NATIONAL HARBOR, Maryland – Every incoming student-athlete faces challenges transitioning into college life and balancing the accompanying academic and athletics demands. But for international students, there are more practical and cultural hurdles to clear.

An Association-wide session Thursday at the NCAA Convention attempted to bring some of those concerns and issues to the forefront and offer strategies for successfully recruiting, retaining and graduating international student-athletes.

An initial consideration for institutions attempting to recruit internationally is whether the school’s infrastructure can support foreign student-athletes. In other words, does the school have the culture and appropriate campus and community resources to support international students? If not, it makes retaining them difficult.  

For institutions that do pursue international student-athletes, Jack Kvancz, the athletics director at George Washington, and the session’s moderator, said negotiating the complex amateurism and eligibility policies is complicated. He strongly encouraged institutions to start the process as early as possible, ask questions and use all available resources including the NCAA Eligibility Center.

While the academic and athletics opportunities for an international student-athlete may be tremendous, so, too, is the acclimatization process. Even before international student-athletes arrive on campus, Karen Ercole, director of academic support services at George Washington and a panelist at the session, said it’s important to contact them as early as permissible to assess needs and expectations.

Once they arrive on campus, she said, international student-athletes face the challenge of negotiating a new culture, a new country and, in many cases, a different educational system. The biggest challenge, however, is increasing their language proficiencies to not only meet academic obligations but also help them socially. It’s also important to connect international student-athletes to the international students office and to their academic advisors as quickly as possible.

In addition to language considerations, other practical concerns relate to international student-athletes. Panelist Mutsa Nyakabau, a George Mason track and field student-athlete from Zimbabwe, said when he arrived in the United States, he wasn’t prepared for the heavy reliance on the Internet and knew nothing of something as simple as MapQuest. So when he needed to find a grocery store, he asked for directions while walking down the street. He also didn’t know how to type, so which meant he had to spend extra time to complete the assignment until he acquired the skill.   

Panelists agreed that having international students on campus benefits not just athletics but the entire campus. The ultimate goal is to ensure that international student-athletes have positive experiences and graduate.

Barry Goldberg, head women’s volleyball coach at American, and Michael Mangarelli, an associate director at the NCAA Eligibility Center, also participated on the panel.