NCAA outlines transgender student-athlete championship eligibility process

Process will determine eligibility for 2022 winter and spring championships

Posted on 1/28/22 1:24 PM

The NCAA sent member schools and conferences additional details on Friday about the implementation of a newtransgender participation policyfor college sports. The memo outlines relevant information and resources regarding Phase One of the new policy, which starts with the 2022 NCAA winter and spring championships.

To be eligible to compete in a 2022 NCAA winter or spring championship, a transgender woman's school must provide the following:

  1. Transgender Student-Athlete Eligibility ReportingForm.
  2. Medical ProfessionalHormoneSuppressionConfirmation Form,to becompleted/signed by the treating professional confirming completion of at least one calendar year of hormone suppression(consistent with the2010NCAA TransgenderStudent-AthleteParticipationPolicy).
  3. Laboratoryresults confirming that, as of a date that is not more than four weeks (28 days) prior to thefirst championship selection datein the applicable sport, the student-athlete's total serum testosterone level is within the allowable levelsfor the sport in which the student-athlete intends to compete.

Phase One of the updated transgender participation policy does not change eligibility requirements for a transgender man. Additionally, Phase One applies only to eligibility at 2022 NCAA winter and spring championships, not the regular season or conference championships.

To assist members and student-athletes in meeting these new requirements, a2022 Transgender Student-Athlete Participation Policy webpagehas been created that includes multiple resources.

The NCAA Board of Governorsupdated the transgender participation policyat its meeting Jan. 19. The policy, effective immediately, aligns transgender student-athlete participation with the Olympic movement. The resulting sport-by-sport approach preserves opportunities for transgender student-athletes while balancing fairness, inclusion and safety for all who compete.

The new policy will be implemented in three phases. Phase One is outlined above. Phases Two and Three will take effect on Aug. 1, 2022, and Aug. 1, 2023, respectively.