College soccer
College soccer, called university soccer, or college football in some countries, is played by teams composed of soccer players who are enrolled in colleges and universities. While it is most widespread in the United States, it is also prominent in Japan, South Korea, Canada, South Africa, and the Philippines. The United Kingdom also has a university league. The institutions typically hire full-time professional coaches and staff, although the student-athletes are mostly amateur and have historically not been paid. College soccer in the United States is sponsored by the National Collegiate Athletic Association, the sports regulatory body for major universities, and by the governing bodies for smaller universities and colleges.
In the United States, college soccer teams play a variety of conference and non-conference games throughout the fall season culminating in the post-season tournament known as the College Cup. The St. Louis University Billikens is the most successful men's team, having won 10 College Cups. The North Carolina Tar Heels led by head coach Anson Dorrance is the most successful women's college soccer team with 21 College Cup wins.
Each year, the best American men's and women's college soccer player is awarded the Hermann Trophy.
After their collegiate careers, top men's players often play professionally in Major League Soccer or other professional leagues around the world like the Premier League in England,Bundesliga in Germany, Ligue 1 in France, Liga MX in Mexico, Serie A in Italy, Scottish Premiership in Scotland. Top women's players may play professionally in the National Women's Soccer League or other professional soccer leagues around the world including the Women's Super League in England, Division 1 Féminine in France, Damallsvenskan in Sweden, Germany's Frauen-Bundesliga, Australia's A-League Women, or Japan's WE League.
United States
History
The first de facto college football game held in the U.S. in 1869 between Rutgers and Princeton Universities was contested at Rutgers captain John W. Leggett's request, with rules mixing soccer and rugby and loosely based on those of the Football Association in London, England. As a result, it is considered the first collegiate soccer match and the birth of soccer in the United States.However other sports historians argue that this was actually the first-ever college gridiron football season in history. But that perception is changing, with Harvard being recognized as a pioneer in gridiron football, along with McGill, Tufts, and Yale.
The NCAA first began holding a men's national soccer championship in 1959. Before 1959, the men's national champion had been determined by a national poll instead of through a national tournament. Saint Louis University won the 1959 inaugural championship using mostly local players, defeating teams composed mostly of foreign players. Saint Louis continued to dominate the Division I championship for some years, appearing in five consecutive finals from 1959 to 1963 and winning four; and appearing in six consecutive finals from 1969 to 1974 and winning four.
College soccer continued growing throughout the 1970s, with the NCAA adding a men's Division III in 1974 to accommodate the growing number of schools. Indiana University's men's soccer program achieved success in the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s with 8 national championships, 6 Hermann Trophy winners, and 13 national team players. From 1973 to 2003 no team won more men's national championships or had more NCAA College Cup appearances than Indiana. Virginia won a record four consecutive men's national championships from 1991 to 1994 under head coach Bruce Arena.
The first college women's varsity soccer team was established at Castleton State College, now known as Castleton University, in Vermont in the mid-1960s. A major factor in the growth of women's college soccer was the passage of the Education Amendments of 1972, which included Title IX that mandated equal access and equal spending on athletic programs at college institutions. As a result, college varsity soccer programs for women were established. Since at least 1977, African American and women coaches have been underrepresented and have a significantly shorter tenure.
By 1981, about 100 varsity programs had been established in NCAA women's soccer, and even more club teams had been established. The AIAW, was established in the mid-1970s and began sponsoring women's varsity programs. It established an informal national championship in 1980, which Cortland State won. A year later in 1981, the University of North Carolina hosted and won the tournament.
In 1982, the NCAA began to sponsor women's sports and all schools switched to the NCAA. One major difference in the growth of women's college soccer unlike men's college soccer, was that it did not start primarily in one region of the country and spread through the decades. With help from men's soccer, the women's program was able to take root all over the country at once and grow from there. The University of North Carolina, coached by Anson Dorrance, immediately stood out as the ones to beat in the women's college game and remain that way up to today. Of the first 20 NCAA championships, 16 were won by UNC, including nine in a row from 1986 to 1994.
Competition format
College soccer is played in the fall from August to December depending on if a team makes the tournament and how long they are in the tournament. Teams play conference and non-conference teams. The NCAA tournament is played in November to early December with the Final Four and Championship game played in December. There are 48 teams in the men's tournament and 64 teams in the women's tournament.Proposed Division I men's season change
After many months of extended unofficial discussion, on August 22, 2016, NCAA Division I men's coaches and the National Soccer Coaches Association of America officially began an "informational campaign" to build support for a proposed change of the playing schedule for Division I men's soccer. Under the proposed changes of the "Academic Year Season Model", the number of games on the Fall schedule and the number of mid-week games would be reduced, with games added in the Spring following a Winter break, and the NCAA Division I men's soccer tournament would be moved from November and December to May and June. In addition to more closely matching the professional season, the changes address player health and safety issues and the time demands on student-athletes. The proposal concerns only Division I men's soccer. While a large majority of men's coaches and players support the changes, only a small minority of women's coaches and players currently do so. At this time, there is only the "informational campaign" "...to educate our Athletic Directors, NCAA leadership, student-athletes, coaches and fans on the advantages of this Academic Year Model," said Sasho Cirovski, NSCAA D1 Men's committee chair and University of Maryland head coach.A formal proposal was made and a vote was scheduled to take place in April, 2020, but was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. During the 2020-2021 NCAA Tournament, rescheduled to the spring of 2021, broadcasters mentioned that the vote will take place in the spring of 2022.
Rules
While similar in general appearance, NCAA rules diverge significantly from FIFA Laws of the Game. A manager may make limited substitutions, and each player is allowed one re-entry which must occur in the second half of the match unless the substitution was caused by a player injury resulting from a caution or send-off. Since 2024, all playoff matches have an overtime period if the game remains tied after 90 minutes, but not the regular season. It consists of a regular two-half extra-time period, with the golden goal. During playoff games, if the tie persists after two ten-minute periods, it would go to a penalty shootout. College soccer is played with a clock that can be stopped when signaled to by the referee for injuries, the issuing of cards, or when the referee believes a team is wasting time. The clock is also stopped after goals until play is restarted, and the clock generally counts down from 45:00 to 0:00 in each half. In most professional soccer leagues, there is an up-counting clock with the referee adding stoppage time to the end of each 45-minute half.Double-jeopardy rule change
In February 2017, the NCAA rules committee met to discuss a proposed rule that would change the double jeopardy rule. If the last player was to foul a player and deny a goal-scoring opportunity, this rule would instead give the referee the ability to choose to issue a yellow card, if they were to feel it was a proper attempt to get the ball. The change was approved.Potential timekeeping change
On March 29, 2018, the NCAA announced that its rules committee had recommended that the organization align itself with FIFA timekeeping rules, with the new rule slated for adoption in the 2018 season. If this proposal had been adopted,- Stadium clocks would count upward, and the displayed time would be based on the elapsed time of the game.
- The official time would be kept on-field by the referee.
- When the stadium clock indicated one minute remaining in a half or overtime period, the referee would signal the amount of stoppage time to the sideline, and a sign indicating the number of minutes of stoppage time would be displayed.
Potential season change
On January 15, 2020, a change for the men's D1 season to run across the full academic year with fall and spring play was proposed. The main motivations for the proposal were to reduce injury and improve the balance academic and other college experiences for athletes. In the fall during the regular season, teams may play 18 to 20 games over 10 weeks—an average of one match every 3.6 days—resulting in higher rates of injury compared to players who recovered for 6 or more days. Under the new schedule, there would be only one match per week.When initially proposed, the changes were supported by the Atlantic Coast Conference, the Big Ten Conference, and the Pac-12 Conference. The proposal was to be voted on in April 2020 but was indefinitely tabled due to NCAA D1 Legislative Committees prioritizing issues related to the COVID-19 pandemic. During the 2020-2021 NCAA Tournament, broadcasters mentioned that the vote is scheduled for the spring of 2022.