or more than 50 years, schools have been required to provide equal opportunities to women’s sports athletes thanks to a law called Title IX. Enacted in 1972, it prohibits any school (including universities) receiving federal funding from engaging in discrimination on the basis of sex. It requires educational opportunities to be equitable across genders, and has been interpreted to adjudicate sexual misconduct claims in an academic setting.

Title IX isn’t foolproof, but it’s had a major impact on the sports world. It’s given hundreds of thousands of athletes opportunities and created a robust women’s sports pipeline serving as the bedrock for professional women’s sports leagues, as well as Team USA

But under President-elect Donald Trump, that could change.

Trump wants to eliminate the Department of Education, which enforces Title IX. His policies could weaken the federal government’s ability to ensure equal opportunities and resources for sports participation, slowing the progress of women’s sports, experts tell Front Office Sports.

Trump has also said he wants to ban transgender athletes from playing women’s sports. Reinterpreting or even rewriting Title IX could be a way for his administration to achieve this goal.