Universities know how to recruit, admit, certify, and support international athletes on the way into U.S. higher education. What they too often fail to build is a similarly deliberate and protected exit when eligibility ends, enrollment changes, or visa status becomes unstable. John Bol Ajak’s case is painful, but it is not isolated. It reveals a larger truth: if institutions benefit from international athletes, they also owe them a safe transition out of college sport.

MLS is entering a new era. The next wave is not only about global stars choosing America. It’s about American clubs building global infrastructure that produces talent for years. San Diego FC is the clearest case study in the league, and the Right to Dream pipeline is already delivering.

Two All-Star weekends. Back-to-back years. Same message. Anthony Edwards is not just talking. He’s signaling succession in a league that is already global. And that matters because the NBA is the destination and college sport is part of the pipeline that feeds it even if its infrastructure has not caught up yet.

Bad Bunny's Super Bowl halftime performance was a cultural moment. But it was also a signal for higher education and college sport, an intersection that continues to be overlooked as a site for diplomacy, exchange, and innovation. Here are 10 ways the Bad Bunny Effect should show up in athletic departments and on college campuses.

The United States has entered its Decade of Sport, marked by global mega-events and growing international attention. While many organizations are focused on moments, the NFL is building systems, most recently through its partnership with the U.S. Department of State. This moment raises a critical question for the NCAA and college athletics: are we ready to lead globally with structure, shared language, and outcomes?

What began as a historic announcement now reveals a long-term strategy. After interviewing the Chairman and CEO of the Union Jack Classic, I revisited my October analysis with new insight into how college sport is intentionally going global and what that means for institutions, athletes, and responsibility on international stages.

While serving as a consultant supporting the Fulbright U.S. Student Program, I examined how Fulbright intersects with college athletics and why that intersection remains underdeveloped. What I learned is clear: college sport is already a powerful site of global exchange, but it has not fully leveraged Fulbright as a pathway for athlete development. This piece reflects lessons from that work and outlines why Fulbright may be the missing link between college sport and global ed

Big Sean is the Detroit Pistons' Creative Director of Global Experience. He's leading Creatives Across Continents, an initiative inviting artists and designers worldwide to collaborate on original work inspired by Detroit basketball. International creators aren't just consuming Detroit culture. They're co-creating it. This is internationalization by design.

College sports wasn’t designed for a global labor migration system. As international athlete mobility accelerates, existing NCAA frameworks are being tested in ways they were never built to handle. This piece examines how the transfer portal and mid-season international signings are exposing a deeper systemic mismatch and why addressing it will require community work, not individual blame.

When Dawn Staley signed French athlete Alicia Tournebize, she didn't just add to her roster. She opened a European recruiting pipeline. This is how sport builds global connections: one athlete at a time, one relationship at a time, one sister city at a time. Most colleges and universities still haven't figured out how to leverage what their athletic programs are already doing. Let's walk.

The NFL’s global expansion isn’t just about games abroad. It’s about people. The International Player Pathway Program shows what happens when internationalization is built around athletes, mobility, and infrastructure, and raises important questions for college sport about risk, responsibility, and reciprocity.

A few seconds of Spanish at the Heisman ceremony transformed a routine moment into something far more meaningful. This piece explores how Fernando Mendoza’s historic win opens a broader conversation about migration, sport diplomacy, and the global realities college athletics often fails to name.

The Big 12 and NFL partnership signals a new era of college sport. Conferences are stepping onto the world stage and athletic departments will need internationalization strategies to keep pace. What once felt innovative will soon be non-negotiable as the industry shifts toward a more global future.

The Big 12 is packing its bags for London, but this move isn’t just about football. It’s about the future of college sports.

I believe the time is now for sport to be the focus and foundation for which we bulid international experiences.

The 2023 Summit showed it was possible. 2024 was a reminder to keep going. So, we’re walking! Here’s what’s next.

This is the only convening in the world that is exclusively focused on the evolving relationship between internationalization and sport.

Los Steelers are prioritizing inclusion and equity in their internationalization strategy and it shows...P.S. Don't sleep on Mexico!

NIL for international college athletes, right now, should be hyper focused on career readiness. Trust us, the process works.

Sky Sports securing NCAA international marketing rights desmonstrates that the NCAA product will be commercialized in non-U.S. countries.