Foreign college athletes make up notable part of Division I
FILE - DePaul's Nick Ongenda (14), of Canada, blocks the shot of Connecticut's Jalen Gaffney (0) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Saturday, Jan. 29, 2022, in Chicago. Traveling for international sporting events is giving some foreign college athletes the chance to chase their shot at cashing in on their fame. Those athletes have largely been left out of the rush for endorsement deals. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast, File)[ASSOCIATED PRESS/Charles Rex Arbogast]
College athletes from foreign countries represent a noteworthy piece of Division I sports. According to the NCAA’s most recent data, there were more than 113,000 athletes across Division I sports for the 2019-20 season. International students accounted for more than 12% of that total. That figure increases when it comes to men’s and women’s basketball. International athletes accounted for nearly 15% of men’s basketball players and 13% of women’s basketball players in Division I that year. Those athletes face student-visa rules that generally prohibit off-campus work except in rare situations.
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FILE - Tennessee's Marta Suarez (33), left, of Spain, defends against Carson Newman's Skylar Boshears, right, during an NCAA college basketball exhibition game Sunday, Oct. 30, 2022, in Knoxville Tenn. College athletes from foreign countries have been left out of the rush for endorsement deals because student visa rules largely prohibit work while in the U.S. But a growing number are pursuing a loophole: they can profit from use of their name, image and likeness (NIL) when traveling internationally and are not on U.S. soil. (Scott Keller/The Daily Times via AP, File)
Photo: ASSOCIATED PRESS/Scott Keller