The NCAA announced the Board of Governors voted to update the Association’s participation policy for transgender student-athletes following the Trump administration’s executive order. The new policy limits competition in women’s sports to student-athletes assigned female at birth only. The 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 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. 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,” NCAA President Charlie Baker said.
The Board of Governors also directed staff to help all member schools foster respectful and inclusive collegiate athletic cultures. Following student-athlete leadership direction, the NCAA recently updated its Mental Health Best Practices. The NCAA requires all schools to make mental health services and resources available to all student-athletes consistent with the Mental Health Best Practices.
“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.”
Visit ncaa.org for more on the NCAA’s mental health initiatives and resources to support respectful and inclusive collegiate athletic cultures.
