NAIA ban on transgender athletes changes little for Missouri schools already abiding by state law

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Monday’s announcement by the NAIA Council of Presidents that it approved a policy that essentially bans transgender athletes from competing in women’s sports should have little impact on Culver-Stockton College and how its coaches recruit.

The Canton, Mo., school already was abiding by a state law that prohibits the same thing.

Missouri Senate Bill 39, which went into effect in June 2023, “prohibits schools from allowing student athletes to compete in competitions that are designated for the ‘biological sex opposite to the student’s biological sex’ as indicated on the student’s birth certificate ‘at or near the time of the student’s birth.’”

“When we talk to student-athletes that are transitioning, we tell them about this way up front in the recruiting process,” said C-SC athletic director Pat Atwell, who is in Kansas City for the NAIA’s annual convention. “We tell them we’re in the state of Missouri and this is how we treat this. That’s how it will be.

“You have to be very up front with people, and we have to tell them how it operates in our organization. It makes the conversations cleaner.”

The NAIA Council of Presidents voted 20-0 to implement the transgender participation policy, which goes into effect in August.

Under the policy, all athletes may participate in NAIA-sponsored male sports but only athletes whose biological sex assigned at birth is female and have not begun hormone therapy will be allowed to participate in women’s sports.

A student who has begun hormone therapy may participate in activities such as workouts, practices and team activities, but not in intercollegiate competition.

“The NAIA Is the first in a lot of things,” Atwell said. “Since the NAIA is the first large organization to make this decision, it will be interesting to see if that affects anything else along the way.”

Only hours after the NAIA made its policy public, the NCAA released this statement: “College sports are the premier stage for women’s sports in America and the NCAA will continue to promote Title IX, make unprecedented investments in women’s sports and ensure fair competition for all student-athletes in all NCAA championships.”

The NAIA oversees competition for 241 schools nationwide and generates approximately $13 million in annual revenue, while the NCAA oversees competition for nearly 1,100 schools and generates more than $1.2 billion in annual revenue.

“One thing about the NAIA is there are very few state schools,” Atwell said. “It’s very private school based, and that gives it the ability to do some things quicker than an organization with a lot of state schools. There are a lot of religious-based schools and a lot of religious founded schools around the whole country.”

A number of NAIA schools are dual-affiliated with the National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA), including Hannibal-LaGrange University.

There are 15 NAIA institutions in Missouri, four of which are members of the Heart of America Athletic Conference — C-SC, Central Methodist University, Missouri Valley College and Park University. Two future Heart members — Missouri Baptist and William Woods — are also located in Missouri and will join the league in 2025.

The remaining Heart schools are located in Iowa and Kansas.

Missouri is one of 24 states barring transgender women and girls from competing in certain sports and competitions.

“The NAIA policy won’t have an impact on us as a college in the state of Missouri,” Atwell said. “We were already abiding by that rule.”