Alison - I really appreciated reading your thoughtful summary this week of the discussion of international recruiting in the NCAA. But as someone who works in higher ed at a D2 school, it seems pretty naive to consider these questions without accounting for the broader picture of what's happening right now with international students. Maybe there are still special pathways for elite runners (via these recruiting companies?), but it's way harder for most international students to get visas than it was a year ago. There are huge backlogs and extra roadblocks in many countries particularly in Africa and Asia - I know of a prospective grad student from an African country who was supposed to start in January 2026 but has only been able to schedule a visa interview appointment for August 2026. International student enrollment nationwide is reportedly down 17% compared last year and there's no reason to think that trend won't continue.
There is also a proposed federal rule under consideration that would limit the amount of time international students have to complete their degrees to 4 years for undergrad, and after that they would have to apply for a visa renewal. I would think that could have a significant effect on NCAA athletes who could redshirt a season or two and take longer to graduate. And there have been rumors of changes coming soon to the OPT programs that allow students to stay in the US after they graduate without a new visa.
I'd be surprised if these don't have any impact on the NCAA. (It would be interesting to know if any coaches have noticed more visa issues yet in their recruiting!) But I think it's tone deaf to worry about the details of recruiting international runners when the federal government is well on its way to solving that problem by blunt force of making it harder for all international students.
I'm keeping an eye on this, though I'm clearly not paying as much attention to it as you are. The companies do help the athletes secure visas, but I don't know if they have any extra pull.
I was expecting to see more of an impact at the start of the cross country season, and if I had, I would have written about it. But at the front of the NCAA at least, there's no evidence that athletes are running into trouble at the moment. If anything, there are more international distance runners than ever. It's possible coaches of the top programs are having trouble and not talking about it, but I haven't heard anything.
Sorry for the rant - thanks for your response and for paying attention to this issue!! And it's interesting to hear that you haven't noticed anything yet. Thanks again for all your great coverage.
Also, Michelle Rohl set the 8K world record for the 60-64 AG, 29:59, obliterating the previous record by 45 seconds! She was the second masters overall.
So much in this newsletter! I appreciate the debate about more developed athletes that are often coming from non-US countries. I wonder how the increasingly small roster spots puts pressure on recruiting more developed athletes at the expense of developing talent. Does this push specialization earlier and earlier in high school- or even more insidious the incentive to dope, especially given the gaps in testing in the NCAA.
Thanks for another great newsletter, and Happy Thanksgiving! I’m truly grateful for all the hard work you put in to keeping all of us up to date on the state of women’s running each week. It’s a Herculean effort but it is so appreciated by all of your readers!
I saw the video of Smith's comments before knowing what Eyestone said, and I appreciate his passionate response even more now. There are definitely issues within the NCAA and things like recruiting and NIL are super tricky. However, Eyestone sounds like a racist AND a sore loser. Gross.
I also saw the video of Diljeet Taylor telling the BYU ladies to be proud of their effort and that being 2nd in the NCAA is a huge deal!
Alison - I really appreciated reading your thoughtful summary this week of the discussion of international recruiting in the NCAA. But as someone who works in higher ed at a D2 school, it seems pretty naive to consider these questions without accounting for the broader picture of what's happening right now with international students. Maybe there are still special pathways for elite runners (via these recruiting companies?), but it's way harder for most international students to get visas than it was a year ago. There are huge backlogs and extra roadblocks in many countries particularly in Africa and Asia - I know of a prospective grad student from an African country who was supposed to start in January 2026 but has only been able to schedule a visa interview appointment for August 2026. International student enrollment nationwide is reportedly down 17% compared last year and there's no reason to think that trend won't continue.
There is also a proposed federal rule under consideration that would limit the amount of time international students have to complete their degrees to 4 years for undergrad, and after that they would have to apply for a visa renewal. I would think that could have a significant effect on NCAA athletes who could redshirt a season or two and take longer to graduate. And there have been rumors of changes coming soon to the OPT programs that allow students to stay in the US after they graduate without a new visa.
I'd be surprised if these don't have any impact on the NCAA. (It would be interesting to know if any coaches have noticed more visa issues yet in their recruiting!) But I think it's tone deaf to worry about the details of recruiting international runners when the federal government is well on its way to solving that problem by blunt force of making it harder for all international students.
I'm keeping an eye on this, though I'm clearly not paying as much attention to it as you are. The companies do help the athletes secure visas, but I don't know if they have any extra pull.
I was expecting to see more of an impact at the start of the cross country season, and if I had, I would have written about it. But at the front of the NCAA at least, there's no evidence that athletes are running into trouble at the moment. If anything, there are more international distance runners than ever. It's possible coaches of the top programs are having trouble and not talking about it, but I haven't heard anything.
Sorry for the rant - thanks for your response and for paying attention to this issue!! And it's interesting to hear that you haven't noticed anything yet. Thanks again for all your great coverage.
Also, Michelle Rohl set the 8K world record for the 60-64 AG, 29:59, obliterating the previous record by 45 seconds! She was the second masters overall.
So much in this newsletter! I appreciate the debate about more developed athletes that are often coming from non-US countries. I wonder how the increasingly small roster spots puts pressure on recruiting more developed athletes at the expense of developing talent. Does this push specialization earlier and earlier in high school- or even more insidious the incentive to dope, especially given the gaps in testing in the NCAA.
Also made my first Bakline purchase! Thank you!!
Thanks for another great newsletter, and Happy Thanksgiving! I’m truly grateful for all the hard work you put in to keeping all of us up to date on the state of women’s running each week. It’s a Herculean effort but it is so appreciated by all of your readers!
All your newsletters are so good but this one is epic!
I saw the video of Smith's comments before knowing what Eyestone said, and I appreciate his passionate response even more now. There are definitely issues within the NCAA and things like recruiting and NIL are super tricky. However, Eyestone sounds like a racist AND a sore loser. Gross.
I also saw the video of Diljeet Taylor telling the BYU ladies to be proud of their effort and that being 2nd in the NCAA is a huge deal!