Thoughts on the fact that of the 243 NCAA-affiliated athletes competing at these Olympics, roughly two-thirds will compete against American athletes for medals. If the USOPC needs the NCAA to support Olympic sports to develop future Olympians, why is the NCAA also developing Olympians to compete against the United States?
That is a fair question, Steve, and one that doesn’t have a great answer.
Obviously, I’d love for everyone that competes in the NCAA ranks to support Team USA and the USOPC. But that’s not realistic with the amount of international athletes in the NCAA ranks and pipeline.
I think maybe me framing it as the USOPC needs the NCAA instead of the IOC overall was an error. It’s clear the NCAA is a major development ground for Olympic athletes across the world, and that needs to be protected.
Again, I’d love for them all to take their place on Team USA and bring copious medals to America, but as we allow and support international athletes to compete in the NCAA ranks, they’ll play for their home countries more often than not.
Thoughts on the fact that of the 243 NCAA-affiliated athletes competing at these Olympics, roughly two-thirds will compete against American athletes for medals. If the USOPC needs the NCAA to support Olympic sports to develop future Olympians, why is the NCAA also developing Olympians to compete against the United States?
https://www.ncaa.org/sports/2026/1/22/the-ncaas-impact-on-the-olympic-and-paralympic-games.aspx
That is a fair question, Steve, and one that doesn’t have a great answer.
Obviously, I’d love for everyone that competes in the NCAA ranks to support Team USA and the USOPC. But that’s not realistic with the amount of international athletes in the NCAA ranks and pipeline.
I think maybe me framing it as the USOPC needs the NCAA instead of the IOC overall was an error. It’s clear the NCAA is a major development ground for Olympic athletes across the world, and that needs to be protected.
Again, I’d love for them all to take their place on Team USA and bring copious medals to America, but as we allow and support international athletes to compete in the NCAA ranks, they’ll play for their home countries more often than not.