This Isn't Europe

For at least the last few years, Division I men's soccer coaches have been pushing for a split-season format similar to professional European leagues.  At first, the idea was met with resistance from the NCAA, but they were undeterred by the fact that literally no one else wanted it and made that known.  Well, their persistence has finally paid off.  The NCAA announced last week that Division I men's soccer will indeed adopt a split-season model in 2027.

This season structure was introduced in January by the Men's Soccer Oversight Committee and now moves on to the NCAA Cabinet for review during its June meeting.  So, it's technically not official yet.  But, who are we kidding?  The NCAA wouldn't be issuing a press release if this wasn't already a done deal.  Approval at the cabinet meeting is just a formality.

Under the new season structure, the NCAA Men's College Cup will be moved to the Spring.  As a result, there will be no NCAA Men's Soccer Championship in 2027.  The last edition to be held in the Fall will be later this year, with the 2027-28 champion crowned in the Spring.  The season length (in terms of number of games) will remain the same.  Teams can play 25, with a maximum of 18 in the Fall (from August to the week before Thanksgiving) and 10 in the Spring (starting in mid-February).  Dates of the championship weren't announced, but it would presumably be mid-to-late April.

What will conferences do, though?  Will they also move their men's soccer championships to the Spring or leave them in the Fall?  Will their men's soccer conference schedules split games between the Fall and Spring?  Will different conferences do different things?

I'm also surprised the NCAA not only caved, but also moved the championship to the Spring...when they already have so many others.  Spring is the NCAA's busiest season with lacrosse, baseball, softball, outdoor track & field, beach volleyball, men's volleyball, women's rowing, golf and tennis all in season.  In the Fall, meanwhile, it's mainly just football and field hockey (which not everybody has), women's volleyball, cross country and soccer.  The College Cup is one of the NCAA's marquee Fall Championships, with the men and women often being played at the same venue a week apart.  Not anymore.

Men's soccer coaches are obviously ecstatic to finally get their way.  They're the only ones who are happy about this.  Because the burden this puts not just on support staff, but other programs, as well, is enormous.  And the NCAA adding another championship to the already overloaded Spring season doesn't make much sense, either.  But the coaches weren't going to stop pushing for the "European model" until they got it.  Which they now have.

There are so many reasons why everyone other than D1 men's soccer coaches think this is a terrible idea.  Let's start with the burden it places on facilities, athletic training and communications staffs.  Some larger schools have trainers and communications people dedicated to men's soccer, but many don't.  And those staffers most likely already have a Spring team that they cover.  Now, men's soccer will be in-season during both the Fall and the Spring, when they'll already have that other sport.

Then there's the facility situation, which, frankly, is the bigger concern.  How many schools have soccer and lacrosse share a facility?  Some schools that have multi-use fields might have softball and/or baseball on the field in the Spring, too.  Scheduling will be a nightmare!  And, imagine if that field is grass (especially in an area where winter weather can be a factor)!

That's exactly what happened in the Spring of 2021.  Because of COVID, the NCAA moved all 2020 Fall sports seasons to the Spring, making for a very busy season.  Men's soccer coaches probably looked at that as proof it can be done.  Of course it can!  That's not the point!  What they don't acknowledge is how difficult that was for everyone and how it was only done as a one-off exception out of necessity.  It was never the intention for the Spring season to be that busy regularly.

It also can't be a coincidence that the timing of this corresponds exactly to MLS making a similar move.  MLS announced a few months ago that it's going to the Fall-Spring schedule used elsewhere in the world.  They'll play a 14-game "sprint" season next Spring before officially flipping the season in 2027-28.  The NCAA will also flip Division I men's soccer to a Spring championship in 2027-28, keeping it on the same schedule as MLS.

And don't for a second think the fact that European professional leagues play a Fall-Spring schedule had nothing to do with this.  Where do you think these coaches got it from?!  They wanted NCAA soccer to be a year-round sport like it is in Europe, everyone else be damned.  Congratulations.  Mission accomplished.

In the NCAA's press release, they touted all of the ways this will "benefit the student-athlete."  A lot of those, frankly, ring hollow.  Coaches didn't like having two games in a week, which they had to do with the season only in the Fall.  Now they can spread it out, only play once a week, and kick some games over to the Spring.  Is there some benefit to that?  Sure.  But now you're requiring student-athletes to make two-semester commitment similar to basketball and hockey players.  That doesn't really do much for them academically.  And say goodbye to the opportunity to transfer between semesters!

My issues with this format extend beyond those I've already mentioned.  One of my other big ones is how this only applies to Division I men.  The D1 women's season will still start in mid-August with the Women's College Cup in December.  Same thing with Divisions II and III.  Those men's seasons will remain entirely in the Fall.  What makes the D1 men so special that they need to have a different schedule?  Or maybe the better question is how long until the others follow suit?

All of this stuff will eventually come up if it hasn't already.  Too bad nobody was actually concerned about any of it.  Maybe if they'd actually listened to anybody else, they would've understood why a D1 men's soccer split season is a pretty universally disliked idea.  Not that it would've stopped the coaches from pushing through anyway.  They got an idea in their heads, thought it was great, and weren't going to drop it until they got what they wanted.  Which they now have.