After President Donald Trump issued an executive order titled “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports,” the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) changed its policies the next day about the inclusion of transgender athletes in collegiate sports. See NCAA, Participation Policy for Transgender Student-Athletes (Feb. 6, 2025). Prior to the issuance of the executive order, the NCAA allowed transgender women, like University of Pennsylvania swimmer Lia Thomas, to compete on women’s sports teams after undergoing a year of hormone replacement therapy. See Robert Sanchez, “I am Lia: The Trans Swimmer Dividing America Tells Her Story, Sports Illustrated” (March 3, 2022). Now, three years after Thomas won an NCAA Division 1 title, the Department of Education’s (ED) Office of Civil Rights (OCR) investigated the University of Pennsylvania for failure to comply with Title IX, making certain demands of the university in exchange for the release of federal funds. In a changing Title IX landscape, how are universities responding to new executive orders and threats of having federal funding withheld for noncompliance? Let’s take a look at Lia Thomas and the resolution agreement just reached between the department and UPenn.
Highlights From Lia Thomas’ Collegiate Swim Career
The name Lia Thomas—the transgender woman who competed on UPenn’s women’s swim team for one season—is a household name by now. Prior to coming out as transgender, Thomas competed on the men’s swim team for three seasons. Thomas began hormone replacement therapy (HRT) and still swam on the men’s team for the 2019-2020 season. While competing on the men’s team, Thomas qualified in three events for the Ivy League Championship, won second place in all three at the championship, and won first place in an event against Villanova. See Penn Athletics, 2019-20 Men’s Swimming & Diving.
After taking a year-long break and undergoing HRT, Thomas returned to compete on the women’s swim team for the 2021-22 season, in accordance with NCAA rules and Title IX rules then in effect. While competing on the women’s team, Thomas won first place in 13 events and received numerous NCAA and Ivy League awards. Thomas ultimately became the first trans athlete to win the NCAA Division 1 Title after placing first in the women’s 500-yard freestyle in 2022. See Eric Levenson and Steve Almasy, ”Swimmer Lia Thomas Becomes First Transgender Athlete to Win an NCAA D-I Title,” CNN (March 17, 2022).
The Executive Order and the New NCAA Rules
But Thomas’ records while on the women’s swim team no longer exist, due to a resolution agreement reached between the department and UPenn recently. How did this happen? Shortly after Trump took office in 2025, he issued “Keeping Men out of Women’s Sports.” The executive order specifically focused on excluding trans women—designated male at birth—from women’s collegiate sports. The executive order stated that it would be the policy of the United States “to oppose male competitive participation in women’s sports more broadly, as a matter of safety, fairness, dignity, and truth.” See Exec. Order No. 14201, 90 Fed. Reg. 9279 (Feb. 5, 2025).
Trump campaigned on this promise, so it was no surprise when he issued the order. What is unique about the second Trump administration is that executive orders, such as this one, stated that universities could lose their federal funding for failing to comply. Losing federal funding was always a threat to universities that did not comply with Title IX, but ED never carried through with this threat. Not once. With this second Trump administration, that threat of withholding federal funds became real.
The day after issuing Keeping Men out of Women’s Sports, the NCAA promulgated new rules regarding trans athletes’ participation in collegiate sports, which included the regular season, conference championships, postseason, scrimmages and exhibitions. This participation policy for transgender student-athletes required member schools to certify student-athlete eligibility for practice and competition. The new rules allow anyone to practice and compete on a men’s team, including student athletes taking testosterone, so long as they complete the medical exception process. However, student athletes assigned male at birth can only practice, not compete, on a women’s team.
OCR’s Investigation and Resolution Agreement
After the executive order and the NCAA rules’ change, OCR opened an investigation into UPenn, focusing on Thomas’ competition on the women’s swim team. See Sterling Thomas, “University of Pennsylvania Letter of Finding of Noncompliance,” Department of Education Office of Civil Rights (April 28, 2025). While the investigation was ongoing, the Trump administration withheld $175 million in federal funding from UPenn. See Alana Wise, “Trump Suspends $175 Million in Funding to University of Pennsylvania Over Trans Athletes,” NPR (Mar. 20, 2025). The stakes were high for UPenn to comply.
OCR completed its investigation and found that UPenn violated Title IX by allowing Thomas to compete on the women’s swim team for one season and by allowing Thomas access to the shared women’s intimate facilities. With $175 million in federal funding withheld, UPenn subsequently entered into a resolution agreement with OCR that required the University to do the following, among other things:
- Restore to all female athletes any individual Division I swimming records, titles or similar recognitions “which were misappropriated by male athletes allowed to compete in female categories;”
- Issue a public statement—and post it prominently on its website—that it will comply with Title IX and that it will not allow males to compete in female athletic programs or occupy female intimate facilities;
- Adopt biology-based definitions for “male” and female”; and
- Send a personalized apology letter to each impacted female swimmer.
See ED’s press release, “U.S. Department of Education Announces the University of Pennsylvania Has Entered into a Resolution Agreement to Resolve its Title IX Violations” (July 1, 2025). Once agreed to, the administration released the money withheld in federal funding.
The Future for Trans NCAA Athletes
Lia Thomas and UPenn’s settlement has received much press and attention. How many transgender athletes are affected by the NCAA’s new policy? The answer might surprise you.
During a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing in December 2024, the NCAA president stated there were 510,000 athletes in NCAA schools in the United States, less than 10 of which are transgender. See Brooke Migdon, “NCAA President Says There are “less than 10” Transgender Athletes in College Sports,” The Hill (Dec. 18, 2024). Not 10%—10 athletes total. As for UPenn specifically, Thomas was the only known transgender athlete competing on the women’s swim team at the time.
Withholding federal funds for UPenn achieved the Trump administration’s desired result. It will be interesting to see what happens for universities that choose to fight back, including Harvard, which is taking a different approach in court by trying to prevent the administration from freezing funds. Universities are left in an uncertain position, with the options of acquiescing to the Trump administration’s demands, having millions in federal funds withheld or suing the administration. In light of the new NCAA rules now in effect and the likes of the UPenn settlement, the impact on transgender student athlete participation remains to be seen.