The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and State of Texas are still fighting in a Lubbock court almost a year and-a-half after Texas sued the NCAA – saying allowing biological men to compete in women’s sports was consumer fraud.
The NCAA claimed the controversy is over – with President Trump signing the “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports executive order and the NCAA complying.
The NCAA is asking Lubbock Judge Les Hatch in the 237th District Court to shut down the state’s lawsuit. Lawyers for the state asked Hatch to proceed with the case currently set for trial in September.
The case got national media attention in March of last year when nationally known former swimmer Riley Gaines testified via video feed. Other female college athletes testified in person.
The NCAA requested summary judgement, saying, “The AG [Texas attorney general] would have the court believe this case is about transgender athletes’ participation in women’s sports. It’s not.”
A summary judgment would shut down the case on legal grounds without the need for further evidence or going to trial.
The NCAA claimed the “real question” is whether the AG can use a consumer protection statute “for partisan politics.” The law cannot be used for “gimmicks,” the NCAA claimed, which means the lawsuit should get tossed out before it ever goes to trial.
“First, the perceived controversy the AG seeks to litigate no longer exists. On February 6, 2025, the NCAA’s Board of Governors adopted its 2025 Policy, which categorically bars any student-athlete assigned male at birth from competing in women’s sports. That policy – which copies Texas law – is clear and is being enforced,” attorney Victor Vital claimed on behalf of the NCAA.
Texas replied in February saying the NCAA’s legal argument was “misdirection and contradiction.” Texas claimed the issue was indeed consumer protection. The NCAA advertised women’s sports but allowed biological men to identify as women and compete.
“There are still biological men competing in the women’s category,” Texas claimed.
According to Texas, there was a violation after the NCAA’s policy went into effect.
“ … On March 29, 2025, Ithica College allowed a transgender female … to compete on an NCAA women’s rowing team in intercollegiate competition,” attorney Justin Sassaman wrote on behalf of Texas.
It was characterized in court records as a self-reported violation.
“But despite [the] admission of guilt, the NCAA, for reasons unclear, decided to rule that no violation had occurred,” Texas claimed.
The rebuttal from the NCAA filed in March said of Texas, “Its entire case is a referendum on transgenderism: whether transgender individuals should be classified with their sex assigned at birth or the sex with which they identify. Over the past few decades, this policy issue has been heavily debated.”
A policy disagreement is not the same as policy fraud, said the NCAA in its legal briefs.
“The Texas Legislature considered, debated, and adopted policies that, in 2025, became law. But before that there was no governing standard. The NCAA’s current policy aligns with both Texas law and federal guidance,” the NCAA rebuttal said.
The NCAA concluded, “It would be fundamentally unfair to now hold the NCAA liable for following approaches that, at the time, were supported by federal guidance, many states, and sizable portions of the public.”
Timeline
- December 2024 – Texas sued the NCAA claiming biological men were allowed to identify as women and then compete in women’s sports. Texas claimed this was a violation of Deceptive Trade Practices Act. (Texas said consumers buying tickets to women’s events were misled.) The NCAA denied any deception.
- February 2025 – President Trump issued an executive order called “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports.” The NCAA said it made changes to comply with the order.
- March 2025 – The court held a hearing on the state’s request for a temporary injunction. Judge Hatch denied the request.
- June 2025 – The NCAA filed its first request for summary judgement. The request was updated in December.
- February 2026 – Texas replied to the NCAA’s request for summary judgement.
- March 2026 – The NCAA filed a rebuttal.
