A bill moving through Congress could force Florida's college soccer, tennis and golf programs to overhaul their rosters, after a new analysis found that only nine of 62 Division I teams in those sports would meet a proposed 20% cap on international athletes. The legislation, known as the TEAM USA Act, would tie federal student aid eligibility to how many international athletes a school allows on its varsity teams.
The bill was introduced by Rep. Tim Walberg of Michigan and Sen. Jon Husted of Ohio, according to Inside Higher Ed. It would require every varsity team to limit international athletes to 20% or less of its roster, with teams of fewer than 10 athletes allowed no more than one international player, as reported by Yahoo Sports in its coverage of the Tampa Bay Times analysis. Institutions that exceed the limits could lose access to federal student aid, Inside Higher Ed reports.
Soccer, Tennis and Golf Rosters Would Take the Biggest Hit
The Times analysis, highlighted in the Yahoo Sports writeup, found more than half of the 261 Division I men's soccer players in Florida are international, with 61% of those players coming from Europe. Nearly four in five Division I men's and women's tennis players in the state list hometowns outside the country, and international students make up around 45% of Florida golf rosters, per the same report.
That international presence is visible on the field. South Florida midfielder Jakob Auby, who hails from Sarpsborg, Norway, scored a goal against Jacksonville last month, with Tampa Bay Times photographer Luis Santana capturing him during the match in Tampa.
Nationally, international athletes made up a much smaller share of rosters as recently as 2025 — about 22% of tennis players, 11% of golfers and 7% of soccer players, according to NCAA data cited in the Yahoo Sports report. The gap between those national figures and Florida's numbers helps explain why the Times found so few of the state's teams would currently comply with the proposed cap.
Swimming Programs Show an Even Starker Divide
The trend extends well beyond Florida's marquee sports. A SwimSwam analysis by Leslie Lucas, who used the hometown or country listed on each school's roster page, found 31 of 42 Power Four men's swimming and diving teams exceeded the proposed 20% threshold. Five of those teams had rosters that were more than half international, and all five were in the SEC, according to the outlet.
The University of Florida's own men's swimming and diving team had 15 of its 24 roster spots, or 63%, filled by international athletes in the 2025-26 season, per the SwimSwam report. Tennis has shown similar patterns elsewhere in the country: the 2026 NCAA men's tennis championship field's eight teams were 55% foreign-born, according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, which noted seven of TCU's 10 men's players were international and 80% of Baylor's women's tennis roster was foreign.
Backers Point to Scholarship Growth, Timing Still Disputed
A spokesperson for Walberg told Inside Higher Ed that the number of international students receiving athletic scholarships has nearly tripled since 2001, framing the bill as a response to that growth. The bill's text, posted on Congress.gov, states the measure would ensure no more than 20% of a varsity team's student-athletes are international.
Reports differ on when the cap would actually take hold. Yahoo Sports reported that, if passed, the bill would affect rosters in 2029, while Golfweek reported the law would take effect beginning with the 2029-30 academic year. For now, the bill's path through Congress and its chances of becoming law remain open questions, even as Florida's college programs brace for what a 20% cap could mean for the rosters they've built.
