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

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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.

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