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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Why don’t many of the perennial big sports schools have men’s soccer?

UT, Georgia Tech, University of Georgia, University of Arizona DO NOT - NOR HAVE THEY EVER HAD - D1 men’s soccer. The list goes on and on.  These are all in soccer hot beds. Why no D1 MENS soccer (I know they have powerhouse women’s teams).

Is this part of the problem with  the USMNT? The ACC has always had great men’s soccer and sent many guys to the national team (NC State). I know the better route seems to be going to Europe and joining an academy, but maybe our big powerhouse sports schools could compete with that? Going straight to MLS is another option but also doesn’t seem great.

I know Title IX is an issue but why not add Women’s Flag Football and Men’s Soccer at these universities? Our college system worked for Women’s Soccer (obviously) - we just don’t really have a full men’s soccer college program in the US.  Might even be a revenue sport (I’d be surprised if Men’s Soccer at UMD isn’t making money).

Anyone know the history? Is it just Title IX?[/quote]

Football takes up a lot of the men’s numbers for Title IX. Soccer is not a revenue sport and even at colleges/universities that have programs it is an after thought. There is no pressure from the administration to win. Non revenue sports programs in college are amateur programs and a cost. Something will have to be cut to find money for new sports program.

As for the USMNT/MLS/pro career path way and college soccer. College soccer is an amateur part time program and they do not care about USMNT or professional leagues. College soccer actually hinders players development- competition is subpar, overall athleticism(speed, quickness, strength, etc) is too low, coaching is poor, speed of play is too slow and defensive pressure too weak vs a professional game/training environment. Add in the pre college travel years from u14/u15 up and it is difficult for a player to reach the pro level following a college soccer pathway. About 45% of drafted college players sign a professional contract. Maybe 10% of those players are still playing after two years.

The difference at 15-16 years old in Europe is they have already cut down to the top 3-6% of the age group. So take all the u16 boys players in the US and cut that down to 6%. This is why speed of play and soccer iq becomes so important in the European system. The athleticism by that age is pretty much the same and the differentiator is technically skills, speed of play and soccer IQ. [/quote]

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