Three minutes into a recent men’s soccer match against Jacksonville, University of South Florida midfielder Jakob Auby took a pass from a teammate and dribbled to his right.

The 22-year-old Norway native sliced past defenders from Germany, Belgium and Canada, then fired a shot past the goalie, a fellow Norwegian. The Bulls went up 1-0.

Cheers roared through the Tampa crowd as Auby’s teammates from the United States, Canada and Ethiopia ran up for hugs and high-fives.

In all, 12 of USF and Jacksonville University’s 22 starters for the Oct. 14 match claimed international hometowns. Five listed hometowns in Florida. Languages overlapped on both sidelines throughout the match.

The teams are typical of American college soccer and other globalized sportsthat seek talent from anywhere. But some lawmakers want to change that.

In September, U.S. representatives introduced an amendment to the Higher Education Act — which funds universities — to limit how many international students can play on varsity sports teams.

The proposal, called the Training and Education for American Members in University Sports and Athletics Act (or TEAM USA Act), would require every team to limit international athletes to 20% or less of its roster. Teams with fewer than 10 athletes could roster no more than one. Studentswho are legal permanent residents would not be limited, as long as they have not been paid or received a scholarship from foreign countries’ Olympic programs.

Such a change would be a big deal inseveral sports.

To determine which Florida programs might be most affected, the Tampa Bay Times analyzed every published roster of the state’s Division I soccer, golf and tennis teams, which lists each player’s “hometown.” Reporters used the hometown as a proxy for international status.

Of the 62 teams, the analysis found, nine would comply with the proposed target.A roster that misses the cap would put the school’s federal student aid at risk.

Across the United States, international athletes made up around 22% of tennis playersin 2025; 11% of golfers; and 7% of soccer players, according to NCAA data.

Recent similar efforts at the state level in Texas, Louisiana and Idaho have failed, while an Ohio bill is pending.

Rep. Tim Walberg, R-Michigan, and Sen. Jon Husted, R-Ohio, who lost his midterm election on Nov. 3, introduced the federal legislation. If passed, it would affect rosters in 2029 at public and private schools that receive federal student aid.

“We’re not looking to eliminate international participation in college sports,” Walberg said in a statement. “We simply believe taxpayer supported American colleges and universities should prioritize opportunities for Americans.”

Olympic sports, rather than cash cows football and basketball, would likely bear the brunt of the regulation.

Nearly 4 in 5 Division I men’s and women’s tennis players in Florida list hometowns outside the country. For golf athletes, international students make up around 45% of rosters.

The goal, Walberg said, is to keep financial aid options open to students born here.

“For some students, an athletic scholarship is the best opportunity they have to finance higher education,” he said. “We want to make sure those opportunities remain available to American students.”

How did we get here?

Officials in Florida and the rest of the country have sought to limit international presence on college campuses, including by ending in-state tuition for students without legal status and freezing hires of H-1B workers. The TEAM USA Act would seem to fit that pattern — although its backers insist it wasn’t borne from any sort of anti-immigrant sentiment.

International participationin collegiate sports is not a new phenomenon, said Siggi Naegle, a former international soccer player from Germany who later coached at Eckerd College.

When he left Europe in the 1980s to attend West Virginia’s Alderson Broaddus University on a full soccer scholarship, he recalled international athletes making up 10 of the 11 starting players.

“The political climate definitely has an influence, but this has been an issue that people have struggled with for years,” Naegle said.

In countries where sports like golf, soccer and tennis are more popular than football and basketball, children are raised refining their skills at younger ages. The pipeline creates a field of athletes who are quasi-professionals by the time they are in their late teens or early 20s. Many of the international players are older as a result.

“They’re going to be very, very, very good players in whatever sport they choose if you play for a professional club in Europe,” Naegle said. “And maybe you are not quite good enough to make the professional team (there), but rather than your dream dying, where else can you go to have that opportunity?”

The answer: America. Continuing to perfect their craft while getting a free education here is a no-brainer, he said.

More than half of the 261 DivisionI men’s soccer players in Florida are international, the Times analysis found. And 61% of those international players are European.

Europeans also make up at least 60% of international Division1 tennis and golf athletes.

“Florida is pretty much the trend around the country,” Patrick McEnroe, an ESPN tennis commentator who used to play professionally, told the Times.

McEnroe, who is the brother of tennis legend John McEnroe, played for Stanford University. The New York nativehas been an advocate for the TEAM USA Act, speaking to members of Congress last month.

He and Walberg have pointed to the 2024 Olympics, where most of the NCAA athletes in competition represented other countries.

“I don’t blame the athletes, nor do I, quite frankly, blame the coaches at these universities, because they’re trying to win. They’re going to try to get the best players available,” McEnroe said. “But the last time I checked, that’s not what university athletics was supposed to be about. It’s supposed to be about an opportunity to better your education, better your life (and) use sports as a vehicle to help kids.”

For every NCAA soccer, tennis and golf athlete, there are about 17 American high schoolers playing those sports.

“The Ben Sheltons of the world, who played at University of Florida, (are) going to find their way, because they’re the 1% of college athletes,” McEnroe said, referring to the American tennis star who made this year’s U.S. Open final.

“I’m worried about the 99% of the athletes that are losing their opportunity because international players are swooping up all the opportunities and the spots.”

What’s next?

Back from its recess, the House of Representatives could bring the measure to a vote and approve it. The Senate would need to do the same.

At a House Education and Workforce hearing in October, Rep. Bobby Scott, D-Virginia,said thegovernment should focus on affordability for college students overall rather thanthe few who play sports.

“I’d hope we’d be focusing on that, rather than a situation that doesn’t amount to much in terms to solving the real problems that students have.”

Two weeks after the TEAM USA Act was introduced, the U.S. Senate passed the Protect College Sports Act, another move to regulate NCAA sports. That act focuses on name, image and likeliness regulations, revenue sharing and transfer portal rules — but not international student participation.

In the midterm election this November, Democrats gained control over both chambers of Congress. Walberg didn’t believe that possibility posed a concern forhis proposed bill.

“Protecting opportunities for American student-athletes should be something we can all agree on, regardless of party,” he told the Times.

Kai Velmer, executive director at the United Soccer Association — the Brandon-based group that oversees youth soccer leagues in Tampa Bay — said he supports some type of cap but said the matter was not black and white.

“I know it’s easier in government just to introduce one broad thing. It’s not always that simple. It’s very complex,” he said.

Velmer, who is from Germany, said it’s good that American players are exposed to teammates from other backgrounds but that there are arguments both ways.

“I think at the end of the day, it also comes down to the university’s philosophy, right? What do they stand for?”

“I would like,” he added, “to see more local players that live in this area actually have the opportunity to play college soccer at our local schools.”

The Tampa Bay Times Education Hub reports on Florida’s schools and universities and the students they serve. You can contribute to the hub through our journalism fund by clicking here.