SUNY Morrisville

SUNY Morrisville prohibits discrimination on the basis of gender identity and gender expression. In order to comply with this policy and uphold the principles of equity and inclusion, SUNY Morrisville maintains the following policies to encourage the participation of transgender students, staff, faculty and visitors. These policies include participation in the following:

• Intercollegiate and intramural and open recreation sports;
• Physical education classes;
• Accommodations for transgender individuals who attend and participate in athletic activities that take place at SUNY Morrisville.

SUNY Morrisville is committed to a thorough review of this policy on an annual basis.


From the NCAA (Adopted by the NCAA Executive Committee, April 2010)

As a core value, the NCAA believes in and is committed to diversity, inclusion and gender equity among its student-athletes, coaches and administrators. The NCAA seeks to establish and maintain an inclusive culture that fosters equitable participation for student-athletes and career opportunities for coaches and administrators from diverse backgrounds. Diversity and inclusion improve the learning environment for all student-athletes and enhance excellence within the Association.

The Office of Inclusion provides programming and education, which sustains foundations of a diverse and inclusive culture across dimensions of diversity including, but not limited to age, race, sex, class, national origin, creed, educational background, disability, gender expression, geographical location, income, marital status, parental status, sexual orientation and work experiences.

NCAA Guidelines for the Participation of Transgender Athletes in Sex-Separated Sports Teams:

A transgender student-athlete should be allowed to participate in any sports activity so long as that athlete’s use of hormone therapy, if any, is consistent with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) existing policies on banned medications.

1. Transgender student-athletes undergoing hormone treatment:
   1. A trans male (FTM – female-to-male) student-athlete who has received a medical exception for treatment with testosterone for diagnosed gender transition (gender identity disorder, gender dysphoria, or transsexualism), for purposes of NCAA competition may compete on a men’s team and is no longer eligible to compete on a women’s team after beginning hormone treatment.
   2. A trans male (FTM – female-to-male) student-athlete who is taking medically prescribed testosterone for the purposes of gender transition may compete on a men’s team with an NCA approved medical exception.
   3. A trans female (MTF – male-to-female) student-athlete being treated with testosterone suppression medication for gender transition (gender identity disorder, gender dysphoria, or transsexualism), for purposes of NCAA competition may continue to compete on a men’s team, but many not compete on a women’s team until completing one year of testosterone suppression treatment.
   4. In any case where a student-athlete is taking hormone treatment related to gender transition, that treatment must be monitored by a physician and the NCAA must receive regular reports about the student-athlete’s eligibility according to these guidelines. The institution, through the Director of Athletics, may request to the NCAA an exception for use of an anabolic agent or peptide hormone by submitting to the NCAA medical documentation from the prescribing physician supporting the diagnosis and treatment.
2. Transgender student-athletes not undergoing hormone treatment:
   1. A transgender student-athlete who is not taking hormone treatment related to gender transition may participate in sex-separated sports activities in accordance with his or her assigned birth gender.
   2. A trans male (FTM – female-to-male) student-athlete who is not taking testosterone related to gender transition may participate on a men’s or women’s team.
   3. A trans female (MTF – male-to-female) student-athlete who is not taking hormone treatments related to gender transition may not compete on a women’s team.

NCAA Bylaws Related to Hormonal Treatment and Mixed Teams

Two areas of NCAA regulations can be impacted by transgender student-athlete participation: use of banned substances and mixed team status.

1. A mixed team is a varsity intercollegiate sports team on which at least one individual of each gender competes. (Revised: 5/8/06). NCAA Bylaw 18.02.2 for purposes of meeting the required minimums set forth in Bylaws 18.2.3 and 18.2.4, a mixed team shall be counted as one team. A mixed team shall count toward the minimum sponsorship percentage for men’s championships.
   1. NCAA rules state that a male participating in competition on a female team makes the team a “mixed team.” The mixed team can be used for sports sponsorship numbers (provided other conditions, such as being an acceptable NCAA sport, outlined in Bylaw 20.9 (Division I), 20.10 (Division II) and 20.11 (Division III) are met) and counts toward the mixed/men’s team minimums within the membership sports- sponsorship requirements. Such a team is ineligible for a women’s NCAA championship but is eligible for a men’s NCAA championship.
   2. Once a team is classified as a mixed team, it retains that status through the remainder of the academic year without exception.
   3. A female on a men’s team does not impact sports sponsorship in the application of the rule the team still counts toward the mixed/men’s numbers. Such a team is eligible for a men’s NCAA championship. 
2. NCAA Bylaw 31.2.3 identifies testosterone as a banned substance and provides for a medical exception review for demonstrated need for use of a banned medication. It is the responsibility of the NCAA institution to submit the request for a medical exception (see www.ncaa.org/drug testing) for testosterone treatment prior to the student-athlete competing while undergoing treatment. In the case of testosterone suppression, the institution must submit written documentation to the NCAA of the year of treatment and ongoing monitoring of testosterone suppression. 
3. Appeals Process - If a transgender student-athlete is denied eligibility by their institution and followed the institution's transgender policy appeal process (if applicable), the student-athlete may appeal to the NCAA, per the association policy. The conference office may serve as a resource for the student-athlete in the appeal process but all appeals, and decisions will be made by the NCAA.

 
SUNY Morrisville Policy and Implementation

1. The student’s responsibility:
   1. In order to avoid challenges to a transgender student’s participation during a sport season, a student-athlete who has completed, plans to, initiates, or is in the process of taking hormones as part of a gender transition shall submit the request to participate on a sports team in writing to the Director of Athletics upon matriculation or when the decision to undergo hormonal treatment is made.
      1. The student is encouraged to meet with someone who can offer support and advice throughout the process, if desired. Should the student want help in finding such a person, a list of people who might serve in that role is available from the Director of Athletics, The Title IX Officer, the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and the Office of Student Rights and Responsibilities.
   2. The student shall submit his or her request to the Director of Athletics. The request shall include a letter from the student’s physician documenting the student-athletes intention to transition or the student’s transition status if the process has already been initiated. This letter shall identify the prescribed hormonal treatment for the student’s gender transition and documentation of the student’s testosterone levels, if relevant.
   3. All discussions among involved parties and required written supporting documentation shall be kept confidential unless the student-athlete makes a specific request otherwise. All information about an individual student’s transgender identity and medical information, including physician’s information provided pursuant to this policy, shall be maintained confidentially.
2. Facilities, Support, Education, Privacy:
   1. Privacy of transgender student-athletes will be made a priority at all times for all athletic department and affiliated school personnel, particularly when in the presence of the media. All medical information shall be kept confidential in accordance with applicable state, local and federal privacy laws.
   2. Coaches and athletic department staff, along with student-athletes, will be provided education about gender identity and expression, and the principles of transgender inclusion. They should be knowledgeable about how, in their particular roles, to support transgender individuals, and should be prepared and willing to put this knowledge to use.
      1. At institutions or venues where, or against which SUNY Morrisville student-athletes compete – without naming or violating the privacy of transgender athletes or personnel in question, relevant personnel at those venues should be informed about expectations for the treatment of transgender athletes, including accommodation, pronoun and name use – during and outside of play.
   3. SUNY Morrisville athletics is committed to providing access to facilities that align with the gender identity of participants. Private facilities will be made available if requested.
      1. When possible, SUNY Morrisville student-athletes traveling to other institutions should be assigned accommodations based on their gender identity, with more privacy provided, if possible, when requested.
   4. Student-athletes and other participants will dress in accord with their gender identity and preferred expression, and not conflict with an athlete’s gender identity.
   5. Teammates, coaches, and other participants in sports shall refer to participating individuals by their preferred names and pronouns.
   6. SUNY Morrisville Athletics will not tolerate retaliation against any transgender individual. Negative language, abusive or inappropriate behavior directed towards student-athletes, coaches, administrators, officials or spectators can result in violations of the SUNY Morrisville Student Code of Conduct as well as Student-Athlete Code of Conduct. The Athletics Department will take appropriate remedial action to correct retaliation and discrimination of students on the basis of their gender identity or expression.
3. Resources
   1. SUNY Morrisville Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Office: https://www.morrisville.edu/contact/offices/diversity-equity-inclusivity/resources
   2. NCAA LGBTQ Resources https://www.ncaa.org/about/resources/inclusion/lgbtq-resources
   3. Champions of Respect  - Inclusion of LGBTQ Student-athletes and Staff in NCAA Programs https://www.ncaa.org/sites/default/files/Pages%2Bfrom%2BPages%2Bfrom%2BPages%2Bfrom%2BChampions%2Bof%2BRespect%2B-%2BOverview%2B%26%2BBest%2BPractices.pdf
   4. NCAA Inclusion of Transgender Student-Athletes: https://ncaaorg.s3.amazonaws.com/inclusion/lgbtq/INC_TransgenderHandbook.pdf 
   5. NCAA Transgender Student-Athlete Participation Eligibility Form: https://ncaaorg.s3.amazonaws.com/inclusion/lgbtq/SSI_TransgenderSAEligibilityReportingForm.pdf#page=2 
   6. NCAA Transgender Student-Athlete Participation Policy: https://www.ncaa.org/sports/2022/1/27/transgender-participation-policy.aspx