, San Diego State picked John David Wicker _ the former assistant who conducted the investigation into Burns, leading to her dismissal.
The Star Tribune requested interviews with Wicker, Sterk and Barta, and each athletic director declined.
The National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) criteria for the Under Armour award says each nominee must, among other things, "demonstrate an ongoing commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion."
Asked about the Berlo, Barta and Sterk selections, NACDA's executive director Bob Vecchione said the organization "takes claims of discrimination of any kind within our membership seriously."
Vecchione said NACDA is "closely following ongoing litigation," adding the organization is "enacting the right to revoke this award at any time."
