The University of Connecticut will pay $1.28 million to settle a lawsuit filed by five students who charged that the university had treated their claims of sexual assault and harassment with indifference, the two sides announced on Friday in a joint statement.

One of the complainants, Silvana Moccia, a former hockey player at the university, will receive $900,000. Ms. Moccia charged that she was cut from the hockey team after reporting her rape to her coach. She joined the lawsuit in December, a month after it was filed by the other four women, who will receive payments ranging from $25,000 to $125,000.

The university continues to deny any wrongdoing and defends its policies of responding to instances of sexual misconduct, but it decided to settle the lawsuit because “no good would have come from dragging this out for years as it consumed the time, attention and resources — both financial and emotional — of everyone involved,” Lawrence D. McHugh, the chairman of the university’s board of trustees, said in a statement.

In a news conference on Friday, Gloria Allred, the plaintiffs’ counsel, said the settlement was in the best interest of her clients and of the university. “We hope that other victims of sexual assault will hear about the positive results in our case involving UConn and be inspired and encouraged to report instances of sexual violence and assault,” Ms. Allred said, adding, “Title IX is there for their protection, and other universities should follow the law and UConn’s example.”