Two women whose sexual assault allegations plunged the University of Colorado into scandal filed motions in federal courts Thursday, arguing that they had new evidence that should reinstate their gender-discrimination lawsuit.

Lisa Simpson and a woman referred to in court papers as Jane Doe allege that they were sexually assaulted in December 2001 by CU football players and recruits, and that the school fostered an environment that caused it.

The case was dismissed in March 2005 after U.S. District Judge Robert Blackburn ruled that CU officials did not have prior notice that football players or recruits posed a danger to women.

But the women alleged in motions filed in both U.S. District Court and the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals that then-football coach Gary Barnett knew about another alleged assault, involving a recruit, months before they were attacked.

A woman alleges that Clyde Surrell, who had signed a letter-of-intent to play football at CU but had not yet enrolled as a student, sexually assaulted her in June 2000 in Aurora. Her case was not prosecuted at the time, in part because she was not willing to testify.

Now, however, she is, and she has asked that a special prosecutor be appointed to reopen the case.

In the court documents filed Thursday, the woman alleges that Surrell raped her while she was unconscious from drinking alcohol. The Aurora police department investigated, and placed a wiretap on her phone. The motion alleges that Surrell and a friend then threatened the woman in a telephone conversation on June 20, 2000.

Surrell gave police a DNA sample and denied having any sexual contact with the woman. On Dec. 19, 2000, the motion says the Colorado Bureau of Investigation matched Surrell's DNA to semen found in the woman's vagina and anus.

In February 2001, the Arapahoe County District Attorney advised investigators that felony sexual assault charges were "fileable" against Surrell.

In January 2001, according to the motion, a sheriff's investigator phoned Barnett about the Surrell investigation.

Despite this knowledge, the plaintiffs allege, Barnett "settled on Surrell as one of his main recruiting hosts . . . he tapped him to host six recruits on five recruiting weekends." The motion goes on to say that Barnett also ignored warnings from an associate athletic director that there was a high risk of sexual assault against female CU students at parties on recruiting weekends.

According to the court filing, Surrell was later accused of sexual assault on two of those recruiting weekends.

On March 5, 9News obtained an interview with Surrell. During that interview, Surrell told Channel 9 that Barnett knew about the allegations against him in January 2001. He also said that Barnett directed one of his assistant coaches, Vance Joseph, to help Surrell find a lawyer.

Barnett has denied having any knowledge of previous alleged assaults by his players. The motion filed Thursday claims that he misled the court.

"It now develops that, throughout the lawsuit, CU has relied on - and the court has been mislead by - Barnett's false testimony denying prior knowledge of reports of sexual assault," says the motion.

The allegations filed Thursday mark the latest legal steps in an odyssey that began at a December 2001 party attended by football players and recruits at an off-campus apartment. The party was, by all accounts, an affair that included a lot of booze and sex.

Three women later alleged they were sexually assaulted that night - two at the party, one at an apartment later - and sued CU under the federal gender-equity law known as Title IX.

One of the three women, former CU soccer player Monique Gillaspie, sued but eventually dropped her lawsuit.

But Simpson and the woman known as Doe, whose cases were combined, pressed on.

The allegations plunged the university into scandal, sparked investigations by a statewide task force, an independent panel and a grand jury.

No sexual assault charges were ever filed, but the university's reputation was tainted, and the fallout led to the ouster of President Betsy Hoffman, Boulder campus Chancellor Dr. Richard Byyny, athletic director Dick Tharp and Barnett.

In 2006, Blackburn reaffirmed his March 2005 dismissal of the case.

"There is much about the incidents evidenced in the record of this case that cries out for justice," Blackburn wrote in his ruling. "There is no doubt that some of the harassment, abuse and assaults reflected in the record are shameful at best and criminal at worst.

"A cry for justice, however, does not mean that Title IX should be expanded to provide justice simply because the cry for justice has not been answered otherwise."

The 10th Circuit Court of Appeals is scheduled to hear oral arguments on the women's appeal on May 7.

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