College soccer
College soccer is played by teams of male or female students of colleges and universities. College soccer is probably most widespread in the United States, but is also prominent in South Korea and Canada. In these countries the institutions typically hire full-time professional coaches and staff, although the student athletes are strictly amateur and are not paid.
In the United States, college soccer is sponsored by the sports regulatory body for major universities, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), and those for smaller universities and colleges, including the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA), and the United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA).
Many top American college soccer players play for separate teams in the Premier Development League (PDL) during the summer. One college club, the BYU Cougars men's team, has foregone playing in the NCAA or NAIA and instead play all of their games in the PDL.[1] At the end of the NCAA college season, there is a college soccer 'draft', and during this draft the Professional Clubs in the USA can opt to draft the most talented college players to the professional leagues directly from college. The Professional Leagues who have the opportunity to cast their picks are usually the MLS (Major League Soccer) with the lower professional leagues such as USL1 and NASL having other ways to draft.[2][3][4]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/20/College_soccer_yates_iu_v_tulsa_2004.jpg/300px-College_soccer_yates_iu_v_tulsa_2004.jpg)
Rules
While similar in general appearance, NCAA rules diverge significantly from FIFA Laws of the Game. If a player accumulates five yellow cards over the period of one season, he or she is banned one game. A manager may make unlimited substitutions, and each player is allowed one re-entry which must occur in the second half of the match. All matches have an overtime period if the game remains tied after 90 minutes. As opposed to a classic two half overtime, a sudden death rule is applied. If neither team scores in the two ten-minute halves, the match ends in a draw (unless it is a playoff match, then it would go to kicks from the penalty mark). College soccer is played with a clock that can be stopped when signaled to by the referee for injuries, the issuing of misconducts, or when the referee feels 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 injury time to the end of each 45-minute half.[5]
Divisions and conferences in the United States
There are 205 Division I, 207 Division II, and 408 Division III Men's Soccer Programs.[6]
NCAA Division I
- American Athletic Conference
- America East Conference
- Atlantic Coast Conference
- Atlantic Ten Conference
- Atlantic Sun Conference
- Big East Conference
- Big South Conference
- Big Ten Conference
- Big West Conference
- Colonial Athletic Association
- Conference USA
- Horizon League
- Ivy League
- Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
- Mid-American Conference
- Missouri Valley Conference
- Northeast Conference
- Ohio Valley Conference
- Pacific-12 Conference
- Patriot League
- Southern Conference
- Southwestern Athletic Conference
- The Summit League
- Sun Belt Conference
- West Coast Conference
- Independents
Division I attendance leaders
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1b/College_soccer_fans_indiana_2004.jpg/280px-College_soccer_fans_indiana_2004.jpg)
The following Division I soccer teams have an average attendance of at least 2,000 as of 2012.[7]
1) UCSB Gauchos - 9 - 5,542
2) UConn Huskies - 14 - 4,228
3) Maryland Terrapins - 16 - 3,031
4) Cal Poly Mustangs - 10 - 2,708
5) Akron Zips - 12 - 2,619
6) Creighton Bluejays - 12 - 2,391
7) Louisville Cardinals - 14 - 2,215
8) New Mexico Lobos - 13 - 2,212
9) Clemson Tigers - 9 - 2,193
NCAA Division II
- California Collegiate Athletic Association
- Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference
- Conference Carolinas
- East Coast Conference
- Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
- Great Lakes Valley Conference
- Great Midwest Athletic Conference
- Great Northwest Athletic Conference
- Gulf South Conference
- Heartland Conference
- Mid–America Intercollegiate Athletics Association
- Mountain East Conference
- Northeast Ten Conference
- Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference
- Pacific West Conference
- Peach Belt Conference
- Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference
- Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference
- South Atlantic Conference
- Sunshine State Conference
- NCAA Division II independent schools
NCAA Division III
- Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference
- American Southwest Conference
- Capital Athletic Conference
- Centennial Conference
- City University of New York Athletic Conference
- College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin
- Colonial States Athletic Conference
- Commonwealth Coast Conference
- Empire Eight
- Great Northeast Athletic Conference
- Great South Athletic Conference
- Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference
- Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
- Landmark Conference
- Liberty League
- Little East Conference
- Massachusetts State College Athletic Conference
- Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association
- Middle Atlantic States Collegiate Athletic Corporation
- Midwest Conference
- Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
- New England Small College Athletic Conference
- New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference
- New Jersey Athletic Conference
- North Atlantic Conference
- North Coast Athletic Conference
- North Eastern Athletic Conference
- Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference
- Northwest Conference
- Ohio Athletic Conference
- Old Dominion Athletic Conference
- Presidents' Athletic Conference
- Skyline Conference
- St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
- Southern Athletic Association
- Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
- Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference
- State University of New York Athletic Conference
- USA South Athletic Conference
- Upper Midwest Athletic Conference
- University Athletic Association
- Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
- NCAA Division III independent schools
NAIA
- American Midwest Conference
- Appalachian Athletic Conference
- California Pacific Conference
- Cascade Collegiate Conference
- Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference
- Crossroads League
- Frontier Conference
- Golden State Athletic Conference
- Great Plains Athletic Conference
- Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference
- Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
- Heart of America Athletic Conference
- Mid-South Conference
- Midlands Collegiate Athletic Conference
- Midwest Collegiate Conference
- North Star Athletic Association
- Red River Athletic Conference
- Sooner Athletic Conference
- Southern States Athletic Conference
- The Sun Conference
- Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference
- NAIA independent schools
History of college soccer in the U.S.
The first de facto college football game held in the U.S. in 1869 between Rutgers University and Princeton was contested under the London Football Association rules at Rutgers captain John W. Leggett' request, with the game being played under Association (soccer) rules mixed with Rugby. However most sports historians argue that this was actually the first-ever college gridiron football season in history.
The NCAA first began holding a national championship in 1959, Prior to 1959, the national champion had been determined by a national poll instead of through a national tournament.
St. Louis University won the 1959 inaugural championship using mostly local players, defeating a number of teams that were mostly foreign players.[8] St. Louis University continued to dominate the Division I Championship for a number of 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 Division III in 1974 to accommodate the growing number of schools.[9]
Indiana University dominated mens soccer in the 1980s, 90s, and 00s with 8 national championships, 6 Hermann Trophies (national player of the year), countless All Americans, 13 national team players, and 6 Olympians. From 1973 to 2003 no team won more national championships or had more NCAA College Cup appearances than Indiana.
Virginia won a record four consecutive national championships from 1991 to 1994 under head coach Bruce Arena, who later went on to coach the U.S. national team.
Divisions and conferences internationally
Canada
In Canada, there are two organizations that regulate university and collegiate athletics.
Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS)
- Atlantic University Sport (AUS)
- Canada West Universities Athletic Association (CWUAA)
- Ontario University Athletics (OUA)
- Quebec Student Sports Federation (QSSF)
Canadian Colleges Athletic Association
- Atlantic Colleges Athletic Association (ACAA)
- Quebec Student Sports Federation (QSSF)
- Ontario Colleges Athletic Association (OCAA)
- Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference (ACAC)
- British Columbia Colleges Athletic Association (BCCAA)
South Korea
The U-League is a university football competition in Korea Republic. Created in 2008, it is the first organized league competition for university football teams and will operate outside of the regular Korean football league structure.
United Kingdom
In the United Kingdom, association football in colleges and universities is governed by the BUSA Football League.
National college soccer awards
- Hermann Trophy (Missouri Athletic Club Player of the Year)
- NSCAA Player of the Year
- Soccer America Player of the Year
- ISAA Player of the Year
- ISAA Goalkeeper of the Year
- NSCAA Coach of the Year
Notable American men's college soccer graduates
Noted as players
- Jeff Agoos, Virginia
- Carlos Bocanegra, UCLA
- Geoff Cameron, Rhode Island
- Steve Cherundolo, Portland
- Jay DeMerit, UIC
- Clint Dempsey, Furman
- Maurice Edu, Maryland
- Benny Feilhaber, UCLA
- Brad Friedel, UCLA
- Clarence Goodson, Maryland
- Brad Guzan, South Carolina
- John Harkes, Virginia
- Frankie Hejduk, UCLA
- Stuart Holden, Clemson
| class="col-break " |
- Cobi Jones, UCLA
- Kasey Keller, Portland
- Alexi Lalas, Rutgers
- Tony Meola, Virginia
- Brian McBride, Saint Louis
- Ben Olsen, Virginia
- Oguchi Onyewu, Clemson
- Eddie Pope, North Carolina
- Tab Ramos, North Carolina State
- Claudio Reyna, Virginia
- Kyle Rote, Jr., Sewanee
- Eric Wynalda, San Diego State
- Jason Kreis, Duke
- Jimmy Conrad, UCLA
Noted in other fields
- Robert Gibbs (White House Press Secretary to President Barack Obama), North Carolina State
- David Petraeus (commander of United States Central Command and formerly Multinational Force Iraq), Army
- Andrew Shue (actor), Dartmouth
- Jim Sonefeld (drummer for Hootie & the Blowfish), South Carolina
- Jon Stewart (comedian), William & Mary
- Ethan Zohn (reality TV contestant and host), Vassar
- Mat Kearney (singer-songwriter), Chico State
Notable non-American men's college soccer graduates
Noted as players
- Joe Addo, George Mason (Ghana)
- Brian Budd, UBC (Canada)
- Srdjan Djekanović, UBC (Canada)
- Andy Dorman, Boston University (Wales)
- Cha Du-Ri, Korea University (South Korea)
- Roger Espinoza, Ohio State University (Honduras)
- Mike Franks, UBC (Canada)
- Rob Friend, UC Santa Barbara (Canada)
- Shaka Hislop, Howard (Trinidad and Tobago)
- Vedad Ibišević, Saint Louis (Bosnia and Herzegovina)
- Stern John, Mercer Community College (Trinidad and Tobago)
- Shalrie Joseph, St. John's (NY) (Grenada)
- Kevin McKenna, Calgary (Canada)
- Tony Lochhead, UC Santa Barbara (New Zealand)
- Alejandro Moreno, UNC Greensboro (Venezuela)
- Ryan Nelsen, Stanford (New Zealand)
- Joseph Ngwenya, Coastal Carolina (Zimbabwe)
| class="col-break " |
- Olivier Occean, Southern Connecticut State (Canada)
- Pat Onstad, UBC (Canada)
- Damani Ralph, UConn (Jamaica)
- Mark Rogers, UBC (Canada)
- Santiago Solari, Richard Stockton (Argentina)
- Paul Stalteri, Clemson (Canada)
- Neven Subotić, South Florida (Serbia) — represented the U.S. at U-17 and U-20 levels
- Thompson Usiyan, Appalachian State (Nigeria)
- Mark Watson, UBC (Canada)
- David Weir, Evansville (Scotland)
- Andy Williams, Rhode Island (Jamaica)
- Max von Schlebrügge, Florida Atlantic University (Sweden)
- Tamir Linhart, George Mason University (Israel)
- Alan Koch, Simon Fraser (South Africa)
Noted in other fields
- Paul Diamond,[10] Old Dominion — professional wrestler,
Canada (born in what is now
Croatia)
- Alejandro Toledo, San Francisco — President of
Peru, 2001–2006
Notable men's college soccer coaches
- Al Albert, William and Mary
- Bruce Arena, Virginia
- Bob Bradley, Princeton
- Clive Charles, Portland
- Sasho Cirovski, Maryland
- Bob Gansler, Milwaukee
- George Gelnovatch, Virginia
- Barry Gorman, Penn State
- Bob Guelker, St. Louis & SIU Edwardsville
- Schellas Hyndman, Southern Methodist
- Ibrahim M. Ibrahim, Clemson
- Lev Kirshner, San Diego State
- Stephen Negoesco, San Francisco
- Caleb Porter, Akron
- Sigi Schmid, UCLA
- Tim Vom Steeg, UC Santa Barbara
- Jerry Yeagley, Indiana
Notable American women's college soccer graduates
- Michelle Akers, UCF
- Shannon Boxx, Notre Dame
- Brandi Chastain, Cal and Santa Clara
- Lorrie Fair, North Carolina
- Joy Fawcett, Cal
- Julie Foudy, Stanford
- Mia Hamm, North Carolina
- April Heinrichs, North Carolina
- Angela Hucles, Virginia
- Carin Jennings-Gabarra, UC Santa Barbara
- Sydney Leroux, UCLA
- Kristine Lilly, North Carolina
- Shannon MacMillan, Portland
- Kate Markgraf, Notre Dame
| class="col-break " |
- Tiffeny Milbrett, Portland
- Heather Mitts, Florida
- Alex Morgan, Cal
- Heather O'Reilly, North Carolina
- Carla Overbeck, North Carolina
- Cindy Parlow, North Carolina
- Christie Rampone, Monmouth
- Briana Scurry, UMass
- Hope Solo, Washington
- Aly Wagner, Santa Clara
- Abby Wambach, Florida
- Cat Whitehill, North Carolina
- Tobin Heath, North Carolina
Notable non-American women's college soccer graduates
- Charmaine Hooper, NC State (Canada)
- Kara Lang, UCLA (Canada)
- Andrea Neil, UBC (Canada)
- Ali Riley, Stanford (New Zealand)
- Christine Sinclair, Portland (Canada)
- Kelly Smith, Seton Hall (England)
- Melissa Tancredi, Notre Dame (Canada)
- Brittany Timko, Nebraska (Canada)
See also
- List of NCAA Division I men's soccer programs
- List of NCAA Division II men's soccer programs
- NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship
- NCAA Division II Men's Soccer Championship
- NCAA Division III Men's Soccer Championship
- NCAA Women's Soccer Championship
- NAIA national men's soccer championship
- NAIA national women's soccer championship
- Hermann Trophy
- Division I First-Team All-Americans
- Soccer in the United States
- College athletics
- College rivalries
- Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS)
- Canadian Colleges Athletic Association (CCAA)
- Canadian Colleges Athletic Association Soccer National Championships
Notes and references
- ^ BYU far from a traditional college soccer program
- ^ http://www.mlssoccer.com/superdraft/2013/supplemental-draft#
- ^ http://misl.uslsoccer.com/About/index_E.html
- ^ http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/sports_soccerblog/2007/03/misl_draft_tomo.html
- ^ "NCAA SOCCER 2014 AND 2015 RULES AND INTERPRETATIONS". NCAA.
{{cite journal}}
: Cite journal requires|journal=
(help) - ^ http://web1.ncaa.org//wps/wcm/connect/public/ncaa/about+the+ncaa/who+we+are+landing+page
- ^ http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/m_soccer_RB/2013/attend.pdf
- ^ The Year in American Soccer - 1959, David Litterer, http://homepages.sover.net/~spectrum/year/1959.html
- ^ The Year in American Soccer - 1974, Steve Holoyd, http://homepages.sover.net/~spectrum/year/1974.html
- ^ Then known by his real name of Tom Boric.