An appeals court in Washington State has revived a lawsuit accusing the University of Washington of being indifferent to rape allegations against one of its star football players.

Monday’s ruling, by a three-judge panel of the state’s Court of Appeals, sends the lawsuit back to trial. The case, which was brought in 2004 by a former student who said she had been raped by the player, was dismissed by a trial judge in 2005.

The appeals court did not rule on the facts of the case, but found that there was evidence to argue before a jury that the university had played down the accusations against the player, Roc Alexander.

The accuser, identified in court documents only by her initials, S.S., was a freshman who worked as an assistant equipment manager for the football team at the time of the alleged rape, in 2001. She said Mr. Alexander had raped her in her dormitory room after she ended their consensual relationship.

When she notified top athletics officials of the alleged assault, she said, they asked her not to contact the police for fear that the allegations would reflect poorly on the football team.

Mr. Alexander, a defensive back, was a freshman on the team that went 11-1 and won the 2000 Rose Bowl. He joined the National Football League in 2004 and now plays for the Houston Texans.

A series last month in The Seattle Times, based largely on court documents that have only recently become available, reported that many players on the 2000 UW squad — regarded as “magical” on the field — were plagued by accusations of criminal conduct. —Libby Sander