The American soccer scene is ever evolving, and collegiate soccer at the NCAA Division I level could be the next to enter a new era.
On Thursday, U.S. Soccer and the NextGen College Soccer Committee, featuring committee college administrators, professional soccer executives, and others, published a white paper suggesting several adjustments. Included were making soccer a full academic year sport, regionalizing competition and integrating a promotion-relegation model, among other changes.
While none of the changes are imminent, they would drastically change the way collegiate soccer is approached across the country and its 213 Division I programs, many of which produce players to the professional ranks of Major League Soccer, USL and beyond.
With the rise of the sport in the U.S. and the influx of athlete funding for name, image and likeness (NIL), the situation has grown to a level where that traditional model is showing its faults.
Those faults and the suggestions from U.S. Soccer and the committee apply primarily to the men’s game. In contrast, the women’s game remains a strong developmental step in the burgeoning environment that is global women’s soccer.
