This isn't new. When Parks first arrived in 1966, there were a lot of foreign athletes. This has continued over the years with Parks' keen eye for recruiting. Recruiting has not been easy at a small school. While the success of the team has helped a lot in the recruiting process, luck has also played an important role.
Some current runners are examples of just that.
James Chikwe, a long jumper on Eastern's team in 1996, was also a Nigeria native and told Parks about Chukwu. Parks made some calls and arranged for them to meet Chukwu outside the Olympic Village in Atlanta, but Nigeria's coaches would not let him outside the gate, so it seemed that EMU's chance had slipped through its fingers. Chukwu went out to Arizona, but things did not work out and he called current assistant coach Brad Fairchild. The track team did not have any scholarships left, but another sport had one that it was not using. Parks was allowed to take advantage of it.