H.R. 10351 – THE TEAM USA ACT

I asked Chat about International athletes in American Colleges and Universities:

• Top-level starters: Your preliminary examination of selected teams and divisions suggested that international players could account for around 90% of starters in some groups. That remains a preliminary sample estimate, not a verified national figure.
• Scholarship distribution: You raised the question of whether international recruits receive a disproportionate share of tennis scholarship aid. Roster counts alone cannot answer it; we need actual scholarship-dollar or financial-aid data.

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August 5th, 1999 From TENNIS WORLD by Beth German:

“The NCAA is also to be blamed for not keeping tennis specific numbers. It is impossible to find out how many international players take roster spots, scholarships or Graduate from college.”

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Soccer?

More and more, it is leading to a dead end for U.S.-born athletes. In increasing numbers, they are being squeezed out of collegiate competitive sports by a combination of rising international student-athlete participation rates and shrinking roster numbers ushered in as part of last year’s settlement of a class-action lawsuit, House v. NCAA

The son’s odds of making a Division I roster have plunged since his father’s days. His plight comes into sharp focus when you look at 17th-ranked Missouri State, where the 27-man roster includes 26 international student-athletes spanning the globe from Canada, Colombia, England, Hungary and Ireland to Italy, Japan, Portugal, Scotland and Spain.

Among the country’s best programs, it’s more of the same. The top-25 teams in the NCAA rankings feature 265 international student-athletes, which represent 36.9 percent of the available roster spots. Overall, foreign-born student-athletes make up 34 percent of all Division I men’s soccer participants.

The round of 16 in Men’s NCAA Division I tennis, play today. A quick survey of the team’s starting lineups, excepting Ohio State, feature about 90% international players. Assuming the ones who are starters get the scholarsips, they also get 90% of the grants. And NIL/Portal cash.

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“I wonder how many Athletic Directors silently came to a conclusion similar to this? 1. All sports are counted in the standings for our ‘Conference Cup’? 2. We are in a conference with mostly good tennis teams with all foreign  players.  And we give the 8 girls and 4 and 1/2 boys grants to internationals. 3. I can find a better place for that size of budget.

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• They mentioned that NIL opportunities have changed the equation for top American juniors. Players can now earn meaningful income while competing in college, making it less financially urgent to leave school immediately for the lower levels of professional tennis.
• The discussion also touched on how college players now receive:
  • world-class coaching,
  • strength and conditioning,
  • sports science,
  • and frequent competition against future professionals,
    making college a stronger developmental pathway than it was a decade ago.
• They contrasted today’s environment with previous generations, when the expectation for top juniors was often to turn professional immediately if they had the opportunity.
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THERE ARE ONLY TWO MAJOR WAYS TO RECOUP PARENTAL/FAMILY INVESTMENT: 1. PRO TENNIS (IN NC ONLY ISNER, WILKISON, AND SADRI MADE ANY LIFETIME $) AND 2. COLLEGE SCHOLARSHIPS. THE RISING COST OF HIGHER EDUCATION MAKES SCHOLARSHIPS MORE VALUABLE AND MORE APT TO AFFECT THE CHOICE OF SCHOOL AND SPORT TO PURSUE.

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!!!!! This has not been properly emphasized–What matters is scholarships.  The starters get the money and they are 90% international.

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Some personal comments from an old tennis coach/”sports fan”

• College tennis players are better because the money has made college tennis a better option than the tradtional Challenger route.
• College tennis has become the “minor leagues” of Pro Tennis.
• 1970-NAIA tennis rosters changed to almost all foreign, almost overnight.
• Now all divisions of college tennis rosters, save D111, are the same .
• Scholarships are the only source of aid for American families.
• Fear of lawsuits has been a major concern.
• The age of Tennis and Basketball players is a major factor.

Cruel ? Our children ?

Recruiting gossip is no longer about “blue chip” or ” 5 Star “, 17/18 year American high schoolers. Recruiters have a bag of money to offer to “portals”. They are often 23 years old. Some have transferred 3-4 times. We are letting graduate students play. Some are “eligible” six or seven years after admission.

American Tennis families have suffered from this for years. Poor to rich.

Basketball has been a bedrock for mostly poor kids. Will international older players, often with backgrounds of professional play, join tennis in taking away our children’s opportunites ?

This has to be dealt with soon. And it affects many other sports than tennis and basketball.

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Isn’t it about time some of our organizations screw up their courage and use their time, money and efforts to make these facts available to American parents and players.

LEGISLATION OVERVIEW: H.R. 10351 – THE TEAM USA ACT

Hopefully this current bill will be approved before Congress adjurns.

Why it matters

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Why? Because for every international that recieves the scholarship, or money, or education,etc., that bumps an American. While this affects all global sports, basketball hopefuls should be most concerning. Poor kids, black ones predominately, have used basketball as a major and rare opportunity to lift themselves. No pun intended.

For every opportunity offered abroad, we often deny one of our most needy.

While this is a “sticky wicket”, the issue should be “on the agenda” in the making

of reasonable changes demanded ( NIL/PORTAL controls ).

Here are some related personal blogs :

LEGISLATION OVERVIEW: H.R. 10351 – THE TEAM USA ACT