The United States Supreme Court heard oral arguments today in two landmark cases addressing whether female athletic programs may be required to allow male athletes to compete in women’s sports. Among the amici curiae supporting female athletes were Spring Arbor University President Dr. Brent Ellis and the Wagner Faith & Freedom Center, represented by the Hon. William Wagner (Ret.), Distinguished Chair for Faith & Freedom.

The cases arise amid a national debate over whether legal protections based on gender identity may supersede longstanding sex-based athletic classifications grounded in biological science. Female athletes challenging these policies argue that such mandates undermine fairness, safety, and equal opportunity in women’s sports.

Spring Arbor University is a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the second-largest governing body of collegiate sports in the United States, representing 237 institutions across 21 conferences. SAU sponsors multiple women’s sports, including basketball, cross country, soccer, softball, track and field, volleyball, and others.

Dr. Ellis serves on the NAIA Council of Presidents and actively participated in a two-year NAIA Task Force established to review policies governing sports participation. That Task Force conducted an extensive study of scientific, competitive, and safety considerations affecting collegiate athletics.

Drawing on this experience, the amici submitted a Brandeis-style brief to the Court presenting empirical data and institutional findings rather than abstract theory. The Task Force concluded that biological sex is materially relevant to athletic performance, particularly in sports involving combinations of strength, speed, and stamina, and that male athletes possess inherent physiological advantages affecting competition, safety, and scholarship opportunities.

Following unanimous approval by the NAIA Council of Presidents, the Association adopted a policy maintaining separate male and female athletic categories in order to “support the fair and safe competition opportunities for all student athletes.”

“The question before the Court is not ideological, but practical and constitutional,” said the Hon. William Wagner (Ret.), WFFC Distinguished Chair for Faith & Freedom. “Women’s sports exist because biological differences matter in athletics. Preserving sex-based categories is essential to fairness, safety, and the equal athletic opportunities that generations of women have worked to secure.”

Housed on the campus of Spring Arbor University, the Wagner Faith & Freedom Center promotes the freedom to educate and the freedom of citizens and institutions to engage contested cultural issues with truth, civility, and respect. In this case, the Center emphasized that supporting women’s sports is not about exclusion, but about preserving the integrity and purpose of female athletic competition.

The Supreme Court’s decisions in these cases are expected later this term and will have significant implications for collegiate athletics, Title IX enforcement, and the future of women’s sports nationwide.

President Ellis also wrote an op-ed on this issue that was recently published by The Detroit News, which you can read here.