The NCAA will limit competition in women’s sports to student-athletes assigned female at birth, it said Thursday, changing its policy regarding transgender athlete participation one day after President Donald Trump signed an executive order aimed at spurring that change.
The NCAA made its announcement shortly after the U.S. Department of Education said it would launch investigations into San Jose State University and the University of Pennsylvania — as well as the governing body for Massachusetts high school sports — over what it said were “apparent Title IX violations” related to transgender women playing women’s sports.
In his executive order Wednesday, Trump gave federal agencies the ability to deny funding to high schools and colleges that did not comply.
The NCAA Board of Governors voted on the policy change for transgender athletes Thursday. The policy leaves participation open for all athletes in men’s sports regardless of their sex assigned at birth or gender identity.
An athlete assigned female at birth but who has begun hormone therapy, such as taking testosterone, can practice with a women’s team but cannot compete in games. If they do participate in games, the team will become ineligible for NCAA championships.
The NCAA’s new policy is effective immediately and applies to all athletes regardless of their eligibility under previous policies.
“The NCAA is an organization made up of 1,100 colleges and universities in all 50 states that collectively enroll more than 530,000 student-athletes,” NCAA president Charlie Baker said in a statement. “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. To that end, President Trump’s order provides a clear, national standard.”
In December, Baker said during a congressional hearing in Washington that he believed there were fewer than 10 transgender athletes among the athletes competing at schools across all three divisions. He said at that time he would welcome federal guidance before considering possible changes to NCAA rules.
Under the new policy, NCAA schools are subject to local, state and federal legislation, which supersedes NCAA rules.
Opponents of transgender women competing in women’s divisions say that they have an unfair advantage over cisgender women when it comes to athletics, particularly in cases where transgender women go through male puberty before transitioning. Many supporters of trans women in sports say that outright bans amount to discrimination and target a small number of people.
Transgender athletes competing in women’s sports was a hot-button issue among Trump and other conservative politicians during the fall election cycle. Twenty-five states have passed laws banning transgender athletes from girls’ sports at the high school and youth levels.
At the college level, multiple lawsuits have been filed in recent years regarding transgender women’s participation in sports. Two of the most high-profile lawsuits involved Penn and San Jose State, the schools now under investigation by the DOE.
The inquiry into Penn revolves around transgender swimmer Lia Thomas, who in 2022 became the first openly transgender woman to win an NCAA swimming championship after finishing first in the 500-yard freestyle.
In March, a group of college athletes filed a lawsuit against the NCAA over allowing Thomas to participate in the national championships, alleging it violated their Title IX rights.
A spokesperson for Penn did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
San Jose State is under investigation for a player’s participation on the women’s volleyball team. Last fall, several Mountain West schools forfeited matches against the Spartans, who were alleged to have a transgender athlete on their team. The schools sued the conference and asked the court to rule the player ineligible for the conference tournament. A judge denied the request, and San Jose State played in the tournament, advanced through the semifinals by forfeit and lost the championship match to Colorado State.
San Jose State President Cynthia Teniente-Matson said in a statement that the university will “fully engage” with the federal inquiry.
“While we adhere to legal and regulatory requirements, San Jose State will continue to act within our authority to uphold the values that define us as an institution,” she said. “Our focus remains on our values including fostering an environment that cultivates compassion, where every student has the opportunity to thrive. We remain steadfast in our role as a place of learning, respect, and opportunity for all.”
The Department of Education said the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association allowed a transgender athlete to play on a girls’ high school basketball team in which the opposing team forfeited after three players were reportedly injured in the game. The DOE did not name the school or provide additional details.
Last April, the Biden administration said transgender students were protected under Title IX. But on Jan. 31, the Trump administration issued a “Dear Colleague” letter to schools warning that the department would “return to enforcing Title IX protections on the basis of biological sex in schools and on campuses.”
On Jan. 14, the House of Representatives passed the “Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act,” which would ban transgender athletes from participating in girls’ and women’s sports in public schools and amend Title IX to recognize a person’s sex based solely on birth biology and genetics. It still must pass the Senate, where Republicans hold a 53-47 majority.
Less than a week later, Trump signed an executive order for the federal government to define sex as only male or female and to change federal policies and government-issued IDs to reflect that.
(Photo: Kirby Lee / USA Today Images)