US Soccer recommendations via a consultant were just published. Much more about D1 mens soccer then women's or any lower level college soccer. The women's coaches have consistently rejected the idea of a full-year schedule model. And the idea of a nation-wide reorganization of conferences regionally is awesome but is exactly what D1 DID NOT DO when they had the chance to separate BCS/FBS Football many years ago. So we now have greedy, aggressive nationwide conferences with the Pac12 blown up with huge amounts of money flowing in and out of the system. Nice work college leaders... Curious if anyone has thoughts? Whenever I read about college soccer changes, I just hear in my head coaches of baseball, softball, lacrosse, field hockey, etc. say "what about us?" That's why much of this won't happen. It would be dramatically easier to play 15-20 real baseball/softball games in the Fall then to play soccer in Feb/March. Just one of many issues. Notice a big "no comment" from the NCAA so far... https://www.sportico.com/leagues/co...r-recommended-changes-ncaa-system-1234873833/
Because it’s all fluff. Nothing happening. Imagine the mess it’d become with anything involving USSF. And, if this would happen, what would happen with NBA, MLB, and NFL with their college sports? NCAA wouldn’t be needed anymore…
The process is being driven by the D1 Men's coaches. They are trying to use US Soccer to get the playing season model they have been asking for for years. I have my doubts about conferences agreeing to this set up. The season model may change, but I cannot see all of the other aspects going through unchanged.
A slightly snarky answer that is nonetheless largely true is that many of the long-tenured/influential women’s coaches aren’t particularly worried about player development/best interest of the game/etc and don’t want to work as hard as the full-year model would require They point at the women’s national team success and say look what we did. Survivorship bias is prevalent in discussion around the women’s game in the US. Prevents a lot of much needed improvement
Or, they can see the delusional BS that men's soccer has been dreaming about for years while not seeing they're largely irrelevant in this same pyramid. See the roster for the U20 World Cup? NCAA doesn't care about soccer and its development. NCAA and its conferences/ADs don't know about or care about US Soccer. And why would they approve this since, if they did, every sport would splinter. As ThePonchat said above, NCAA wouldn't be needed. And maybe women's coaches are preserving their sport in a way and being realistic about what to request these days. Lastly, being "the best U23 league in the world" is an indictment in itself and hilarious when you truly think about it. The rest of the world laughs at the U23 moniker.
@CasualViewer that post was high on snark. Its the 'long tenured/influential' Mens coaches in D1 that are behind the full-year model. They are trying to stay competitive and relevant for the 5% of elite mens players that do go pro and bypass them or leave them for pro contracts. They care much more about the USL and foreign scouts stealing players then "development". Playing 5 more competitive games in the winter/spring and moving the championship is not going to yield some magical college development environment. And I always laugh at college coaches who argue they should play once a week...and then schedule games twice a week! often over long distances. Here's a take - maybe college women's coaches are just smarter and better coaches! And I guess by your logic, all of the D2 and D3 men's and women's coaches who oppose the full-year model don't want to work hard either??? @Germans4Allies4 nailed it with an "A" post. The NCAA simply does not think the sport of soccer is so special. It almost can't. All contributions are welcome here though.
The laughable irony is the man who was/is biggest backers of this development for US players now has 13 internationals on the roster. The previous 2 comments were spot on. This is men’s coaches trying to stay relevant. As mentioned, it is a stupid idea that college men or women can develop high quality pros and internationals at a significant level. If you
Oh, bravo to US SOCCER for shoehorning women's soccer into the exact same tiny, suffocating box that men's soccer "desperately needed" --ala DA fiasco? Anyone hawking this year-round nonsense is hilariously out of touch. And right as college athletics is bleeding universities drier than ever, soccer struts in like, "We want MORE!" Yeah, genius business model, folks.