RUMOR: Some DI teams/conferences considering leaving NCAA for US Soccer

[Kuiper]

I hesitate to give this a platform that suggests it may actually happen, but there are enough murmurs of it on social media that I think it is a worthy topic for discussion about it and its possible effects on the rest of the NCAA ecosystem, including DIII.

In late October, rumors started floating around that certain DI schools, frustrated in their attempt to have a fall-spring season, and seeing the coming issues for non-revenue sports under the NCAA going forward in a post-House settlement world where colleges have to pay players, were considering either leaving the NCAA for US Soccer or cooperating with US Soccer on a joint venture that was described as likely "semi-professional."

This weekend, the rumors started popping up again, with reports that the idea had progressed to the point that USL League One had reportedly offered to include these college teams in its league, with the ACC and Big 10 conference men's soccer teams potentially moving en masse, with other conferences/teams being invited to participate as well.

It seems serious enough that a screenshot was circulated of a pilot program, with different format depending upon how many teams joined

I tend to think the notion of college soccer teams joining and playing in a league under the US Soccer umbrella isn't crazy, especially if the alternative is cutting teams and being subject to some of the restrictions of the House settlement AND if they could generate some revenue of their own by being in USL League One (which doesn't make much money as it is).

If all of DI moved, I'm not sure what NCAA would do with men's soccer.  Maybe it would no longer be an NCAA sport or maybe it just wouldn't provide the NCAA tournament subsidies that it does now.  Either way, it's interesting to contemplate.

[SierraFD3soccer]

Easy peasy, lemon squeezy!!

IMO, US soccer has been trying to disassociate from educational institutional for years. Think developmental academies. Sasho Cirovski, 4 time NCAA champ coach at Maryland, has been pushing for a spring season for years while trying to make college soccer relevant. https://povichcenter.umd.edu/sasho-cirovski-continues-to-look-towards-the-future/  FYI Shirley Povich was a long, long time WAPO sports reporter and father to Maury.

Also many d1 and some d2/3 play in semi-pro leagues in late spring and summer.  So it appears that this is just pushing towards this end goal which I think is great. Also might lead to more Americans to field time. Big maybe.

Sasho used to pride himself as to having a largely US team, but times have changed Check out this - https://dbknews.com/2024/12/08/maryland-mens-soccer-international-recruiting/

[stlawus]

US Soccer needs to leave college soccer alone.  This is a different world.  College soccer should no longer be used to develop professional players.  There has been no spring season because it places strain on athletic staffs.   I wish people would get it out of their heads that college soccer should be treated the same as everywhere else.  It's unique and specific to the US.  Our pro players are academy products now.  Does that mean someone can't or won't go pro out of college now?  Of course not, but that should be secondary to the true mission of college soccer.

[Kuiper]

Well, this rumor didn't last long.  According to Glenn Crooks, it died before it started

This was shown w/ several other slides from a representative of US Soccer at the
@UnitedCoaches
 convention.

As of last Friday, that US Soccer-NCAA Men's D-1 proposed partnership has perished according to sources.

It's not happening.

That it got to the point of a presentation at the USC Convention is interesting though.

[SierraFD3soccer]

Seems most colleges just want to treat non-rev sports as one big bundle and not even look or consider. Just sad.
Saying if they took mens/womens soccer seriously or looked at it with an open mind, they would consider this at the d1 level or the very least fall/spring seasons.

[SierraFD3soccer]

Seems most colleges just want to treat non-rev sports as one big bundle and not even look or consider. Just sad.
Saying if they took mens/womens soccer seriously or looked at it with an open mind, they would consider this at the d1 level or the very least fall/spring seasons.

[Hopkins92]

College hockey figured out how to remain relevant as feeder to the pro leagues. That did this primarily by dramatically altering (caving, really) on the eligibility rules, allowing young players to test the waters in certain semi-pro leagues while retaining their college years.

That's why see the W. Michigan's and Quinnipiac's of the world with 25 year old dudes on their D line. Those guys tried to take the "fast track" to the pros, it didn't work out, and now they can a) get an education and b) keep their thinning professional career dreams alive.

Some system in D1 soccer that allows for a semi-pro Spring season seems very viable and certainly not out of line with the type of arrangement college hockey worked out.

And where many folks 10-15 years ago would say college hockey was a dead end to an NHL career: 1) that was never really true, it was often skewed by the sheer number of professional and semi-professional players funneled into those leagues to dry up the college rosters. 2) The new eligibility rules have pretty much leveled the playing field. Michigan had 3 of the top 5 draft picks a few years back; this year, the Cap's best prospect (and one of the top draftees) returned for one last year at BC and a gold medal at Juniors.

EDIT: I had to do something and didn't want to leave it there. There are lots of articles showing that number of college players getting drafted/playing in the NHL has increased over the years... Leveling off at around 1/3 to 1/4 of draftees year over year.

[Kuiper]

Really good article on the possible alliance of US Soccer and NCAA soccer.  I encourage you to read the whole thing.  I do think there's a legitimate chance something happens give the tenuous positions of non-revenue sports and US Soccer's ability to partner with and help NCAA financially in ways that could affect DIII soccer as well.

Can U.S. Soccer's Support Kick Year-Round College Model into Gear?

The quarter-century movement to establish year-round men's collegiate soccer has gained new momentum in the past year, with the U.S. Soccer Federation having discussed with the Big Ten and ACC ways to launch a pilot program.

Since mid-2024, the two power conferences have held regular talks with soccer's national governing body about initially inviting 32 schools to participate in a two-semester trial run, seeking to bypass the traditional NCAA legislative process that has halted previous attempts to put the year-round model into play.

In the summer of 2024, there was a push to see if the pilot program could get off the ground for the 2025-26 academic year, timed to coincide with the start of the 2026 World Cup in North America. As part of this initiative, a document obtained by Sportico presented a 32-team, four-region structure that included all 15 men's soccer programs from the ACC, all 11 from the Big Ten, as well as West Virginia, Oregon State, San Diego State, South Carolina, Kentucky and UCF.

However, by the end of last year, that ambitious timeline had been put on indefinite hold to allow for, among other things, a clearer understanding of the NCAA's evolving governance structure.

While U.S. Soccer declined to comment on specific inquiries regarding the pilot program, it did point out that it has recently launched several college soccer working groups.

With the organization experiencing notable financial growth in recent years, including hefty contributions from billionaire donors, sources say U.S. Soccer is considering whether to allocate as much as a seven- or eight-figure portion of its annual talent development budget toward college soccer and, more specifically, funding changes to the men's model. Until last year, U.S. Soccer had shown little interest in offering any support for such initiatives, let alone investing millions of dollars to make it happen.

Other sources speaking with Sportico highlighted a key point of contention beyond U.S. Soccer's financial commitment: whether the proposed model would be better aligned with the structure of FIFA, the sport's global governing body, than the NCAA's. The former could offer greater flexibility and open new revenue streams for participating programs, such as the prospect of schools receiving transfer fees for players who leave to join professional clubs.

Hawley contends it doesn't necessarily have to be an either-or proposition, noting how all NCAA tennis also falls under the dominion of the Intercollegiate Tennis Association.

With the 2025-26 pilot program now all but officially off the table, there's time to address some of these issues—though time itself has never been the real problem.

"There are no deadlines," Hawley said. "But I do think the longer runway provides an opportunity to have more [talks] with U.S. Soccer and to enhance the involvement of the NCAA or even other conferences. So I don't think the discussion will be put on pause."

[stlawus]

"Sources say U.S. Soccer is considering whether to allocate as much as a seven- or eight-figure portion of its annual talent development budget toward college soccer and, more specifically, funding changes to the men's model".

This is an unbelievably bad idea.  This whole idea continues to miss the forest for the trees.  College soccer is not the Premier League. It is a niche and unique part of American sporting society. If we're going back to using college soccer to develop players we are royally screwed, no matter if you try to fit a square peg into a round hole by extending the season across 2 semesters to mimic a pro environment.  I truly have no idea why so many people in the soccer world want college soccer to be the same as professional leagues.  Half of the division I player pool is already comprised of players that were told their professional prospects at their clubs had come to an end.  If they end up going pro as a result of their college performance, that's just an added bonus.  The goal for college soccer is not to put a player in the pros.

If you want to fund this just so players have a chance to play and the sport doesn't die as a result of the crazy NIL landscape then that is perfectly fine.  But we are heading towards serious trouble if the goal is make it a professional development pipeline again.

[SierraFD3soccer]

I hesitate to give this a platform that suggests it may actually happen, but there are enough murmurs of it on social media that I think it is a worthy topic for discussion about it and its possible effects on the rest of the NCAA ecosystem, including DIII.

In late October, rumors started floating around that certain DI schools, frustrated in their attempt to have a fall-spring season, and seeing the coming issues for non-revenue sports under the NCAA going forward in a post-House settlement world where colleges have to pay players, were considering either leaving the NCAA for US Soccer or cooperating with US Soccer on a joint venture that was described as likely "semi-professional."

This weekend, the rumors started popping up again, with reports that the idea had progressed to the point that USL League One had reportedly offered to include these college teams in its league, with the ACC and Big 10 conference men's soccer teams potentially moving en masse, with other conferences/teams being invited to participate as well.

It seems serious enough that a screenshot was circulated of a pilot program, with different format depending upon how many teams joined

I tend to think the notion of college soccer teams joining and playing in a league under the US Soccer umbrella isn't crazy, especially if the alternative is cutting teams and being subject to some of the restrictions of the House settlement AND if they could generate some revenue of their own by being in USL League One (which doesn't make much money as it is).

If all of DI moved, I'm not sure what NCAA would do with men's soccer.  Maybe it would no longer be an NCAA sport or maybe it just wouldn't provide the NCAA tournament subsidies that it does now.  Either way, it's interesting to contemplate.

Great points. So just leave it alone? A compressed injury prone schedule filled with more and more int'l players. The int'l players will not be changed and will probably only get bigger which is fine. We've already discussed the injury aspect of play 18 plus games in 2.5 months or so. Lacrosse does not do this. Why soccer? If 2.5 months, maybe only 12 games or less?

Why not just get rid of college soccer along with all other sports other than football and basketball which are clear minor league sports? Make them club and intramural. Could reduce the cost of college especially colleges struggling financially (see Montclair State with lacrosse and other colleges cutting programs)?

I believe we are the only country in the world who put together education and sports (high school as well). NIL is making it much more sports than education, but not so much non revenue sports.   

I say give it a chance at D1 level. Might lead to better soccer with some players getting futures though 22 is old for starting a pro career. Who knows? Right now, imo, we don't know what we don't know.

[Kuiper]

Tom Farrey, a former ESPN writer and the Founder and Executive Director of Aspen Institute's Sports and Society Program, advocating 2-semester college soccer "at all levels"

https://x.com/TomFarrey/status/1894255443700007227

College soccer needs to be 2-semester sport at all levels.

The 3-month season may work better academically  — maybe — but it's terrible on bodies.

My eldest son played D3 where they stupidly play two games a weekend. Left early with all sorts of injuries — ACL, ankle, groin, etc.

Let's see what US Soccer can do at D1.

BTW:  His son played at Babson.

[Ron Boerger]

Yes, God forbid you should do something that will "work better academically" in college. 

(/s for anyone having any doubts)

[Kuiper]

Another piece about this issue, making the broader point that non-revenue sports might be better off being governed by their national sports federations rather than the NCAA if the latter is focused almost exclusively on football and basketball

https://www.extrapointsmb.com/p/here-s-what-i-ve-learned-about-us-soccer-s-proposals-for-college-soccer

It's behind a paywall, but here is the post with an image of the main thesis

https://x.com/MattBrownEP/status/1894386473614413924

Here's a quote from the piece that gives you another taste of the article (albeit one that is probably overly optimistic about what US Soccer can accomplish)

https://x.com/HistoryRunner/status/1894422734668468599

"But what if there was another way to pay for new expenses? Perhaps a completely different way to run a soccer championship, to build a league schedule completely centered on the needs of *soccer*, and to monetize the entire operation?
US Soccer is pitching exactly that."

[Ejay]

Another piece about this issue, making the broader point that non-revenue sports might be better off being governed by their national sports federations rather than the NCAA if the latter is focused almost exclusively on football and basketball

https://www.extrapointsmb.com/p/here-s-what-i-ve-learned-about-us-soccer-s-proposals-for-college-soccer

Here's what I've learned about US Soccer's proposals for college soccer

Is it a takeover? A hybrid? A pathway forward or another empty PDF? I asked around to find out.

Author
Matt Brown
February 25, 2025

Good morning, and thanks for your continued support of Extra Points.

In the eyes of many coaches, D-I college soccer has one major problem. The schedule.

The men's season begins in late August and builds into November, with teams regularly playing multiple matches a week. The championship is awarded in mid-December. No other major professional or high-end developmental league plays such a compressed schedule. To provide better athlete health outcomes and to ideally create a better championship, many college coaches have advocated for a split-season model, one where teams would play in the Fall and Spring.

This idea has many supporters, but it isn't so simple to pull off. Most college soccer programs don't have their own dedicated facilities, and moving to a year-round schedule could put them in conflict with lacrosse teams or other sports. Even beyond facilities, the staffers that support soccer programs, from sports information directors to trainers to operation managers, are often supporting other programs in the Spring.

So moving to a year-round play, to say nothing of the potential broadcast window complications or academic calendar fit, can be very expensive. While a vote to move towards what was then called the "21st Century Model" was close to happening before COVID-19, the global pandemic and various changes to college sports financial model have slowed momentum.

But what if there was another way to pay for those new expenses? Perhaps a completely different way to run a soccer championship, to build a league schedule that was completely centered on the needs of soccer, and to monetize the entire operation?

US Soccer is pitching exactly that. Originally reported by Sportico, Extra Points has obtained decks from various presentations the US Soccer Federation has made to college coaches and other stakeholders to reform how college soccer operates...or at least, for some schools.

After reviewing these proposals and talking to various coaches, sport administrators, athletic directors and industry experts over the last few weeks, here's what I've learned:

On December 17th, representatives from US Soccer gave the following presentation to coaches at the United Soccer Coaches Convention in Chicago. The deck centered on how US Soccer could help support college soccer in moving to a split-season format, while also providing financial and structural resources to grow revenues and make the sport more sustainable.

While the proposal pointed out multiple times that U.S. Soccer would eventually want to support "all of college soccer across the men's and women's game", the organization proposed a "pilot program" centered around schools from the largest conferences.

[mngopher]

I'm curious how this would look in the colder regions of the US, especially at the D3 level. I'm in MN, and you generally can't play outdoor soccer from December-March here. Even April can be iffy some years. There are full-size domed fields available, but there are only a couple I know of (Augsburg and St. John's) that is owned and run by a D3 school. The rest of the schools in MN would have to find a way to rent space in a dome which is typically $300-$500/hr for a full field. Not to mention that many of these domes already have very high demand between youth club sports and community activities. The cost alone would be pretty prohibitive for a lot of these D3 schools that are already spreading their athletic budgets pretty thin.