NCAA President Charlie Baker stated Sunday that the organization's policy regarding transgender athlete participation will remain unchanged following a recent Supreme Court ruling that upheld state laws requiring student-athletes to compete on teams aligning with their biological sex at birth.
The Supreme Court ruled 6-3 in favor of West Virginia and Idaho in cases challenging state laws that prevent transgender girls from participating in women's sports. The rulings affirm that athletes must compete according to their sex assigned at birth, rather than their gender identity.
Appearing on CBS' "Face the Nation," Baker indicated that the NCAA's existing policy is sufficient and does not require modification in light of the court's decision. "I don’t think so. I mean, generally speaking, we try to establish policies from most of our programs that can hopefully have a national standard to it," Baker said. He added that he had previously sought national clarity on the issue from both Democratic and Republican lawmakers.
The NCAA adopted its current standard, which it complied with, based on guidance from the Trump administration. Baker distinguished between the national standard the NCAA aims to maintain for college sports eligibility and policies enacted at the state level.
In February 2025, the NCAA revised its gender-eligibility policy. This update reversed a previous policy in place since 2010, which had allowed transgender athletes to compete in women's sports. The current policy states that a student-athlete assigned male at birth may practice on an NCAA women's team and receive other applicable benefits.
Critics have argued that the current NCAA policy does not establish sufficient barriers to protect female athletes, with a common concern being that transgender athletes could bypass restrictions by altering their birth certificates. In the United States, 44 states permit changes to birth certificates to reflect a change in sex. Six states—Florida, Texas, Kansas, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Montana—do not allow such alterations. Additionally, 14 states, including California, New York, Massachusetts, and Michigan, permit changes to the sex listed on a birth certificate without requiring medical documentation.