Wyoming Gov. Gordon signed SF0044 barring transgender college athletes from women's sports teams
On March 13, 2025, Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon signed SF0044, "Fairness in sports-intercollegiate athletics," into law as Senate Enrolled Act No. 94 (Chapter 144, Session Laws of Wyoming 2025). The law creates W.S. 21-25-301, requiring University of Wyoming and Wyoming community college students to compete in intercollegiate athletics according to a "biological sex" defined by reproductive function, barring them from teams designated for the opposite sex. The effect is to exclude transgender student-athletes from competing consistent with their gender identity.
Actors
On March 13, 2025, Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon signed SF0044, titled "Fairness in sports-intercollegiate athletics," into law as Senate Enrolled Act No. 94, later designated Chapter 144 of the Session Laws of Wyoming 2025. The measure had cleared the 68th Legislature earlier in the session, passing the House 52-8 on third reading and the Senate on concurrence 23-8 before reaching the governor's desk.
The law creates W.S. 21-25-301, which requires students at the University of Wyoming and Wyoming community colleges to compete in intercollegiate athletic competitions according to their "biological sex." The statute defines "female" and "male" in terms of the reproductive system a person has or would have had, and it bars students from participating on teams designated for the sex opposite their own. It also prohibits the covered schools from competing against institutions that do not follow the same standard. Although the statutory text is framed in facially neutral "biological sex" terms, its stated purpose and effect are to exclude transgender student-athletes from competing consistent with their gender identity.
According to contemporaneous reporting, Gordon allowed the bill to become law while describing it in critical terms, even as the bill's sponsor celebrated its enactment. The signing came amid a broader set of measures the Wyoming Legislature advanced in the 2025 session restricting transgender residents' participation in public institutions and programs.
Why we recorded this
Equal protection bars the state from structuring access to a public institution's programs so that people are treated differently because of a protected characteristic. Wyoming enacted a law requiring students at its public university and community colleges to compete in intercollegiate athletics by a "biological sex" defined through reproductive function, which forecloses transgender students from teams matching their gender identity. By singling out a marginalized group for exclusion from a public educational program, the statute imposes discriminatory state action tied to who the affected students are.
Sources
- SF0044 Enrolled Act — Senate Enrolled Act No. 94, 2025 General Session — Wyoming Legislature primary accessed July 15, 2026
- SF0044 Legislative Digest — Fairness in sports-intercollegiate athletics — Wyoming Legislature primary accessed July 15, 2026
- Governor Signs College Transgender Sports Ban Into Law — Cowboy State Daily secondary accessed July 15, 2026
- Wyoming governor allows trans athlete ban to become law despite calling it draconian and discriminatory — CBS News secondary accessed July 15, 2026
See also
- Wyoming enacted SF0077 barring state and local government from requiring employees to use colleagues' preferred pronouns
- Wyoming Gov. Gordon signed HB 72 requiring birth-sex use of public restrooms, prison sleeping quarters, and college facilities
- Wyoming Gov. Gordon signed SF0062 requiring K-12 students to use restrooms and facilities matching sex assigned at birth
- Wyoming Gov. Gordon signed HB 164 excluding gender-affirming care for minors from new off-label prescribing protections
- Wyoming enacted SEA 8, requiring parental opt-in before instruction on sexual orientation or gender identity
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