Saturday’s NCAA Cross Nation Championships in Columbia, Mo., delivered drama each on and off the course, particularly after Oklahoma State College (OSU) secured its second males’s crew title in three years. The Cowboys dominated the sector with a roster closely constructed on worldwide athletes, a indisputable fact that sparked backlash from a number of NCAA coaches and even a former Olympic champion.
Shortly after OSU’s victory, 2016 Olympic 1,500m gold medallist Matt Centrowitz posted on X: “Does anybody know if the after-party is in Iten or Stillwater?” The Iten remark was in response to 3 of Oklahoma State’s high 5 runners being from Kenya.
Ain’t no manner this is identical man who tried to petition me out of a NCAA remaining attributable to a NCAA rule qualifying me 😂😂 Dave Smith one humorous dude!! Anybody know if the after-party is in Iten or Stillwater? pic.twitter.com/umo10ypW0u
— Matthew Centrowitz (@MattCentrowitz) November 22, 2025
Centrowitz’s comment got here on the heels of a remark from Brigham Younger College (BYU) head coach Ed Eyestone, who mentioned in a Deseret Information article that he can be “embarrassed” to have seven foreigners on the crew. “The NCAA is unquestionably the way in which we develop expertise on this nation,” mentioned Eyestone. “(Foreigners) take scholarships and roster spots and the limelight.”
Of Oklahoma State’s 5 scorers, just one, Ryan Schoppe of La Porte, Texas, was American-born. Throughout the highest three males’s groups (OSU, New Mexico and Iowa State), 14 of the 15 scoring athletes weren’t from North America.
Oklahoma State coach Dave Smith and Iowa State coach Jeremy Sudbury pushed again strongly on the criticism. Their joint message was “if somebody doesn’t like a rule, or doesn’t like a state of affairs within the NCAA, don’t b**** about it—go change it.”
.@run4okstate head coach Dave Smith and @CycloneTrackXC head coach Jeremy Sudbury reply to BYU head coach Ed Eyestone’s feedback concerning worldwide athletes within the NCAA in a Deseret Information article from yesterday:
🗣️ “If somebody doesn’t like a rule, or doesn’t like a… pic.twitter.com/uCTXIL45Hy
— CITIUS MAG (@CitiusMag) November 21, 2025
Centrowitz’s publish was seen as a direct callout of Smith and this system’s recruiting strategy.
The controversy round worldwide athletes comes amid a surge of East Africans coming into the NCAA system. A latest Washington Put up article discovered that the variety of Kenyan runners within the NCAA has doubled prior to now decade, and that there was an increase of worldwide recruiting firms that join overseas athletes with U.S. applications by way of scholarship alternatives and rising NIL (Title, Picture and Likeness) incentives.
One of the energetic teams, Scholarbook Premier, has held races and expertise identification camps in Kenya to seek out promising runners. The corporate then pairs them with American monitor and cross-country applications. Critics like Eyestone and Centrowitz argue the pattern limits alternatives for younger U.S. athletes navigating their very own collegiate pipeline.
However, the NCAA has inspired worldwide participation and believes applications ought to recruit the strongest crew attainable, as the foundations allow.
Meet the marathon guru behind three of North America’s high runners
