Earlier this year, before life was fundamentally altered by COVID-19, college coaches pushed for the evolution of their game to more closely align with the professional calendar with Fall and Spring seasons, pro-style substitutions, pro-style clock management, and additional rules and logistical changes to shift the American collegiate soccer toward consistency with FIFA rules. A little over six months later, the collegiate soccer calendar has indeed shifted to a Fall and Spring calendar but for a far different reason.
Last month, NCAA’s president announced that there will not be Fall championships for Olympic sports. The choice for individual conferences then became whether to continue with Fall seasons or to delay them until the spring.