Only athletes who were assigned female at birth will be eligible to play women’s sports at N.C.A.A.-member colleges and universities, the organization announced on Thursday.
That decision, effective immediately, came a day after President Trump signed an executive order barring transgender girls and women from playing sports in the women’s category at federally funded educational institutions.
“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,” Charlie Baker, the president of the N.C.A.A., said in a statement. “To that end, President Trump’s order provides a clear, national standard.”
The N.C.A.A.’s previous policy on transgender athletes gave each sport’s national governing body the power to decide the parameters of their participation. That included setting the limits on testosterone levels and sometimes deeming how long athletes must suppress their testosterone before being eligible to compete.
NCAA Bars Transgender Athletes From Women’s Sports After Trump Order
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