NAIA transgender athlete ban, explained: What new policy means for women's college sports

The NAIA implemented a controversial policy Monday when it opted to enforce strict guidelines that largely prohibit transgender athletes from participating in women's sports.

The policy outlines that "only student-athletes whose biological sex is female may participate in NAIA-sponsored female sports."

The NAIA is believed to be the first college sports governing body to implement such a policy regarding transgender athletes.

Here's what to know about the NAIA, its new policy, and how it could impact women's college sports as a whole.

What is the NAIA?

The NAIA is the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics, an organization established in 1940 to oversee the athletic programs of colleges and universities in North America.

The NAIA largely services small colleges. Its member institutions offer athletic scholarships to their students worth an estimated $1.3 billion, and the organization sponsors 28 championships across numerous sports.

In 1980, the NAIA became just the second coed college sports governing body to sanction women's championships. They also were the first to allow a Black student-athlete to play in an intercollegiate postseason, as John Wooden's Indiana State team started Clarence Walker in the 1948 NAIB national tournament.

In 2024, the NAIA Council of Presidents unanimously approved a resolution that will effectively bar transgender athletes from participating in women's sports. Here's what to know about the NAIA's transgender athlete policy.

NAIA transgender athlete policy

The NAIA's transgender athlete policy stipulates that "only student-athletes whose biological sex is female may participate in NAIA-sponsored female sports," per CBS Sports.

Student-athletes who have "not begun any masculinizing hormone therapy" are allowed to participate in those sports.

Meanwhile, those who have begun masculinizing hormone therapy are allowed to participate in "all activities that are internal to the institution." This includes workouts, practices, and team activities.

The policy lists that "such participation is at the discretion of the NAIA member institution where the student is enrolled." These students are also not allowed to participate in intercollegiate competition with their team — despite the NAIA having no knowledge of any transgender athletes competing in its postseasons to date, per NAIA President and CEO Jim Carr.

"We know there are a lot of opinions, and a lot of people have a very emotional reaction to this, and we want to be respectful of all that," Carr said after the ruling was announced, per ESPN. "But we feel like our primary responsibility is fairness in competition, so we are following that path. And we've tried as best we could to allow for some participation by all."

"The task force spent nearly two years reviewing research, meeting with experts to better understand potential policy challenges, and obtaining feedback from multiple membership groups," added Council of Presidents chair and St. Ambrose University president Amy Novak, per CBS. "With this policy, the NAIA has made its best effort to allow for the inclusion of transgender athletes in any way which does not impact the competitive fairness of women's sports. Our priority is to protect the integrity of women's athletics and allow them equal opportunity to succeed."

While the NAIA lauded its policy, Shiwali Patel — senior counsel at the National Women's Law Center — communicated that her organization was incensed by the NAIA's policy.

"This is unacceptable and blatant discrimination that not only harms trans, nonbinary and intersex individuals, but limits the potential of all athletes," Patel said in a statement, per ESPN. "It's important to recognize that these discriminatory policies don't enhance fairness in competition. Instead, they send a message of exclusion and reinforce dangerous stereotypes that harm all women."

Just 1.6 percent of adults in the United States identify as transgender or nonbinary, per the Pew Research Center. Meanwhile, a 2019 study of high school students by the CDC estimated that 1.8 percent of the country's 15.3 million public high school students are transgender, per the Washington Post.

Only 15 percent of those transgender boys and girls play sports, per a 2017 survey by the Human Rights Campaign referenced by ESPN.

What NAIA transgender athlete ban means for NCAA

The NAIA's transgender athlete policy will not have a direct impact on the NCAA. The two governing bodies are separate organizations, as the NAIA oversees its institutions while the NCAA oversees the Div. I, Div. II and Div. III sports with which so many college sports fans are familiar.

The NCAA currently follows the International Olympic Committee's framework on fairness, inclusion, and non-discrimination on the basis of gender identity and sex variations. That policy "calls for transgender student-athlete participation for each sport to be determined by the policy for the national governing body of that sport," per the NCAA's official website. 

The NCAA plans to have phase three of the policy — the final stage of it — in place beginning Aug. 1, 2024:

Participation in NCAA sports requires transgender student-athletes to provide documentation no less than twice annually (and at least once within four weeks of competition in NCAA championships) that meets the sport-specific standard (which may include testosterone levels, mitigation timelines and other aspects of sport-governing body policies) as reviewed and approved by CSMAS.

This policy will remain in place — unless the NCAA reverses course and follows the NAIA's lead. It will be worth monitoring how NCAA president Charlie Baker reacts to the NAIA's policy and whether he hints at any changes to his governing body's current rules.

The NAIA's ban comes on the heels of both South Carolina women's basketball coach Dawn Staley and Iowa coach Lisa Bluder getting asked about transgender athletes participating in women's sports one day before their teams squared off in the National Championship game. Bluder declined to comment, but Staley said, "I'm of the opinion that 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."

The NAIA's policy also comes shortly after more than a dozen female college athletes, led by former Kentucky swimmer Riley Gaines, filed a lawsuit against the NCAA, accusing it of violating their Title IX rights by allowing transgender swimmer Lia Thomas to compete in the 2022 national championships. They also allege the NCAA's transgender eligibility policies "adversely impact female athletes in violation of Title IX."

List of NAIA schools

Below is a look at the NAIA schools as of April 2024:

The NAIA also has five members set to join it in the future. They are as follows:

• Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College
• Defiance College
• Mission University
• New College of Florida
• Spartanburg Methodist College