The University of North Carolina has suspended the admission or renewal of transgender student athletes in its athletics department.
The decision was made in a letter sent Thursday to the UNC Board of Governors, and was issued in response to an inquiry from The Associated Press.
The news comes just days after the NCAA and the University of Virginia agreed to a new standard for admitting transgender athletes that would require that athletes be “qualified” to compete.
UNC, like the other schools, has been in the midst of a legal battle over the admission policy.
The university has argued that it does not have the right to impose any requirement on transgender students, and has said that transgender students are allowed to compete if they meet certain criteria.
The NCAA has already reached agreements with other sports organizations that it would not ban transgender athletes from participating in sports, though some college sports leagues have also ruled against transgender athletes.
UNC has been a leader in fighting to remove transgender students from sports, including offering transgender students an opportunity to play in their teams.
The move comes as the NCAA has come under scrutiny for its handling of the student-athlete policy.
Last month, it was revealed that several former members of the University’s football team and men’s basketball team had used the program to avoid sharing information with the NCAA about their gender identity.
UNC had also said it was considering an exception for transgender athletes in sports that have been identified as “gender-appropriate,” but the university said at the time that it was reviewing the proposal.
The school said it would be “appropriate to discuss” the matter with the ACC’s executive vice president of academic affairs and administration, Scott Wilson, and the school’s chancellor, Margaret Spellings.
UNC did not immediately respond to AP inquiries about whether it had contacted the ACC about the suspension.
