In the summer of 2021, I wrote an informative and comprehensive post titled: “College soccer explained for players and parents”. A little over two years have passed since its publication and recent events called for its review; I normally do not go back to amend my previous posts but the usefulness generated with it merited it. So, what events prompted me to re-read and update the post?
Well, it is that time of the year when college soccer begins to reach its climax and honestly, I have been watching a lot of it unfold since a few of our soccer friends are/were in it. On the D1 men’s side, the initial 48-school tournament is now down to the quarterfinals (aka Elite 8) while the D1 women’s bracket is now down to the final four. Not surprisingly, the NCAA D1 college cup will be played in Lynn Family Stadium in Louisville, Kentucky (also known as Lou City’s cathedral). In a way, we go full-circle and to commemorate it, we may make our way up to nostalgic Louisville to visit friends and watch a few games next week. Anyway, that current hype is what prompted me to revise my post in the first place…
So, without further ado, here are the two adjustments to my summer 2021 post.
Overtime changes
In the original post, I highlighted that regular season matches could not end in a tie. That rule changed the following season (2022) and now regular season matches CAN end in a tie after the 90 minutes of regulation. To determine a game winner in regular season games, no overtime is needed any more. However, as one would expect, if a winner is needed (ex. conference games, tournament games) overtime (OT) and penalty kicks (if the tie persists) will continue to be utilized. The reasoning behind the elimination of OT periods was to shorten the playing minutes that most college programs already undergo in a compact (August – November) season while equaling the playing time among all D1 soccer programs.
As explained in this NCAA article, another rule change that was introduced last season, which aligned with the elimination of the OT periods, was the abolition of the golden goal in OT periods. Currently, when OT periods are needed, two 10-minute OT halves must always be played in their entirety. This measure is supposed to improve the quality of soccer played by teams who in the past hesitated to play offensively fearing match ending counterattacks.
Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL)
Also, in my post from September 2021, I recommended prospective student-athletes not sign with an agent or receive any sort of financial remuneration. The idea was to avoid potential complications with the then-existent NCAA rule that prevented current (and prospective) student-athletes from playing or even being recruited if a financial advantage was proven to have occurred favoring the student-athlete (or the family).
See, in 1905, the NCAA was founded with amateurism as one of its core values. In other words, student-athletes could not get remunerated in any form while playing at the college level…until the summer of 2021. However, a lot changed in July 2021 in what continues to be a controversial and ambiguous NCAA rule change.
In June 2021, the supreme court ruled unanimously that the NCAA could not limit education-related payments to student-athletes (since non-athletes were making boat loads of money mostly online). Two core NCAA principles remained intact: No pay-for-play, and no quid pro quo. In summary, athletes are not supposed to receive compensation tied to performance, and recruits aren’t supposed to sign deals contingent on going to a certain school. The latter is a really nebulous topic as presented in this Athletic publication. However, NIL signings sky-rocketed and so did professional agent signings after the supreme ruling of NCAA vs Alton. Student-athletes are now able to receive money from monetized social media accounts, signing autographs, teaching camps or lessons and participating in advertising campaigns, among other forms of NIL usage. The ramifications of this change continue to have a domino effect and we haven’t seen the end of this rule change…
If you read through my original post, you will find that the “Program Reputation” section mentioned a soccer family friend whose son had committed to play D1 soccer for Georgetown. Ironically, that same friend called me last week to pick my brain about his son’s potential paths to football professionalism post college graduation. Unfortunately, Georgetown is no longer in the NCAA tournament, so we chatted about options to keep the dream alive based on the grim outlook his agent painted. In any case, that convo also contributed to the amendments of the original post.
I hope you have enjoyed reading the original post for the first time or re-reading it with its amendments. As always, reach out if you need any assistance, advice, or suggestions or if you have topics you’d like to read about. #theGomezway
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