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As a former college athlete, coach, broadcaster and someone who has spent a lifetime around tennis, I’ve seen firsthand how college athletics can transform lives. For generations, American universities have offered young people a remarkable bargain: earn an education, compete at a high level and develop the skills needed to succeed long after the games are over.
That model has served America extraordinarily well.
Today, however, it is worth asking a difficult question:
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Anastasiia Lopata and Guillermina Grant of the Georgia Bulldogs compete in a doubles match against Daria Smetannikov and Lexington Reed of the Texas A&M Aggies during the NCAA Division I Women's Tennis Championship held at the Hurd Tennis Center on May 18, 2025, in Waco, Texas. (Photo by Tyler Schank/NCAA Photos via Getty Images)
Have universities begun prioritizing winning over developing students?
In recent years, college athletics has undergone a dramatic transformation. The transfer portal, NIL money, conference realignment and growing financial pressures have created powerful incentives to pursue immediate success. Coaches are increasingly rewarded for winning now, not developing athletes over time.
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When immediate results become the priority, recruiting strategies change.
The quickest path to victory is often to acquire older, more experienced athletes who can contribute immediately.
That trend is particularly visible in sports like tennis. Current NCAA data shows that approximately 64% of men’s Division I tennis players and 61% of women’s players are international, the highest percentages of any sport. In some conferences, the numbers are even more striking.
The larger story is what these changes may mean for the developmental mission of college athletics itself.
For decades, college sports served as one of America’s most important talent-development systems. Universities helped young athletes mature physically, emotionally and academically. They produced Olympians, national team players, coaches, business leaders and countless successful professionals whose careers had little to do with sports.
The goal was not simply to identify finished products.
In recent years, college athletics has undergone a dramatic transformation. The transfer portal, NIL money, conference realignment and growing financial pressures have created powerful incentives to pursue immediate success. Coaches are increasingly rewarded for winning now, not developing athletes over time.
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Increasingly, that mission appears to be under pressure.
Parents see it. Coaches see it. Athletes certainly see it.
Across a range of sports, American athletes are finding it harder to earn scholarships, roster spots and meaningful playing opportunities. Even highly accomplished junior athletes are increasingly asking whether the pathway that once existed for them is still there.
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Why spend years training, traveling and investing in youth sports if the opportunities that once justified those sacrifices are becoming increasingly difficult to access?
That question should concern anyone who cares about the future of American athletics.
To be clear, this is not an argument against international athletes.
Many are outstanding competitors, excellent students and valued members of their campuses. They are taking advantage of opportunities available to them, just as any ambitious young person would.
The responsibility lies not with the athletes but with the incentives that universities have created.
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In some sports, athletes arrive on American campuses after years of high-level competition overseas. It is not unusual to see athletes in their mid-20s competing against 18-year-old freshmen. Most Americans would recognize that as an uneven playing field.
The quickest path to victory is often to acquire older, more experienced athletes who can contribute immediately.
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The consequences may extend far beyond college campuses.
When universities shift from developing athletes to importing finished ones, they weaken the pipeline that has historically helped produce American Olympians, national team members and future leaders in sport.
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At one point this spring, the University of Arkansas announced it would eliminate both its men’s and women’s tennis programs. The decision sent shockwaves through college tennis and raised broader concerns about the future of Olympic and developmental sports.
To its credit, the university later reversed course and reinstated the programs. That outcome was welcome news for athletes, coaches and supporters of college sports.
But the episode itself remains instructive. The fact that a major SEC institution seriously considered eliminating nationally competitive tennis programs should serve as a warning sign. Arkansas may have changed direction, but the financial and structural pressures that led to the decision have not disappeared.
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Because the central question is not whether college sports should remain globally competitive.
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The question is whether universities still view athletic programs as part of their educational mission.
For generations, winning and development were viewed as complementary goals. Coaches built programs. Athletes improved over time. Universities invested in young people.
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Universities have every right to pursue excellence. But excellence should include developing students, not simply acquiring talent.
Across a range of sports, American athletes are finding it harder to earn scholarships, roster spots and meaningful playing opportunities. Even highly accomplished junior athletes are increasingly asking whether the pathway that once existed for them is still there.
That is especially true for institutions that receive public support, benefit from alumni generosity and occupy a unique place in American life.
The mission of a university is not merely to assemble the strongest possible roster.
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It is to educate, develop and prepare the next generation.
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If we lose sight of that principle, we risk losing something far more important than a few roster spots.
We risk losing one of the most successful athlete-development systems ever created.
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Arkansas showed that these outcomes are not inevitable. Institutions can still choose to invest in development, opportunity and the next generation of athletes.
The question is whether more universities will make that choice before those pathways become significantly harder to rebuild.
Patrick McEnroe is a former professional tennis player, former U.S. Davis Cup captain and longtime ESPN tennis analyst who has spent decades at the highest levels of American and international tennis.
As a player, coach, broadcaster and advocate for athlete development, McEnroe is a leading voice on the future of college athletics and the impact of international recruiting on opportunities for American student-athletes.
