E&W Blog

Today, the subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Development held a hearing to examine whether existing recruiting practices strike the right balance between preserving meaningful opportunities for American students and welcoming international athletes.


Subcommittee Chairman Burgess Owens (R-UT) started the hearing by explaining how the rapid growth of international athletes on U.S. college rosters impacts the Team USA pipeline.

“This trend also weakens the development of U.S. Olympic talent. U.S. colleges provide athletes access to elite coaching, competition, and training facilities. At the 2024 Paris Olympics, 65 percent of the U.S. Olympic team were current, former, or incoming NCAA student-athletes. However, of the 1,000 NCAA Olympians in Paris, only 385 competed for Team USA—the other 63 percent competed for foreign nations,” he said.


Chairman Tim Walberg (R-MI) highlighted his bill, H.R. 10351, Training and Education for American Members in University Sports and Athletics (TEAM USA) Act, legislation to protect opportunities for American student-athletes by limiting international athlete participation to no more than 20 percent of each varsity sports team. 


Mr. Patrick McEnroe, Broadcaster at ESPN, told Rep. Mark Harris (R-NC) what’s at stake: American students losing the chance to pursue their dreams, learn the lessons sports teach, and use athletics to help them earn an education.


Mr. Douglas DePeppe, J.D., LL.M., Lieutenant Colonel (Retired), US Army and Special Counsel at Buchalter LLP, discussed how widespread the problem is: “…this pattern is neither isolated nor confined to any single division, association, or level of competition. International recruitment has become a significant and widespread presence throughout championship-level college soccer, cutting across every level of the collegiate system I examined. The findings raise important questions about athlete pathways, opportunity allocation, and the future relationship between American youth soccer and American college soccer.”


Rep. James Moylan (R-GU) discussed with Mr. Tommy Brown, Owner and CEO at One Heartbeat Inc., how these trends are impacting underserved populations.


“These scholarship opportunities that we’re losing are going to be for low-income families…I work with a lot of HBCUs…international students are taking away a lot of those scholarships as well,” said Mr. Brown.

House Democrats spent the hearing advocating for unlawful student loan forgiveness schemes that would cost taxpayers billions.

Bottom Line: American student-athletes should have a fair shot to compete at American colleges and universities. Too often that roster spot is going to an older international athlete instead.