The University of Pennsylvania made national headlines in the 2021-2022 school year when Lia Thomas, a trans athlete, competed on the school's women's swim team.

The Trump administration has paused $175 million in federal funding to the University of Pennsylvania over the university’s insistence on allowing men to compete in women’s sports. The action follows President Donald Trump’s executive order issued last month that bars federally funded institutions from allowing male athletes to compete against women and threatens to rescind funding from any institution that refuses to comply.