Olivia Russo
LV Life Editor
The National Collegiate Athletic Association – in compliance with the Trump Administration’s dubious executive order titled “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports” – updated its rules on transgender student-athletes earlier this year.
The new rules state that transgender men may compete in men’s sports, but trans women are not allowed to compete in women’s sports.
Specifically under this policy, all transgender student-athletes may practice with their college teams and receive benefits, according to their gender identity. But their sex assigned at birth determines whether they may compete.
This NCAA decision came one day after President Donald Trump signed the executive order banning transgender athletes from women’s sports. According to the executive order, organizations receiving federal funding, including colleges and universities, that do not comply will lose their federal funding, thus pressuring the NCAA to change its policy.
The University of La Verne’s athletic teams are NCAA Division III members, as well as being members of the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, or SCIAC.
At present, ULV does not have any known transgender athletes on any of its sports teams.
“As an institution, our priority is to support every student’s right to participate fully in campus life — including athletics — while also adhering to the governing policies that regulate collegiate sports,” Provost Ken O’Donnell wrote in an emailed statement, for which he consulted with University Athletic Director Jenna Panatier.
O’Donnell and Panatier both declined the Campus Times’s requests for phone or in-person interviews on this topic.
“We are committed to creating an inclusive and respectful environment for all student athletes, including those who are transgender,” O’Donnell’s email continued. “Our role is to support the student holistically — academically, emotionally, and socially — and to ensure they feel seen and valued within our community.”
Jennifer Dubow, commissioner at SCIAC, said the organization is still trying to “figure out what we would do as a league.”
“We can’t override NCAA policy,” Dubow said. “You have (to) balance inclusion with competitive equity … But all of the schools understand that ultimately that is the NCAA policy that does not appear to be changing.”
Dubow said that if a transgender student-athlete wants to compete on their collegiate team, it would mostly be up to the school how they decide to proceed. If the student is allowed to compete, other teams in SCIAC could make the decision of forfeiting the game. In general, the team will not be able to advance to the NCAA championship, Dubov said.
“If an institution wanted to support their participation, I think all of the schools understand that that would limit their advancement to the NCAAs, and that’s a decision they would have to make,” Dubow said.
The governing board at SCIAC has had conversations about the policy and what it means for the entirety of Southern California, but without them needing to implement the policy yet, they cannot know for sure what it will look like.
During a December 2024 Senate hearing about sports gambling, NCAA President Charlie Baker told the panel there were fewer than 10 transgender athletes across the U.S. who were currently competing in college sports.
Despite the small number of transgender college athletes, the Trump Administration says they are saving women from the threat of transgender athletes competing with them.
According to the executive order: “In recent years, many educational institutions and athletic associations have allowed men to compete in women’s sports. This is demeaning, unfair, and dangerous to women and girls, and denies women and girls the equal opportunity to participate and excel in competitive sports.”
The executive order assumes that transgender women, assigned male at birth, are at a physical advantage over cisgender women, but the science on this is not clear.
“It’s not about women or caring about women or protecting women,” said Kat Bloomer, middle blocker for the University women’s volleyball team. “It’s using sports – which the purpose of sports is competition, yes, but also community, camaraderie and growth. All of these other things besides competition…using that to attack a marginalized community.”
The Trump Administration has focused on trans women in women’s sports and stated there was a war on women’s sports. Some of the rhetoric surrounding this issue implies that trans women are predators in women’s locker rooms.
A 2020 study conducted by Timothy A. Roberts, Joshua Smalley and Dale Ahrendt found that transgender women, after two years on hormones, the performance on sports equalized when compared to cisgender women.
Among cisgender athletes body types vary widely which could also advantage some over others depending on their sport.
“I’m thinking of Michael Phelps,” said John Bartelt, professor of education. “He has Marfan Syndrome and he…metabolizes oxygen differently, he has webbed hands and feet…So we’re not saying he has an advantage. If you’re eight feet tall and you’re playing basketball, we don’t say you have an advantage.”
What the University will do when a trans woman athlete wants to compete here, is unclear.
“It’s been a topic across the NCAA,” said Anthony Avila, assistant athletic director. “We haven’t in my recent recollection had to address it internally with any current or recent student athletes. Our commitment is to our student athletes to provide an area where they feel safe and are able to compete and feel supported and that’s not going to change.”
Olivia Russo can be reached at olivia.russo@laverne.edu.
Olivia Russo is a senior journalism major with a concentration in print/online journalism and a minor in criminology. She is the Editor-in-Chief for the Campus Times for Spring 2026. She has previously served as the News Editor, LV Life Editor, a photographer and a staff writer for the Campus Times, as well as a staff writer and photographer for La Verne Magazine.
