Trifold increase in international student athletes studying in American Colleges

Racing from training to the dining hall for a quick but wholesome dinner before retreating to her dorm for the night is a typical weeknight for Dana Gray. A freshman tennis player for East Carolina University, Gray is one of three international student athletes who make up almost one third of the team. Like a growing number of other student athletes across the world, Gray has moved to the United States to pursue an academic sporting career.

The rate of international student athletes studying in American colleges has almost tripled since 1999/2000, according to the 2010 National Collegiate Athletics Association Student-Athlete Ethnicity Report. Making up little more than 1.6 percent of all collegiate athletes during the 1999/2000 academic year, international students recruited to play for American college teams has risen to greater than 4 percent or 17,000 athletes during 2010. 

University of Tennessee Associate Professor of Recreation and Sport Management Robin Hardin has been researching the increase since 2007 and said international student athletes are attracted to American colleges for the increased training opportunities along with the opportunities to pursue tertiary education. “In some countries once you start excelling in athletics you’re pulled from the educational system,” Hardin said. But migrating to American colleges provides students with enhanced “athletic training resources and medical resources,” he said, adding,  “The facilities are usually better on campuses than they are for some athletes internationally.”  

Gray’s hometown of Rotorua on the North Island of New Zealand has only 56,000 residents and no squad training facilities or options to pursue tennis beyond the club level.  But even nationally, “there honestly isn’t anything, especially in New Zealand,” Gray said. “You’re so isolated. If you were in Europe maybe [there’s the opportunity to pursue competitive tennis] or if at least you had so much money that you could go on the pro [tour].” But at ECU, she said, everything is provided. “You have all the facilities you want, the coaches you want, everything is planned for you,” she said. “All you have to do is show up” – an idea foreign to many international student athletes.

The American collegiate sporting market is vastly different to most nations in the world, with athletics programs receiving large endowments from alumni and corporations alike. According to a 2000 collection of articles, The Business of Sports, college athletic directors are charged with the responsibility to improve their programs in order to increase donations and subsequently improve their training facilities, coaching and support staff. However, it is college coaches who are delegated the role of continually searching for the best talent and recruiting athletes from American and international competitions to boost their sporting teams.  Hardin said coaches are recruiting athletes regardless of their nationality or location.

Daniel Woods, 18, is an engineering freshman on the ECU swim team. A gold medal recipient at the 2011 Commonwealth Youth Games for his home nation of Wales, he credits his recruitment and at least nine other ECU swim team internationals to skill. “I don’t mean to sound big headed, but I guess it’s because we’re better,” Woods said. “We get selected to swim for international teams because they see our times and know that we can make their team better. It’s the only reason they do it. They don’t need to fill out a diversity index or anything like that,” he said.

Recruitment to college sports teams used to be achieved by coaches travelling around to high schools or spending six weeks in Europe scouting, however, Hardin said technology has made it much easier. “If I’m a swimmer, tennis or volleyball player in Romania, I can make a video clip of my match and email it to a coach or they can watch something live over the Internet,” he said. “The technology has really helped coaches be more exposed to those athletes and see what the athlete’s ability is.”

Along with technology, the rise of recruiting agencies has led to the increase of international student athletes. Athletes pay agencies, such as Play Atlantic – the New Zealand company Gray used after being disappointed from her personal attempts – to create online profiles and upload videos onto YouTube to send to coaches abroad in order to secure full-scholarship positions on sports teams across the Unites States.

Gray and Woods are both part of the 63 percent of Division 1 international student athletes studying on full scholarships, according to Hardin’s current research. Labeling her scholarship a “free ride,” the opportunity to pursue tennis and receive a free education was one of Gray’s biggest influencers to study in America. Hardin found only 10 percent of all international student athletes were receiving no financial support.

However, everyone does not appreciate the use of recruitment agencies to secure team places on scholarships. Woods was cautious in stating he used an agency, preferring to say the coach recruited him. “When I was signing up for the NCAA, they asked if we used an agent, and my agent kept saying ‘Don’t say yes’ because it’ll cause a whole lot of complications. It’s really strict,” Woods said.

Further, the arguments against international student athletes competing abroad are rising. Following the tennis season last spring, Baylor University was ranked the top university in Division 1 Tennis without any American players. Women’s Tennis has the highest rate of international players, with an NCAA estimate of more than 35 percent in Division 1 teams, a figure apparent at ECU.  However in the junior levels this is prohibited, with the National Junior College Athletic Association enacting a limit on international students on team rosters. Similarly, the NCAA has also received pressure to make a similar ruling as criticism rises over the increase in international students, especially when they take opportunities away from local students.

As Hardin’s research explored, many international student athletes have to abandon their education after they begin to excel in athletics. That means they are exposed to higher levels of competition and become fiercer in their ability. For those athletes who are unsuccessful as professional players, the American college market is a second chance for sport and their education. So along with increased experience, many athletes are entering as freshmen older than their American peers. However, to avoid such age and experience inequality in the future, the NCAA has made a ruling that from August 2012, all players must commence their collegiate sporting careers within six months of their high school graduation – a ruling that could have effectively prevented Gray from securing her place.

According to Hardin’s current research, although 47 percent of Division 1 international student athletes are from Europe and 24 percent from Canada, the remaining number are from Australia, New Zealand and other places whose school year operates on a different schedule to the United States’. Gray graduated in December of 2010, although secured her scholarship in March 2011 for an August 2011 start. The NCAA ruling will prevent more athletes like Gray from securing team places because their high school graduations are greater than six months from the start of college .

Although the NCAA ruling will limit the athletes from some markets, the potential for further increases in the rate of international student athletes continues. Despite Gray and Woods securing places that would otherwise be for American students, animosity is non-existent in their teams. Woods said his swim team is “probably the best team at welcoming everybody,” and the tennis team is the same.

As Gray leaves the campus-dining hall to head back to her dorm for a few hours of study before leaving for a tournament the next morning, she waves to a group of students who say hello – her teammates. Although the ECU tennis team is not ranked in the top 50, Gray and her teammates put their hope in a new Russian player. According to Gray, “She’s supposed to be really, really good.”