GOP Bill Aims to Cap International Student Athletes

Republicans introduced a bicameral bill Monday to limit the number of international students who can compete in varsity college sports.

If passed, the TEAM USA Act—sponsored by House education committee chair Tim Walberg of Michigan and Senate education committee member Jon Husted of Ohio—would mandate that international athletes make up no more than 20 percent of any given varsity team roster or the institution could lose access to federal student aid. In the case of a team with fewer than 10 athletes, only 1 may be a non-U.S. citizen. The law would take effect on July 1, 2029.

In an email to Inside Higher Ed, a Walberg spokesperson said that the number of international students receiving athletic scholarships has nearly tripled since 2001; in some Division I sports, they now make up more than 60 percent of participants.

The bill’s goal, the spokesperson said, is to “preserve opportunities for American athletes.”

Sen. Husted added in a news release that if Congress is going to regulate the future of college sports, it must put American student athletes first.

“American colleges and universities are increasingly giving scholarships and limited roster spots to foreign athletes, and the growth of [name, image and likeness] money only creates more incentive for foreign athletes to cash in on the American system,” Husted said. “If the U.S. Congress is being asked to ‘save college sports’ we should save it for American student-athletes.”

The TEAM USA Act is also about “ensuring the NCAA continues to serve as a strong pipeline for the next generation of Team USA,” Walberg’s spokesperson added.

They noted that while 65 percent of the 2024 U.S. Olympic team had NCAA ties, nearly two-thirds of the NCAA-affiliated athletes who competed in Paris represented other countries.

Walberg believes that must change.

“America has built the strongest collegiate athletic system in the world, and we should make sure it continues to develop the next generation of American students and American Olympians,” he said in the news release.

This is the first federal proposal to cap the participation of foreign athletes. Similar bills have been proposed by state lawmakers in Ohio, Idaho and Oklahoma, but none has passed so far.