NCAA D-I Schools Reject Men's Soccer Split — SkimNews
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- Division I schools rejected the two-semester men's soccer proposal when at least 241 of 361 schools voted against it by Friday's 5 p.m. deadline, triggering rescission and keeping the championship season in the fall.
- The two-semester proposal, adopted in May, would have allowed teams in 2027-28 to schedule 18 matches from late August until the Saturday before Thanksgiving and up to 10 from mid-February until the NCAA tournament.
- Low- and mid-major athletic departments formed most of the opposition, citing a lack of administrative and facility resources for running soccer across two semesters.
- Boston College voted no despite having the resources, as did Kansas State, Oklahoma State and Ivy League schools; more than 100 schools without men's soccer programs also backed rescission.
- University of Toledo warned of added costs, reduced experiential opportunities for out-of-season student-athletes, spring-sport facility conflicts, staffing demands and northern weather; University of Idaho said the split would spread support staff too thin and trigger similar requests from other sports.
- Sasho Cirovski called the current schedule of as many as 25 games, including a 48-team NCAA tournament, 'archaic' and unsafe, saying the injury rate at three games a week is six times higher than at two.
- U.S. Soccer had a committee working on its behalf back the split in 2025 as advocates compared the College Cup to the NCAA lacrosse championship, which annually sells out NFL stadiums; men's soccer title-game attendance was 10,316 last year and 6,057 in 2024.
Why it matters: The rejection preserves the fall-only schedule schools already use but leaves athletes in the current 25-game window. Maryland coach Sasho Cirovski said playing three games a week produces an injury rate six times higher than playing two, while opposition extended beyond budget concerns: Boston College, Kansas State, Oklahoma State and Ivy League schools also voted no.
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