NCAA changes policy to ban transgender women from playing women’s sports

The NCAA changed its participation policy for transgender athletes on Thursday, limiting competition in women’s sports to athletes who were assigned female at birth.

The move came one day after President Trump signed an executive order intended to ban transgender athletes from girls’ and women’s sports. The order gives federal agencies latitude to withhold federal funding from entities that do not abide by Title IX in alignment with the Trump administration’s view, which interprets “sex” as the gender someone was assigned at birth.

The NCAA policy change is effective immediately and applies to all athletes regardless of previous eligibility reviews. The National Collegiate Athletic Assn. has about 1,100 member schools with more than 500,000 athletes, easily the largest governing body for college athletics in the U.S.

“We strongly believe that clear, consistent, and uniform eligibility standards would best serve today’s student-athletes instead of a patchwork of conflicting state laws and court decisions,” NCAA President Charlie Baker said. “To that end, President Trump’s order provides a clear, national standard.”

The NCAA’s decision was hailed by former Kentucky swimmer Riley Gaines, a vocal advocate of banning transgender athletes from women’s sports. Gaines, who was at the White House signing ceremony with Trump, was among more than a dozen college athletes who filed a lawsuit against the NCAA last year, accusing it of violating their Title IX rights by allowing transgender woman Lia Thomas to compete at the national championships in 2022.

The previous NCAA policy went into effect in 2022 and adopted a sport-by-sport approach, where transgender participation was determined by the policy of the sport’s national governing body. In sports with no national governing body, that sport’s international federation policy would be in place. If there is no international federation policy, previously established International Olympic Committee policy criteria would apply.

Over the last year, however, transgender athletes have been targeted by critics who say their participation in women’s sports is unfair and a potential safety risk. It became a major talking point in Trump’s reelection campaign even though there is believed to be a very small number of transgender athletes; Baker last year said he knew of only 10 transgender athletes in the NCAA.

The NCAA’s revised policy permits athletes assigned male at birth to practice with women’s teams and receive benefits such as medical care. It is not uncommon, for example, for women’s basketball teams to practice against fellow students who are male. Regardless of sex assigned at birth or gender identity, an athlete can practice and compete with a men’s team, assuming they meet all other NCAA eligibility requirements.

However, the NCAA said an athlete assigned female at birth who has begun hormone therapy (testosterone, for example) can practice with a women’s team but cannot compete on a women’s team without risking the team’s eligibility for championships.

Member schools remain responsible for certifying athlete eligibility for practice and competition. The NCAA also said schools are subject to local, state and federal legislation, which supersedes NCAA rules.

The NCAA policy change was announced hours after the Trump administration said it was investigating potential civil rights violations at two universities and a high school sports league that allowed transgender athletes to compete on women’s teams. The Education Department said it had opened reviews of San José State University, the University of Pennsylvania and the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Assn.

San José State’s women’s volleyball team drew headlines last season over unconfirmed allegations that the roster included a transgender player. As for Penn, three former teammates of Thomas, the transgender swimmer, this week sued the NCAA, Ivy League, Harvard and the school over Thomas’ participation at conference and national championships, saying it violated Title IX provisions.

The NCAA also said its Board of Governors had directed staff to help all member schools foster respectful and inclusive collegiate athletic cultures, noting it has recently updated its mental health guidance.

“The updated policy combined with these resources follows through on the NCAA’s constitutional commitment to deliver intercollegiate athletics competition and to protect, support and enhance the mental and physical health of student-athletes,” Baker said. “This national standard brings much needed clarity as we modernize college sports for today’s student-athletes.”

The NCAA policy now mirrors that of the National Assn. of Intercollegiate Athletics, which governs sports at 241 mostly small colleges across the country. In April, the NAIA unanimously approved a policy allowing only athletes whose sex assigned at birth is female and have not begun hormone therapy to compete.

Olson writes for the Associated Press.