What began as a high-profile clash between the Trump administration and Harvard University has quickly escalated into a nationwide crisis threatening thousands of international student-athletes.
In late May, the Department of Homeland Security made headlines by revoking Harvard’s access to the U.S. student visa program, citing concerns over campus safety and antisemitism. That decision, while extraordinary in its scope and symbolism, turned out to be just one piece of a much larger immigration offensive.
Across the country, college athletic departments are now contending with a series of sudden federal actions that are disrupting the visa system international athletes depend on.
The U.S. State Department has paused all student visa interviews globally, while a new round of travel bans and country-specific restrictions makes it impossible for athletes from nearly 20 nations to obtain the documentation they need to compete in the U.S.
Although Harvard, home to the nation’s largest varsity athletics program, has become the focal point of legal and political battles, the fallout from these immigration changes is reverberating across the NCAA, impacting teams at schools of every size and in nearly every sport.
A Chilling Ripple Effect Across College Athletics
The visa freeze affecting Harvard is only one piece of a much broader immigration push that’s disrupting the lives and futures of student-athletes nationwide. The Trump administration has also:
- Paused all student visa interviews at U.S. embassies and consulates globally to allow time for new vetting procedures involving applicants’ social media profiles.
- Issued new travel bans and visa restrictions impacting 19 countries, including nations like Venezuela, Sudan, and Haiti, which have historically sent dozens of athletes to NCAA Division I programs.
For athletes from these countries, the future is now uncertain.
While the administration claims its policies are about national security and combating antisemitism, critics argue they represent a politically motivated attempt to punish elite institutions like Harvard and stoke the culture war ahead of the 2026 election.
Harvard has pushed back hard. Interim President Alan Garber, who is Jewish himself, called the DHS action “unlawful,” emphasizing the university’s commitment to fighting hate while complying with legal obligations. Harvard has filed lawsuits and obtained a temporary injunction to halt a related federal funding freeze.
Real-World Consequences for Coaches and Athletes
Across the country, coaches are scrambling. At the University of Tennessee-Martin, men’s basketball coach Jeremy Shulman told ESPN he has 12 international players lined up for the 2025–26 season. Four of them don’t know if they’ll make it to campus in time. “It decimates our roster,” he said bluntly.
Rob Dow, head coach of the University of Vermont’s men’s soccer team, just won a national title with 10 international players, five of them starters. But now he’s struggling to bring in “three blue-chip” international recruits. None of them can get a visa appointment. “It’s just a ton of uncertainty,” Dow said. “Not really sure what is consistent here.”
Many international athletes are now being advised not to leave the U.S. at all, even during scheduled school breaks, for fear they won’t be able to reenter.
Immigration attorney Amy Maldonado, who represents student-athletes, said she’s been telling clients not to travel since January. “Once they’re out, they may not get back in,” she told Front Office Sports.
Visa Policy as a Political Weapon
Trump’s latest immigration policies represent a significant escalation in the use of student visa restrictions as a tool of political leverage. This isn’t the first time his administration has targeted Harvard—similar efforts were blocked by courts during his first presidency. The revived campaign, however, is unfolding under a different legal landscape, particularly given the Supreme Court’s more conservative orientation.
Meanwhile, the NCAA has remained mostly silent.
As of this writing, it has declined to comment on both the travel bans and the potential visa restrictions affecting thousands of student-athletes. However, the consequences could be profound: international athletes are vital to numerous sports beyond the marquee programs.
NCAA data from 2023 showed that 30–64% of rosters in sports like tennis, ice hockey, soccer, and field hockey were composed of international students. Over 25,000 international athletes competed across NCAA divisions in the last recorded year.
Placement firms and international recruiting agencies say they are already seeing a chilling effect.
Thomas Bojanowski, founder of Scholarbook, said interest in U.S. universities among prospective international athletes has dropped by 25–30% in just the last six months. Keystone Sports Germany reports nearly a 50% decline in future class enrollments.
What’s Next?
The administration says the student visa process pause is temporary, with an update expected “within days,” according to State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce. But no one, least of all coaches and athletes, feels confident in those assurances.
What’s clear is that if Trump’s policies remain in place, many college rosters will be decimated, top recruits will vanish, and the U.S. could cede its dominance in collegiate athletics to other nations that are already courting these displaced students.
Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey, a Harvard basketball alum, summed up the stakes bluntly: “President Trump is punishing our students and hurting our economy… The only ones who benefit are China and other countries who are already recruiting these students.”
For now, thousands of international athletes wait in limbo.
