A proposed bill in the Idaho Legislature that would limit the number of international student-athletes who could participate in college athletics at the state's public institutions was held by the Senate Education Committee on Tuesday after testimony during a hearing was overwhelmingly against the bill.
As reported by John Wustrow of the Idaho Press in Nampa, officials from Boise State, Idaho and Idaho State universities, including athletic directors from all three schools, as well as Boise State football coach Spencer Danielson and Idaho State football coach Cody Hawkins, all spoke against Senate Bill 1357, which would have capped scholarships awarded to non-United States residents at 10% of all roster positions across each school’s entire athletic department and 50% for each individual team.
Related: Idaho Bill Could Limit Scholarships for Non-U.S. Student-Athletes
These limits, it was argued, would put Idaho schools at a disadvantage when it comes to competing with other programs across the country, Wustrow reported.
“When we recruit, we recruit with the scenario that talent sets the floor, character sets the ceiling,” said Danielson, who will have eight international players on his roster in 2026. “That’s how we recruit in Idaho, across the West Coast, the East Coast and internationally. And that’s what we’re doing to find the right fit for our football team and the right fit for this community. This bill not only puts that at a detriment, it also puts a perception to who we’re competing against that if I were recruiting against Boise State, I would use this bill against us if this thing passes.”
Senator Doug Okuniewicz, a Republican from Hayden, introduced the bill after he noticed the University of Idaho tennis team’s roster consisted entirely of international student-athletes. He did a review of public institutions and said he found a total of 259 international students across the state, who Okuniewicz argued might not stay in Idaho, or even the United States, after graduation.
“At the end of the day, I would feel better personally, if we had more Idaho kids and American kids, that when they graduated with valuable degrees that they could put to work in Idaho, get some of those positions,” Okuniewicz said, as reported by the Idaho Press. “When I started this process, I was thinking about a much lower number, a lower cap for foreign national athletes at our school who get some sort of financial aid or scholarship.”
Per Wustrow's report, Danielson countered with anecdotal examples, like former Boise State defensive lineman Elliot Hoyte, who came to Boise from England and now is a real estate agent in the Treasure Valley, and edge rusher Ahmed Hassanein, a native of Egypt currently on the Detroit Lions roster, who plans on returning to Boise after he’s done playing in the NFL.
Boise State athletic director Jeramiah Dickey brought up the Broncos’ men’s and women’s basketball teams, which feature players from Canada, Angola and Australia.
"While the bill included a grandfather clause, where players currently on rosters would not be counted against the limits, Dickey argued it would still impact their morale," Wustrow wrote. "Additionally, Dickey added, the bill would also create a headache for coaches trying to manage their rosters into compliance if the bill became law."
“For our staff, the proposed bill would instill a new administrative task of managing roster numbers,” Dickey said. “The bureaucracy would be an unnecessary burden that pulls our coaches away from recruiting, developing, academics and winning championships.”
Idaho athletic director Terry Gawlik stated that if the proposed bill were to become law, the future of the school’s tennis program might be in jeopardy. “We would strongly consider dropping both tennis programs, men’s and women’s,” Gawlik said during the hearing, as reported by Wustrow. “Simply because we would not be able to hold our own, competitively, against any level of collegiate NCAA opponents.”
All six NCAA Division I tennis programs in the state are currently above the 50% international roster limit, according to Wustrow.
Commissioner Tom Wistrcill of the Big Sky Conference, which includes Idaho and Idaho State, currently sits on the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament committee. He told legislators that the bill could hurt Idaho’s chances to host NCAA Tournament events in the future.
