- For better or worse, Congress is attempting to address multiple NCAA issues as we speak; this is not the only one on their radar.
- While an argument can be made that the presenters of this particular bill are more interested in the xenophobic spectre of international students on college campuses, I do believe there is a legit argument to be made, in certain sports, that this is not the best version of college athletics.
Many college programs in tennis, golf, soccer, T&F/XC & Ice hockey have devolved their recruitment programs into merely combing semi-pro club teams overseas for the large majority of their roster. And as a result there are some smaller colleges where most of their international students are now recruited varsity athletes.
International students in the USA for academic purposes are much more likely to stay, a massive boon to the US economy. Even if they leave, their college participation helps keep us the intellectual and research leaders of the world, because most are well above average students and researchers. Over 80% pay the full, highest tuition rate, whereas roughly only 15% of US students pay full sticker price. International students are effectively subsidizing US higher education. If we contunue the recent trend in barring them, it is a gift to foreign universities, especially in China, allowing them to close the prestige and research gap.
International athletes, on the other hand, are much more likely to come and go. And while they are here, they are less likely to add much to what college campuses produce, except wins. Even if they are good students, they really do not have time to devote to the highest academic pursuits because of their sport. In the process, most are consuming scholarships, funded almost exclusively by US donors. It is, in effect, the opposite of academic international students, economically speaking.
Back to the recruiting, it just seems like one of many gaming-of-the-system techniques that coaches use to try and find a competitive advantage. And for the sports I mentioned above, especially tennis, it is becoming really hard not to use this model.
I have always advocated for UNC to seek out any player anywhere. On an individual or team level, I do not care which country appears on their passport cover. UNC should use the system in place to compete at its best.
But i am not opposed to addressing flaws in the system to make it better, or preserve what has worked. As to this particular issue, it is a fact that there are collectively many thousands fewer opportunities for US athletes than existed just a decade ago.
It is OK to just consider that trend the evolving open global market, as it should be. It is also OK to consider it something worth addressing, minus any nationalist red meat rhetoric.