New attention on college athletes from abroad
New rules allowing compensation for college-student athletes have thrust international students into the spotlight — that’s because, unlike their teammates, they may not be able to take advantage of the potential “name, image, likeness” windfall because of visa regulations.
Yet the confusion surrounding the so-called NIL changes is just one of several issues that set apart international students who are athletes from other athletes and from other foreign students.
College athletes from abroad may have a rocky transition to college life and struggle to balance schoolwork and sports, all while adjusting to a new culture. International athletes were more likely to transfer in their first year — a quarter did so, compared with just 14 percent of domestic college athletes — and less likely to feel a sense of belonging on campus than did their American teammates, according to NCAA surveys.
These pressures can be easy to overlook, experts said. An international athlete may just be one member of a team, and athletes’ share of the overall international-student population is small, only about 2 percent of the nearly 1 million overseas students on American campuses.
Still, their numbers are growing. More than 21,000 international athletes compete on American college teams, according to the NCAA. They’re especially prominent in certain sports, like ice hockey and soccer. In tennis, 60 percent of Division I players are from other countries.
The NCAA has taken note. It held its first international college athlete “inclusion think tank” in late 2021, bringing together students, coaches, administrators, and faculty members to discuss the particular challenges for athletes from abroad. The organization is expected to release new resources offering guidance to colleges this summer.
“We talk about female student-athletes and minority student-athletes, but we talk very little about international student-athletes,” said David Kuhlmeier, a faculty athletics representative at Valdosta State University, in Georgia, and a participant in the think tank. “Please tell me this is just the beginning.”
I spoke with Kuhlmeier and others about the issues for international college athletes. Here’s some of what they told me.
Athletes first. International students second. Emma Swift, associate director of international education at the University of Vermont, recalls that during student orientation, international athletes would often introduce themselves by the sport they played. “That is their identity, as an athlete,” she said.
Timothy Bryson, who serves as an adviser to World Wide Terps, an organization of international athletes at the University of Maryland at College Park, notes that athletes often have a different path to college. For most international students, studying in America “was an experience they sought out themselves,” he said. “But international athletes are here because they were recruited.”
Being part of a team can help smooth the transition to college and a new country by giving international college athletes a built-in support network. But between classes and practices, they may also have little time to form other connections, and their teammates may not fully understand the hurdles of acclimating to a different culture.
One athlete, a soccer player from Spain, said she felt isolated when she was injured and couldn’t compete. “I realized I didn’t know anyone else, outside of the team,” said the student, who asked not to be identified when discussing mental-health struggles. “I felt really alone.”
Hurdle or help. Because sports plays such a prominent role, international college athletes may be more likely to turn to their teammates or coaches for advice than to the international student-services office. That may not be appropriate when dealing with complex issues, like visa status.
At Vermont, a staff member in the international office serves as a liaison to the athletics department. The goal isn’t to turn coaches and athletic directors into immigration advisers but rather to make them aware of the issues. They can be an extra set of hands to make sure students stay in compliance. If an international athlete doesn’t complete a visa check-in, Swift said she knows she can contact the coach and the student will check in, immediately.
Culture can also complicate the player-coach relationship, said Kuhlmeier, who has conducted case studies of international college athletes. Some could feel pressure to play when injured.
Visa rules + NCAA rules = lots of rules. The relaxation of visa regulations during the Covid-19 pandemic gave foreign athletes greater flexibility — some even returned to their home countries to train for the Olympics while taking classes remotely. But with the return of in-person learning, international students again face strict limits on online courses and must study full time to maintain their visa status. Additional NCAA rules govern their academic eligibility.
There’s a learning curve for international students — and for the international offices and athletics departments that advise them. Athletes on full scholarship, for example, must file with the IRS. The new NIL rules have added new complexity because they may run afoul of a prohibition on off-campus work for international students. (I wrote more about NIL here.)
But student athletes from overseas already had to deal with a different set of rules than their teammates. While many athletes coach during the summer, such work is off limits to international students unless it is related to their major. “It can feel unfair,” Swift said, “when their teammates can have certain opportunities because they have a U.S. passport.”
Bryson, who works as program director for student-athlete career development at Maryland, said colleges can do more to support international athletes. “They can be great ambassadors,” he said, “or they can fall through the cracks.”
