Donald Trump just a day earlier, aiming to bar transgender athletes from competing in girls' and women's sports.The order allows federal agencies to withhold funding from organizations that do not comply with Title IX as interpreted by the Trump administration, which defines "sex" as the gender assigned at birth.The inclusion of transgender athletes in women's sports has faced increasing criticism from conservative groups, who argue it creates an unfair competitive advantage and raises safety concerns.
The issue has become a central talking point in Trump's reelection campaign, despite transgender athletes making up a small minority in college sports.The policy change, effective immediately, applies to all NCAA athletes regardless of prior eligibility reviews.
The NCAA, which oversees more than 500,000 athletes across 1,100 member schools, is the largest governing body for college sports in the U.S.As of last year, the NCAA had identified only 10 transgender athletes competing at the collegiate level."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 previous NCAA policy, enacted in 2022, took a sport-by-sport approach, deferring to national and international governing bodies to determine eligibility for transgender athletes.
If no such policy existed, the NCAA followed the International Olympic Committee's criteria.Under the new policy, athletes assigned male at birth may practice with women's teams and receive benefits such as medical care.