Trump Issues EO on Women’s and Olympic Sports

President Trump signed an Executive Order (EO) this week to protect and preserve women’s and Olympic sports at colleges and universities. Although the directive builds upon an EO issued last July that the administration believes required “more comprehensive executive action,” it applies only to institutions of higher education that generate $20 million or more in athletic revenue. As a result, the vast majority of colleges and universities are not affected by the new EO.

Specifically, the order cites the financial pressure facing colleges to support competitive football programs as the major reason that rules meant to provide consistency across the collegiate athletics system have been loosened or nullified at the state level. It therefore aims to reestablish “intercollegiate athletic governing body rules” as the national standard. However, the EO also calls upon the intercollegiate athletic governing body to update or clarify these rules before the order goes into effect on August 1, 2026.

Under the EO, federal agencies are directed to determine whether colleges and universities with federal grants or contracts are complying with intercollegiate athletic governing body rules, including standards that:

• Implement age-based eligibility limits;
• Set formal rules regarding transfers between schools;
• Guarantee medical care for student-athletes for sports-related injuries;
• Implement revenue-sharing in a manner that preserves or expands scholarships and collegiate athletic opportunities in women’s and Olympic sports;
• Ban improper financial arrangements which include third-party, pay-for-play agreements and the use of federal funds for NIL or revenue-sharing payments or coaching or athletic compensation; and
• Establish a student-athlete agent registry and protections against excessive agent commissions.

Institutions that are subject to the EO and that violate these rules may put their eligibility for federal grants and contracts at risk.

The order instructs the Administrator of General Services to implement regular data collection evaluating compliance and instructs the Department of Education to collect data on the total number of roster spots by varsity team and the total amount of money spent on athletically related student aid or other payments. It also instructs the Chairman of the Federal Trade Commission and the Attorney General to take appropriate enforcement actions. Finally, it calls upon Congress to pass legislation addressing these issues.

For more information, please contact:
Jody Feder