University of Oregon agrees to pay $800K, free tuition to woman in alleged sexual assault case

EUGENE, Ore. -- The University of Oregon agreed to pay $800,000 and provide free tuition, housing and fees for four years to a woman who said she was sexually assaulted by three former basketball players, documents showed Tuesday.

According to KPTV in Portland, the documents were filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Eugene, Ore.

The woman, a student at the university, filed a lawsuit against the school in January, claiming that in March 2014 she was sexually assaulted by Ducks basketball players Damyean Dotson, Dominic Artis and Brandon Austin.

The unidentified woman said the university and head coach Dana Altman put the performance of the basketball team over taking action on the alleged assault by the athletes and that Altman continued to recruit Austin from Providence College despite his being suspended amid accusations of sexual assault there.

Altman was dropped from the suit earlier this week.

University President Michael Shill issued a statement in response to the settlement, saying he doesn't think anyone at the university is guilty of any wrongdoing, but vowed that the school will work harder to prevent sexual violence on campus.

In addition to financial terms, the settlement includes a pledge by the university to pursue a policy change requiring potential transfer students to disclose any disciplinary action at prior schools and allow the University of Oregon to access their disciplinary records.

The student, who was only identified as 'Jane Doe' in court documents, issued the following statement through her lawyer:

"I am so glad to have this case behind me today and to be able to focus on my studies. I am very grateful for the outpouring of support that I have received from students, faculty, and other organizations. The response from the UO community has been remarkable and I know that the increased awareness around these issues on our campus can only serve to help us. I would be remiss to not specifically thank the Dean of Students Office and my therapist from the UCTC and other UCTC personnel for their continued assistance throughout this experience. Without those services, it would have been very difficult to stay in school here during these events and for that I am very grateful."

The Lane County district attorney found there wasn't enough evidence to file criminal charges against Dotson, Artis and Austin.

All three players were booted from the team and suspended from the University of Oregon campus following the police investigation, KPTV said.