The NAIA’s Council of Presidents has voted to approve a policy stating that student-athletes will only be allowed to compete in women’s sports if they were assigned the female gender at birth, banning transgender athletes from competing in women’s sports. This new policy will affect 22 HBCUs.
First reported by Dennis Dodd of CBS Sports, the NAIA is believed to be the first national college governing body to ban transgender athletes with a mandate stating that athletes must compete according to assigned sex at birth.
The NAIA’s Council of Presidents surveyed in December of 2023 indicated widespread support for the move, and on Monday, April 8th, 2024, the council voted 25-0 to approve the policy.
“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,” said NAIA Council of Presidents chair and St. Ambrose University president Amy Novak. “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.” she continued in the CBS Sports article.
The NAIA is a national athletic governing body for 249 mostly small, private colleges that do not participate in NCAA competition.
In 1953, the NAIA became the first collegiate athletics association to invite historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) into membership. Today, 22 of the 105 institutions designated as HBCU are members of the NAIA.
NAIA HBCUS
- Arkansas Baptist College
- Dillard University (La.)
- Fisk University (Tenn.)
- Florida Memorial University
- Harris-Stowe State University (Mo.)
- Huston-Tillotson University (Texas)
- Jarvis Christian University
- Langston University (Okla.)
- Morris College (S.C.)
- Oakwood University
- Philander Smith College (Ark.)
- Rust College (Miss.)
- Southern University at New Orleans
- Stillman College (Ala.)
- Talladega College (Ala.)
- Texas College
- Tougaloo College (Miss.)
- University of the Virgin Islands
- Voorhees College (S.C.)
- Wilberforce University (Ohio)
- Wiley College (Texas)
- Xavier University of Louisiana
“We know there are a lot of different opinions out there,” NAIA president Jim Carr told CBS Sports. “For us, we believed our first responsibility was to create fairness and competition in the NAIA. … We also think it aligns with the reasons Title IX was created. You’re allowed to have separate but equal opportunities for women to compete.”
The new NAIA policy also blocks student-athletes who were assigned female but have begun masculinizing hormone therapy to transition to women but also states that All NAIA athletes who are no longer eligible for women’s competition can still participate in men’s sports.
“It’s important to know that the male sports are open to anyone,” Carr told CBS Sports.
Below is the complete policy, as released by NAIA on Monday:
Student-athletes may participate in NAIA competition in accordance with the following conditions:

A. Participation by students in sports designated as male by the NAIA:
All eligible NAIA student-athletes may participate in NAIA-sponsored male sports.

B. Participation by students in sports designated as female by the NAIA:
Only NAIA student-athletes whose biological sex is female may participate in NAIA-sponsored female sports. They may participate under the following conditions:
- A student who has not begun any masculinizing hormone therapy may participate without limitation.
- A student who has begun masculinizing hormone therapy may participate in:
a. All activities that are internal to the institution (does not include external competition), including workouts, practices, and team activities. Such participation is at the discretion of the NAIA member institution where the student is enrolled; and

b. External competition that is not a countable contest as defined by the NAIA (per NAC Policy Article XXV, Section A, Item 12). Such participation is at the discretion of the NAIA member institution where the student is enrolled.
An NAIA institution that has a student-athlete who has begun masculinizing hormone therapy must notify the NAIA national office. The national office will take the necessary steps to provide appropriate privacy protections.

This policy will be subject to review in light of any legal, scientific, or medical developments.