Competition in collegiate women’s sports will be limited only to student-athletes assigned female at birth, according to an updated NCAA participation policy announced on Thursday by the association’s Board of Governors.
The new policy does not prohibit participation based on birth or gender identity in men’s sports, “assuming they meet all other NCAA eligibility requirements,” according to an NCAA statement.
Student-athletes assigned male at birth may practice with women’s teams and have access to benefits such as medical care, the NCAA said. The policy is “effective immediately and applies to all student-athletes regardless of previous eligibility reviews under the NCAA’s prior transgender participation policy.”
The announcement comes one day after the Trump administration issued an executive order barring transgender women and girls from competing in women’s sports and directing agencies to withdraw federal funding from any academic institution that refuses to comply.
“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.”
According to the policy, a student-athlete assigned female at birth “who has begun hormone therapy” may not compete on a women’s team, and if they do participate in any NCAA competition, “the team will no longer be eligible for NCAA women’s championships.”
“Individual schools have the autonomy to determine athletics participation on their campuses,” the NCAA said, adding that all schools are subject to local, state and federal legislation that overtakes any NCAA rules.
Sports with mixed men’s and women’s teams, such as rifle, are exempt from the updated policy.
The Board of Governors “directed staff to help all member schools foster respectful and inclusive collegiate athletic cultures,” according to the NCAA statement.
“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 in his statement. “This national standard brings much needed clarity as we modernize college sports for today’s student-athletes.”
