Up until this year, D1 schools were allowed 9.9 men’s scholarships for soccer due to title IX. They aren’t chasing soccer scholarship money. There’s far more academic scholarship money available.
A lot to unpack in this reply. But, first and foremost, the 9.9 isn't directly linked to Title IX. It's an NCAA decision -- voted on by its membership -- to set scholarship limits for each program. Anyone could have voted to make that number higher, but no one did because they do not value men's soccer. In fact, there are several programs that are dropping their scholarship allotment due to the recent moves with NCAA.
Not to mention, the amount of DI programs that have been cut within the last 10 years (New Mexico, Valpo, UC, App State. Buffalo). One could claim Title IX, but the ultimate reality is schools see more value in cutting it and boosting other men's programs than they do in keeping it.
And, yes, kids are chasing scholarship money. I know the former UC staffs and have heard all the stories about local families begging for any money to be on the team so they could claim "DI athlete" status -- even if it was $500 for books. It's on the women's side too, clubs pushing Power 4/5 instead of sending the kids to the better situations. Clubs want the feathers in their caps for bragging purposes.
Club soccer, particularly CUP, has had a ton of success sending kids to play at the next level. You all mentioned Parker Grinstead at Ohio State … failed to mentioned his three teammates that also played for CUP … Anthony Samways (just drafted in MLS), Nick McHenry and Tanner Creech. So Ohio State, who was #1 in the country and made it to the final four, had 4 CUP players that all contributed.
Mentioned Parker because he's obviously been one of the most accomplished players from the area within the last 10 years. Samways, yes, from Cincinnati, but also went through the Crew Academy and graduated from New Albany HS.
Nick Haagland - Lakota, CUP, Xavier and now FCC … perhaps you’ve heard of him.
Yes, going with relevance here. I made a random 10-year reference for recent times and Nick doesn't fall within that 10-year timespan.
My point is there’s a ton of soccer talent in this area and they grew up in non MLS environments until FCC. The level of coaching in the Cincinnati club soccer scene has improved immensely for all clubs, not just CUP. The resources and exposure that MLS Next will provide for the players and coaches will only serve to improve the quality of the kids coming out of our area. Soccer in America is still new when compared to the rest of the world, particularly when you consider the academies. And, Cincinnati is fairly late to the academy scene when compared to other major cities.
Why does this claim continue to exist? USSF began in 1913, with national governance truly dating back to 1884. The first "college soccer" match was in 1869 between Princeton and Rutgers. The current English Premier League structure has existed since 1992...a mere two years before MLS was founded. Professional soccer in the US dates clear back to 1894.
Soccer isn't new. It's been failed many times by the administrations/"leadership" and intentional neglect by NFL billionaires.
There’s 35+ kids that all played for CUP and are playing D1. The majority of these kids all did this within the past 5 years. This does not include many of the talented players that had opportunities to play in college but chose just to be a student nor does it include the numerous kids that played D3, which is still an amazing opportunity and accomplishment.
We can go down through the list, but don't really prefer to. As there are some on there that would probably have been better off not going DI and had a better experience at better programs (Air Force and EIU, just to mention a couple of cringeworthy situations).
On another note, I am not one to criticize the situation that MLS Next has put on HS kids in Ohio (and some other states). People will criticize because kids cannot play HS if they choose MLS Next (other groups have done the same, mind you). Those same people do not criticize OHSAA for the exact same restriction on their college ID or club participation opportunities. OHSAA mandates that kids cannot play with other groups during HS season. Why does that get a pass? It shouldn't. Other states do have permissions for HS and club in same season...just go across the river and Kentucky permits it even.
Kids and families should be the ones making the decisions on what is best for their own situations. Not these organizations.
www.wcpo.com
