By Adam Minichino
HOOVER, Ala. — It was a throwaway question at the end of a press conference.
University of Maryland men’s soccer coach Sasho Cirovski didn’t take it that way. He took the question about the possible waning relevancy of his sport at the college level as a challenge and responded in support.
“It’s embarrassing for anyone to think that the college game is not relevant,” Cirovski said. “I take it personally when someone says to me that college is not relevant. It is the glue that has kept soccer going in this country.
“It is the most important connector for the growth and development of the game in this country. I hope they hear me loud and clear because myself, our other coaches, and three thousand other players work hard every day to make this game relevant.
“I know sometimes it can get a little chaotic. There are things you want to do to improve the game, but for anybody that even has the audacity to think that, you have to look in the mirror and do a little gut check.”
Several coaches and former coaches at the College Cup shared Cirovski’s opinion despite the fact that three more programs — Mount St. Mary’s University, the University of Richmond, and Towson University — have decided to drop men’s soccer as a varsity sport for next season.
Mike Getman Says Grow The Game
University of Alabama at Birmingham men’s soccer coach Mike Getman, who helped bring the Men’s College Cup to Hoover, Ala., for the past two seasons, said it is “terrible” news anytime a school opts to cut opportunities for student-athletes, especially men’s soccer players.
But he said the popularity of the sport, especially at the youth level, will help keep it viable. Even if some of the sport’s most elite players opt to go the academy route and pass up college, he said those decisions will create more chances for others.
“Five years ago, there were 199 teams. This year, there were 204. Is our sport growing or is it shrinking?” Getman said. “You can focus on the fact that some teams are leaving, which we hate to see, but you can focus on the fact that each year we seem to be adding new teams. If you want to look at it from the angle of producing professionals,something like 60 percent of all of the MLS players played in college. We’re the most relevant path to the pros.”
The College Cup drew a two-day total crowd of 20,316, a jump of nearly 2,000 from the mark of 18,400 the event drew in its initial year in Hoover, Ala. That despite having only one NCAA D-I men’s soccer program (UAB) in the state.
In the SEC, Vanderbilt dropped men’s soccer in 2005. In the Big East Conference, East Carolina University dropped the sport in 2005, while Texas Christian University dropped it in 2002.
On the flip side, Northern Kentucky University, a new member of the Atlantic Sun Conference, and Grand Canyon University (Ariz.), which late in 2012 accepted an invitation to join the Western Athletic Conference., both have men’s soccer programs.
Getman feels the men’s college soccer could grow even more with the help of athletic directors who want to tap into the popularity of the sport. He doesn’t believe Title IX, a law that mandates equal opportunities for males and females, would prevent schools from adding men’s soccer if they are committed to the idea. He feels the next step for coaches across the country is to help the sport grow its average attendance to solidify its ability to be a revenue producer.
“Many college teams draw huge crowds,” Getman said. “UC Santa Barbara has had a few crowds in the 11,000-12,000 range. Maryland averages 4,000 or 5,000. Indiana averages 3,000 to 4,000. There are a number of programs that have huge crowds, but there are a number of us that aren’t quite where we would like to be yet. When the average crowdsare 3,000 to 4,000 we will be averaging more than college basketball.
” The people who argue about gender equity and Title IX, I don’t think that makes any sense. I agree with the law. I think women should have the exact same opportunities as men. If we want our sport to grow, we need to do everything we can to increase our attendance. That is one of the reasons I wanted to work so hard to help the College Cup grow.”
Jerry Yeagley’s Perspective
Longtime Indiana University men’s soccer coach Jerry Yeagley agrees with Cirovski that men’s soccer is vibrant. He also agrees with Getman that there is room for the sport to grow if schools want to make the commitment.
“I agree with Sasho when he said basically college soccer is at its highest level that it’s ever been,” Yeagley said. “I think a lot of it has to do with the youth development and the natural feeder from youth, club, high school to college to pro.
“The Paul Gardner (Soccer America writer) demeaning of college soccer is no longer relevant. It wasn’t then. The players that are playing pro now and are on our National team, as Sasho said and I agree, they cut their teeth in college. They learned in college, and college is an important element in the whole development scene in this country.
“I just think the conferences have a lot to do with it, too. Since we went to 24 conferences, athletic directors want to win their conference. They are going to give more money to the program for recruiting. They are going to pay the coaches more. They care about soccer. That administrative support is a big part of the development and the continued possible growth.”
Yeagley points to the decision by the University of Michigan to elevate men’s soccer to varsity status in 2000-01. He said that move shows BCS schools can have men’s and women’s soccer and football, too.
“We all know financially it is difficult,” Yeagley said. “Maryland went to the Big 10 (Conference) because of the financial incentives, and they had to drop seven sports. It is hard to add a new sport, but Michigan did it. Michigan is a traditional football power, and if they found a way to do it, there is no reason others can’t.”
Yeagley said academies will remain “an important piece of the puzzle,” but he said most of the players who go that route will go to college and that very few will go pro right away. If that’s the case, he said, men’s college soccer is in a good place.
Fans Going Bananas At Georgetown
Georgetown coach Brian Wiese agrees with Yeagley. His program, which made its first appearance in the Men’s College Cup this season, is part of a Big East Conference that could be the latest casualty of conference realignment. Georgetown and the conference’s other non-Football Bowl Subdivision members (Villanova, St. John’s, Seton Hall, Marquette, DePaul, and Providence) voted late in 2012 to leave the conference.
This new affiliation will have basketball as its marquee sport. Soccer might not be on par with men’s basketball, even at those schools, but Wiese said it is impossible to deny soccer is growing, which can only mean good things for the sport at the Division I level.
“The popularity through the youth level through the high school level, it is a surging sport,” Wiese said. “As the economy kind of comes back around I would expect to see people say, ‘Well, maybe we should be adding it.’
“One of the real tragedies for me is looking at a lot of these BCS-level schools, and men’s soccer doesn’t exist. In this part of the country you’re looking at the SEC, the Big 12, the Pac 12 now.
“There is great soccer in the youth levels here. Florida, Georgia, Texas, Oklahoma. I don’t care where it is. Every part of the country has really good soccer and it has a good fanbase and everything else. It drives me nuts to see the resources some of these schools have, (and) not to say, ‘Let’s add this in.’
“You start a men’s soccer program at Mississippi, Mississippi State, Alabama, Florida, you are instantly, within reason, if you choose to be, nationally competitive because of the interest level and there is so much talent out there looking for homes.”
Wiese said it is “frustrating” not to see big-time schools add men’s soccer.
“I think the popularity of what is happening with the sport, if you are taking a step back, there is going to be a substantial difference in 5-10 years time in terms of the interest level,” Wiese said.
“You should see the videos of our campus. We are not a soccer school, per se, but there is video of the guys watching our semifinal and the place is going bananas. We are selling out our stadium now. The crowds come.
“It takes a couple of forward-thinking ADs to maybe step forward. All of these places have great facilities for women’s soccer. Now it is just a matter of do they want to share with that.”
By Adam Minichino
HOOVER, Ala. — It was a throwaway question at the end of a press conference.
University of Maryland men’s soccer coach Sasho Cirovski didn’t take it that way. He took the question about the possible waning relevancy of his sport at the college level as a challenge and responded in support.
“It’s embarrassing for anyone to think that the college game is not relevant,” Cirovski said. “I take it personally when someone says to me that college is not relevant. It is the glue that has kept soccer going in this country.
“It is the most important connector for the growth and development of the game in this country. I hope they hear me loud and clear because myself, our other coaches, and three thousand other players work hard every day to make this game relevant.
“I know sometimes it can get a little chaotic. There are things you want to do to improve the game, but for anybody that even has the audacity to think that, you have to look in the mirror and do a little gut check.”
Several coaches and former coaches at the College Cup shared Cirovski’s opinion despite the fact that three more programs — Mount St. Mary’s University, the University of Richmond, and Towson University — have decided to drop men’s soccer as a varsity sport for next season.
Mike Getman Says Grow The Game
University of Alabama at Birmingham men’s soccer coach Mike Getman, who helped bring the Men’s College Cup to Hoover, Ala., for the past two seasons, said it is “terrible” news anytime a school opts to cut opportunities for student-athletes, especially men’s soccer players.
But he said the popularity of the sport, especially at the youth level, will help keep it viable. Even if some of the sport’s most elite players opt to go the academy route and pass up college, he said those decisions will create more chances for others.
“Five years ago, there were 199 teams. This year, there were 204. Is our sport growing or is it shrinking?” Getman said. “You can focus on the fact that some teams are leaving, which we hate to see, but you can focus on the fact that each year we seem to be adding new teams. If you want to look at it from the angle of producing professionals,something like 60 percent of all of the MLS players played in college. We’re the most relevant path to the pros.”
The College Cup drew a two-day total crowd of 20,316, a jump of nearly 2,000 from the mark of 18,400 the event drew in its initial year in Hoover, Ala. That despite having only one NCAA D-I men’s soccer program (UAB) in the state.
In the SEC, Vanderbilt dropped men’s soccer in 2005. In the Big East Conference, East Carolina University dropped the sport in 2005, while Texas Christian University dropped it in 2002.
On the flip side, Northern Kentucky University, a new member of the Atlantic Sun Conference, and Grand Canyon University (Ariz.), which late in 2012 accepted an invitation to join the Western Athletic Conference., both have men’s soccer programs.
Getman feels the men’s college soccer could grow even more with the help of athletic directors who want to tap into the popularity of the sport. He doesn’t believe Title IX, a law that mandates equal opportunities for males and females, would prevent schools from adding men’s soccer if they are committed to the idea. He feels the next step for coaches across the country is to help the sport grow its average attendance to solidify its ability to be a revenue producer.
“Many college teams draw huge crowds,” Getman said. “UC Santa Barbara has had a few crowds in the 11,000-12,000 range. Maryland averages 4,000 or 5,000. Indiana averages 3,000 to 4,000. There are a number of programs that have huge crowds, but there are a number of us that aren’t quite where we would like to be yet. When the average crowdsare 3,000 to 4,000 we will be averaging more than college basketball.
” The people who argue about gender equity and Title IX, I don’t think that makes any sense. I agree with the law. I think women should have the exact same opportunities as men. If we want our sport to grow, we need to do everything we can to increase our attendance. That is one of the reasons I wanted to work so hard to help the College Cup grow.”
Jerry Yeagley’s Perspective
Longtime Indiana University men’s soccer coach Jerry Yeagley agrees with Cirovski that men’s soccer is vibrant. He also agrees with Getman that there is room for the sport to grow if schools want to make the commitment.
“I agree with Sasho when he said basically college soccer is at its highest level that it’s ever been,” Yeagley said. “I think a lot of it has to do with the youth development and the natural feeder from youth, club, high school to college to pro.
“The Paul Gardner (Soccer America writer) demeaning of college soccer is no longer relevant. It wasn’t then. The players that are playing pro now and are on our National team, as Sasho said and I agree, they cut their teeth in college. They learned in college, and college is an important element in the whole development scene in this country.
“I just think the conferences have a lot to do with it, too. Since we went to 24 conferences, athletic directors want to win their conference. They are going to give more money to the program for recruiting. They are going to pay the coaches more. They care about soccer. That administrative support is a big part of the development and the continued possible growth.”
Yeagley points to the decision by the University of Michigan to elevate men’s soccer to varsity status in 2000-01. He said that move shows BCS schools can have men’s and women’s soccer and football, too.
“We all know financially it is difficult,” Yeagley said. “Maryland went to the Big 10 (Conference) because of the financial incentives, and they had to drop seven sports. It is hard to add a new sport, but Michigan did it. Michigan is a traditional football power, and if they found a way to do it, there is no reason others can’t.”
Yeagley said academies will remain “an important piece of the puzzle,” but he said most of the players who go that route will go to college and that very few will go pro right away. If that’s the case, he said, men’s college soccer is in a good place.
Fans Going Bananas At Georgetown
Georgetown coach Brian Wiese agrees with Yeagley. His program, which made its first appearance in the Men’s College Cup this season, is part of a Big East Conference that could be the latest casualty of conference realignment. Georgetown and the conference’s other non-Football Bowl Subdivision members (Villanova, St. John’s, Seton Hall, Marquette, DePaul, and Providence) voted late in 2012 to leave the conference.
This new affiliation will have basketball as its marquee sport. Soccer might not be on par with men’s basketball, even at those schools, but Wiese said it is impossible to deny soccer is growing, which can only mean good things for the sport at the Division I level.
“The popularity through the youth level through the high school level, it is a surging sport,” Wiese said. “As the economy kind of comes back around I would expect to see people say, ‘Well, maybe we should be adding it.’
“One of the real tragedies for me is looking at a lot of these BCS-level schools, and men’s soccer doesn’t exist. In this part of the country you’re looking at the SEC, the Big 12, the Pac 12 now.
“There is great soccer in the youth levels here. Florida, Georgia, Texas, Oklahoma. I don’t care where it is. Every part of the country has really good soccer and it has a good fanbase and everything else. It drives me nuts to see the resources some of these schools have, (and) not to say, ‘Let’s add this in.’
“You start a men’s soccer program at Mississippi, Mississippi State, Alabama, Florida, you are instantly, within reason, if you choose to be, nationally competitive because of the interest level and there is so much talent out there looking for homes.”
Wiese said it is “frustrating” not to see big-time schools add men’s soccer.
“I think the popularity of what is happening with the sport, if you are taking a step back, there is going to be a substantial difference in 5-10 years time in terms of the interest level,” Wiese said.
“You should see the videos of our campus. We are not a soccer school, per se, but there is video of the guys watching our semifinal and the place is going bananas. We are selling out our stadium now. The crowds come.
“It takes a couple of forward-thinking ADs to maybe step forward. All of these places have great facilities for women’s soccer. Now it is just a matter of do they want to share with that.”