The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics headquarters in Kansas City, Kansas, in 2020. Photo: Jamie Squire/Getty Images
A national athletics association for smaller private colleges and universities around the U.S. adopted a new policy on Monday that bans transgender athletes from women's sports.
Why it matters: The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) is believed to be the first national collegiate athletic governing body adopt such a policy.
Catch up quickly: NAIA oversees around 83,000 student athletes at around 250 schools that are not apart of the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA).
Athletes governed by the organization will only be allowed to compete in women's sport if they were assigned female at birth, according to the new policy adopted by the NAIA's council of presidents with a 20-0 vote.
What they're saying: "We are unwavering in our support of fair competition for our student-athletes," Jim Carr, NAIA's president, said in a statement on Monday about the policy change.
Zoom out: In recent years, dozens of conservative state legislatures around the country have passed laws banning transgender students from participating in sports consistent with their gender identity.
The big picture: Last month, 16 former and current student athletes sued the NCAA over its policies on transgender athletes. They claimed it violated their Title IX rights by allowing transgender woman Lia Thomas to compete at the national championships in 2022.
Go deeper: Georgia bill would ban trans girls from sports that match gender identity

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