A federal judge has dismissed Riley Gaines’ Title IX lawsuit against the NCAA, ruling that the organization was not shown to be a recipient of federal financial assistance.

U.S. District Judge Tiffany R. Johnson of the Northern District of Georgia granted the NCAA’s motion for summary judgment Monday, ending the remaining Title IX claims brought by Gaines and more than a dozen current and former female college athletes. Johnson, nominated by former President Joe Biden in 2024, concluded there was no evidence the NCAA ever received or could have received federal funds. She rejected arguments that the NCAA indirectly received funding, controlled entities that did, or became a recipient through employee travel reimbursements.

The lawsuit stemmed from the 2022 NCAA Division I Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships in Atlanta, where Gaines competed against transgender swimmer Lia Thomas. Gaines and the other plaintiffs argued that the NCAA’s policies allowing transgender athletes to compete in women’s events and use women’s locker rooms violated their rights under Title IX.

The ruling, however, did not determine whether the NCAA’s former transgender-athlete policy constituted sex discrimination. Instead, Johnson focused on whether the NCAA itself received federal financial assistance, a requirement for an organization to be subject to Title IX.

The plaintiffs had argued that the NCAA received federal funding indirectly through a concussion-research partnership involving the Department of Defense. Johnson previously allowed the Title IX claims to proceed in 2025 after finding that the allegations concerning that relationship were plausible enough to warrant limited discovery.

After reviewing the evidence, Johnson concluded that the NCAA and the Department of Defense maintained separate funding streams. Both contributed money to Indiana University for the research, but the federal money went to the university and other research participants rather than to the NCAA.

Johnson also rejected arguments that the NCAA could be considered a federal-funding recipient because it exercised control over entities receiving federal money or received reimbursements for certain employee travel expenses.

The judge cited the Supreme Court’s 1999 decision in NCAA v. Smith, which held that the NCAA is not automatically subject to Title IX simply because it collects dues from member schools that receive federal funding.

Gaines said the ruling represents only a temporary setback and confirmed that the plaintiffs intend to appeal to the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The plaintiffs have 30 days to file their notice of appeal.

“This momentary setback will not deter me or other women athletes in the least,” Gaines said, adding that the plaintiffs would appeal the decision.

The NCAA's current policy is also different from the rules challenged in Gaines’ lawsuit. After President Donald Trump signed his February 2025 executive order concerning women’s sports, the NCAA changed its policy the following day to limit women’s competition to athletes assigned female at birth.

The ruling therefore leaves the underlying dispute unresolved. Gaines’ appeal could allow the 11th Circuit to consider whether the NCAA’s relationship with federally funded institutions and research programs is sufficient to bring the organization within Title IX’s reach.