A Sport-By-Sport Approach To Participation: How The NCAA Transgender Policy 2022 Impacts Student-Athletes

On January 19, 2022, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) – the governing body for collegiate sport in the United States – announced sweeping changes to its policy concerning the participation of transgender student-athletes in NCAA competitions.1 The new policy replaces the NCAA’s existing policy originally implemented in 2011. Under the new NCAA policy, the NCAA will defer to the policies of the national governing bodies (NGB) or international federation for each sport to determine whether a transgender student-athlete is eligible to compete in accordance with their gender identity as opposed to their biological sex assigned at birth.2 This policy follows the sport-by-sport approach recently adopted by the International Olympic Committee.

This article:

• Discusses the NCAA’s prior policy concerning the participation of transgender student-athletes in collegiate sport;

• Addresses recent changes in legislation in the United States concerning the participation of transgender female athletes in girls’ and women’s sporting events;

• Describes the New NCAA Policy, including sport-specific guidance published by certain NGBs and international federations; and

• Analyzes the New NCAA Policy, including potential challenges in its implementation.