Texas High School welcomes foreign exchange students every year, many of whom want the full experience of living in the United States and participating in Tiger athletics, but one rule will change everything. On Monday, Oct. 27, the University Interscholastic League (UIL) announced a new regulation banning foreign exchange students from participating in varsity sports in Texas, in the upcoming 2026-2027 school year. The UIL stated the ban aims to maintain competitive balance and protect the integrity of high school sports, while critics argue it may reduce inclusion and diversity that enrich athletic programs.
While foreign exchange students lose eligibility for varsity sports, they remain able to compete on sub-varsity teams and take part in unrestricted academic and arts activities. Athletic director and head football coach Gerry Stanford explains his observations.
¨It’s been an ongoing conversation for years and years [about] foreign exchange students,¨ Stanford said. ¨They (UIL) wanted equality amongst what the current transfer rule is for anybody that transfers in country, out of country, in state, out of state, in city and out of city, so they just aligned it with what we already have.¨
The “transfer rule” for high schools in Texas changed with the new House Bill 619, which allows a student in grades 9-12 to transfer to a different school district in Texas, one time for athletic purposes, without penalty. If a student-athlete chooses to transfer again, a subvarsity playing period lasting one year must be completed before eligibility for varsity competition returns.
¨[The UIL] made the foreign exchange policy the same,¨ Stanford said. ¨So it’s not that they can’t play, they can, they just can’t play varsity for a year.¨
Schools throughout the state utilized the former transfer rule to their advantage, particularly in baseball, soccer and golf. Recruiting players from other schools, especially for athletic benefits, faced illegality in earlier years. Omitting varsity athletics from the experience for foreign exchange students does not diminish their journey in America.
“The role was set into place so that a school, and or an athlete, doesn’t get an unfair advantage from the standpoint of moving for athletic purposes,” Stanford said. “If they are truly moving for academic reasons, they are still going to get that same experience of what high school athletics is like in Texas.”
Stanford expects community members and parents to keep fighting the transfer rule overall, with little focus on foreign exchange students. The U.S. views immigration mainly through security and economic concerns, while foreign exchange students serve as cultural ambassadors. Their athletic involvement, however, complicates this view, creating tension between welcoming students and enforcing fair sports rules.
“I don’t think the foreign exchange side of it is drawing much attention within the state of Texas,” Stanford said. “More of the attention was outside of the state, mainly because of the immigration policies in our country. They kind of saw it as the same.”
Surrounding states such as Arkansas, Oklahoma and Louisiana hold no transfer policies. Recruiting also remains legal in some states, like Tennessee.
“There’s a private school called Baylor Academy [in Tennessee, and] their head football coach flies to Canada every year bringing the top 10 of Canadian football players back to their school,” Stanford said. “They are foreign exchange students [and] also divisional and football players. His football team got a lot better [and] there’s no rules.”
