Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Rob Passage confirmed Feb. 17 that Willamette University will be adjusting its eligibility policies in order to comply with the NCAA’s new requirements regarding transgender athletes — requirements which will restrict their participation.
Announced Feb. 6, the national regulations ban outright the competition of athletes assigned male at birth in NCAA women’s sports programs. They also ban the competition of athletes assigned female at birth who have begun any “hormone therapy (e.g. testosterone).” The changes present a marked shift from the NCAA’s previous eligibility requirements, which allowed athletes to compete in accordance with sport-specific national or international governing bodies’ regulations.
The NCAA announced the policy changes one day after Donald Trump signed an executive order titled “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports.” The order seeks to reposition Title IX as a vehicle for compelling educational institutions to constrain trans athletes. The NCAA Board of Governors had placed their transgender athlete policy “under review” as early as April 2024.
“It’s something we’ve been anticipating,” said Passage. Willamette’s varsity athletics fall under the purview of the NCAA. Failure to comply with national eligibility requirements could result in possible forfeitures and disqualification from championship contention for the Bearcats. The executive order itself threatens federal funding withdrawal across the entire university.
Other NWC schools have reached similar decisions as Willamette — Lewis & Clark announced their compliance Feb. 6 in an email to Pioneer student athletes. “From the conversations I’ve had [with other schools], everyone seems to be on the same page. … There’s not a huge space for pushback in this area at the moment,” said Passage.
Passage explained that to his knowledge the new policy “does not, or would not have negatively impacted the eligibility of any current or former student athletes that [he] knows of.” However he stressed that athletes have had to make “difficult” decisions in the past regarding transitioning while participating in university athletics. He said that for the Athletics Department’s part, the conversations surrounding those decisions will remain focused on supporting athletes. “This … targeting [in general] of transgender folks who are just trying to live their lives as their authentic selves has to be challenging,” he said.
According to the BBC, NCAA President Charlie Baker estimates there were less than 10 trans athletes in the NCAA as of December 2024. Speaking from a personal level, Passage expressed: “[Setting aside] the wording impact of the [new] policy … the hatred behind [the executive order] is the most challenging part.”
This is incredibly upsetting, and my indignation towards Willamette cannot be understated. I chose to attend college here, in part, for a welcoming environment that treats trans and queer people with respect and dignity. Bending the knee to fascism is cowardly and I am beyond disappointed in Willamette for not standing up for the values they claim to espouse. Do better.