NCAA follows Trump’s executive order, limiting male-born transgender athletes in women’s sports
On National Girls and Women in Sports Day (Feb. 5), U.S. president Donald Trump and his administration signed an executive order to limit transgender competition in women’s sports to student-athletes assigned female at birth only at the U.S. collegiate level. Today, the governing body for American collegiate sports, the NCAA, followed suit by updating the association’s participation policy for transgender student-athletes in line with Trump’s order.
The NCAA is aligning its transgender policy with the new executive order that president Donald Trump signed Wednesday. The order bans trans athletes from competing in women’s sports. The NCAA had permitted, under certain circumstances, trans athletes to compete with women. pic.twitter.com/YGbOcTSzfK
— Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) February 5, 2025
The updated participation policy permits student-athletes assigned male at birth to practice with women’s teams and receive benefits such as medical care while practicing. This policy is effective immediately and applies to all student-athletes regardless of previous eligibility reviews under the NCAA’s prior transgender participation policy.
“The men’s category is open to all eligible student-athletes, while the women’s category is restricted to student-athletes assigned female at birth,” the NCAA press release reads. “Schools are directed to foster welcoming environments on all campuses. Our organization strongly believes 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.”
The NCAA says regardless of sex assigned at birth or gender identity, a student-athlete may participate in (practice and compete) NCAA men’s sports, assuming they meet NCAA eligibility requirements. However, a student-athlete assigned male at birth may not compete for an NCAA women’s team. Additionally, a student-athlete assigned female at birth who has begun hormone therapy (e.g., testosterone) may not compete on a women’s team. The NCAA states that if a team is found to be breaking the new policy, it will be subject to legislation from the organization and could no longer be eligible for championships.
This NCAA decision follows two years after World Athletics ruled a ban on transgender athletes competing in the female category in early 2023. Although transgender track and field athletes assigned male at birth were ineligible to compete at any World Athletics-sanctioned meets over the last two years, athletes could still compete at the NCAA level. Per a report by Front Office Sports, there are fewer than 10 transgender athletes out of more than half a million NCAA athletes in total, with only one active athlete competing in track and field and cross country.
