Kansas City, Missouri - The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) on Monday banned transgender female athletes from participating in competitive women's sports.

In a unanimous vote, NAIA's Council of Presidents approved a policy stating that "only NAIA student-athletes whose biological sex is female may participate in NAIA-sponsored female sports."

All student athletes may participate in male sports. Competitive cheer and competitive dance also remain open to all students.

The change comes amid a wave of rightwing attacks on LGBTQ+ rights, including athletes' ability to participate on sports teams corresponding to their gender identity.

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"Today, the NAIA decided to bar an entire category of people from competition simply because of a right-wing outrage campaign that purposefully misrepresents and distorts the realities of transgender athletes while doing nothing to support women's sports," Kelley Robinson, president of the Human Rights Campaign, said in a statement.

"The chilling message this sends not just to other sanctioning bodies but also to youth sports leagues across the country is dangerous and it must be stopped in its tracks," Robinson added.

NAIA is the governing body for primarily smaller, private colleges and universities. It represented 241 member institutions and around 83,000 student athletes during the 2023-24 season.

The association's Monday decision has sparked renewed calls for the advancement of stalled Title IX updates in order to guarantee anti-discrimination protections for transgender athletes.

NAIA's new restrictions are scheduled to take effect on August 1, 2024.