NAIA largely bans transgender athletes from women’s sports in new participation policy

The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) approved a transgender participation policy Monday that will only allow athletes to participate in NAIA-sponsored women’s sports if their biological sex assigned at birth is female and they have not begun hormone therapy. The policy will also allow all athletes to participate in male sports.

“We are unwavering in our support of fair competition for our student-athletes,” NAIA President and CEO Jim Carr said in a news release. “It is crucial that NAIA member institutions, conferences, and student-athletes participate in an environment that is equitable and respectful. With input from our member institutions and the Transgender Task Force, the NAIA’s Council of Presidents has confirmed our path forward.”

Under the new policy, an athlete who has not begun any masculinizing hormone therapy may participate in women’s sports without limitation. But if an athlete has begun hormone therapy, that athlete will not be allowed to participate in interscholastic competition, but will still be permitted to workout, practice and participate in team activities.

The transgender participation policy will apply to all sports except for cheer and dance, which are both coed.

The NAIA is a mostly small college sports organization that oversees 241 schools and about 83,000 athletes participating in more than 25 sports.

According to its statement, the organization put together a transgender task force in April 2022 “tasked with determining whether the NAIA’s existing transgender policy needed to be altered, and if so, bring forth a new policy recommendation.”

That new policy, effective Aug. 1, 2024, was approved by the NAIA’s Council of Presidents in a 20-0 vote at its annual convention.

“The updated NAIA policy attempts to balance the interests and obligations of the NAIA to 1) offer fair competition, 2) create a structure that allows members to comply with Title IX and other applicable laws, and 3) provide appropriate and reasonable opportunities for transgender athletes to compete,” the organization’s statement reads. “Input regarding transgender participation in athletics was obtained from members and student-athletes throughout the process, with feedback overwhelmingly in favor of the proposed policy.”

The NCAA released its own statement regarding women’s sports Monday, hours after the NAIA’s policy announcements.

“College sports are the premier stage for women’s sports in America and the NCAA will continue to promote Title IX, make unprecedented investments in women’s sports and ensure fair competition for all student-athletes in all NCAA championships,” the NCAA stated.

The NCAA is currently facing a lawsuit from 16 athletes alleging the organization’s transgender participation policy “serially violated Title IX in 2022” when it allowed Lia Thomas, a transgender swimmer who was a member of the University of Pennsylvania’s women’s swim team, to compete in the NCAA swimming championships.

The exact number of transgender athletes competing at the collegiate level is not known, but it is believed to be a very small number.

On Saturday, South Carolina coach Dawn Staley said she supports transgender women participating in women’s sports when asked about her stance on the matter during a news conference.

“I’m on the opinion of, if you’re a woman, you should play. If you consider yourself a woman and you want to play sports or vice versa, you should be able to play. That’s my opinion,” said Staley, whose Gamecocks defeated Iowa in the national championship Sunday.

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(Photo: Jamie Squire / Getty Images)