The Trump Administration could cut down Harvard Sports

Question

In this article by Sportico, it talks about the ongoing feud between Trump vs Harvard and how this can affect Harvard's Division 1 sports. Harvard currently have over 40 Division 1 sports and 21% of Harvard Athletes are international students. According to Niche, Harvard is ranked #4 for the best school in America for International students. Now according the Trump administration and Sportico, Trump would freeze $2.2 billion dollars in tax funding to the school. This wouldn't help any of the scholarships that Harvard provides nor the sports scholarships that help fund these international athletes. Now as of right now; the Trump administration hasn't made moves to directly cut down any of the sports teams at Harvard University directly but cutting down their government funding will make it hard for all 40 Division 1 teams at Harvard to stay alive.

https://www.sportico.com/leagues/college-sports/2025/donald-trump-harvard-foreign-ban-sports-1234848870/

https://www.niche.com/colleges/search/top-colleges-for-international-students/

https://gocrimson.com/

Answer 1

This claim appears to be true. The potential impact on Harvard's D1 sports teams stems from decreased grant funding that Harvard relies on to provide need-based financial aid to international students. According to the AP, "With the exception of some government-funded scholarship programs, most international students pay their own tuition, receive need-based aid or earn merit scholarships from external organizations. Harvard is among a handful of wealthier universities that do offer financial aid to foreign students."

The financial impact is substantial: the Trump administration froze $2.2 billion in grant funding to Harvard, according to the university (Harvard is now suing the administration over this, as reported on by NPR). This funding reduction becomes particularly relevant to athletics given that over 20% of Harvard's student-athletes are international students, according to NPR.

As an Ivy League institution, Harvard does not offer traditional athletic or academic scholarships but provides need-based financial assistance, as noted in the university's FAQ. Since a significant portion of student-athletes are international students—many of whom depend on financial aid—the funding cuts could indeed have a detrimental effect on Harvard's Division I sports programs.

Comments

What an intellectual and complete fact check! All of the sources that are used are trustworthy secondary sources which truly backs the original claim. You did your full research by even going straight to the university which not many people do so I applaud your work.

Answer 2

o better support this point, it would be useful to explain how federal funding is tied to athletic programs at universities like Harvard. For example, while Ivy League schools like Harvard do not offer athletic scholarships in the traditional NCAA sense, many international athletes rely on need-based financial aid supported in part by federal funding. Highlighting this connection would clarify how freezing $2.2 billion could jeopardize the participation of international athletes and strain the overall sustainability of Harvard's 40 Division 1 teams

Comments

What's your source? I don't see any listed.

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I would like to agree with you and would like to see your source(s) on your response. A credible source would help support the claimer's statement.

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I see a few issues with your response. First, you don’t include any sources, and adding at least one would show that your information comes from a trusted website rather than personal opinion. Second, you assume readers understand how federal funding affects athletic programs. It would be more convincing if you included concrete numbers or details about what portion of aid comes from federal funds. Finally, it’s not clear how freezing $2.2 billion would impact Harvard’s 40 Division I teams.