The College Fix

‘UMaine’s decision to side with sanity is a win for women and girls in Maine,’ Trump admin says

The University of Maine System has “clearly communicated” that male athletes will not be allowed to participate in women’s sports in compliance with Title IX, the federal government said this week.

The news comes after the U.S. Department of Agriculture temporarily paused federal funding to the public university last week, citing an investigation into its inclusion of male athletes who identify as transgender in women’s sports, Fox News reports.

“UMaine’s decision to side with sanity is a win for women and girls in Maine,” the department stated in a news release Wednesday.

The university “has clearly communicated its compliance with Title IX’s requirement to protect equal opportunities for women and girls to compete in safe and fair sports, as articulated in President Donald J. Trump’s Executive Order,” the department stated.

However, it also warned that “[a]ny false claim by the UMaine can, and will, result in onerous and even potentially criminal financial liability.”

“Since February 26, 2025, when UMaine confirmed its compliance with federal law, UMaine has been able to access all federal funds from USDA,” the department stated. “The choice for the rest of Maine is simple: protect equal opportunities for women, as required by law, or lose funding.”

Meanwhile, university Chancellor Dannel Malloy expressed relief at the department’s announcement.

“We are relieved to put the Department’s Title IX compliance review behind us so the land-grant University of Maine and our statewide partners can continue to leverage USDA and other essential federal funds to strengthen and grow our natural resource economy and dependent rural communities through world-class education, research and extension,” Malloy said in a statement to WMTW 8.

Malloy and other administrators also said the university always has complied with the law, according to Fox News:

UMS, a network of eight public universities in Maine, claims it has been compliant with the NCAA’s revised gender policy to keep trans athletes out of the women’s category since the NCAA’s revision was made on Feb. 6, and has always followed state and federal law. UMS was subject to a temporary pause in funding from the USDA last week during an ongoing battle between the state and the federal government over trans inclusion in women’s and girls sports. The funding was reinstated just days later.

The Trump administration also paused funding to the University of Pennsylvania this week, saying the Ivy League school is not complying with its directive regarding women’s sports, The College Fix reported.

“The Trump Administration has ‘paused $175 million in federal funding from the University of Pennsylvania’ over its policies forcing women to compete with men in sports,” the White House Rapid Response team wrote Wednesday on X.

As of Wednesday, a UPenn spokesperson told Fox News the university had “not yet received any official notification or any details” about a federal funding block, but it was aware of the reports.

The Philadelphia university also is under investigation by the U.S. Department of Education for potential Title IX violations, according to the report.

MORE: Universities with trans athletes silent on Trump women’s sports order

IMAGE CAPTION AND CREDIT: A sign opposing male athletes who identify as female in women’s sports. Inez Fletcher/Twitter

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