NCAA approves proposal for segmented schedule, adjusted transfer portal for men’s soccer. Sasho Cirovski championed this move for years

It was 2 p.m. on Oct. 7 when Maryland men’s soccer head coach Sasho Cirovski got the news, leading to “a moment of joy” he’s “rarely ever experienced” in his office.

Following 14 years of hard work and dedication, his proposed year-round model for the NCAA men’s soccer schedule was no longer just a dream.

Earlier this month, the NCAA’s Division I Cabinet affirmed the proposal of shifting the season in men’s soccer to a year-round model beginning in the 2027-28 academic year. The new model includes two competitive timelines in the fall and spring seasons, with championships occurring in the spring.

The fall segment will begin in late August and last until the Saturday before Thanksgiving, while the spring segment will begin in mid-February, according to the official NCAA page. There will still be a maximum of 25 games in the regular season, with 18 available games in the fall.

Currently, the season occurs during a 10-13 week fall window with the College Cup concluding in December.

Along with these changes will come an adjustment to the notification-of-transfer process. Instead of the current transfer portal with 45 days split into two windows, there will be a single 15-day window in the spring that opens after the Division I Men’s Soccer Championship.

Cirovski emphasized that the purpose of these changes was to put the benefits of student-athletes at the forefront.

“All of this is done with the purpose of making this better for the student-athletes playing the game and for the growth of men’s college soccer,” Cirovski said. “That’s what I really want people to understand.”

Cirovski introduced the proposal to coaches in 2014 and it was further discussed at the 2015 NCA Soccer Summit. After the Power Five conferences in Division I grew more autonomy with more weighted votes, the proposal targeted the Power Five schools.

Between late 2017 and early 2018, a proposal was on the table and it had enough votes to pass in the spring of 2020. The vote was to be held in May.

Then, the COVID-19 pandemic arrived, shutting down men’s soccer on March 7th.

Other roadblocks such as conference realignment and the introduction of NIL came, shaking the landscape of college sports and putting the proposal on hold.

“We were kind of told that right now new legislation is not a priority,” Cirovski said. “Especially legislation for a sport as insignificant as men’s soccer.”

Cirovski and his partners would not give up on their ambitions. When college sports had returned to some sort of normalcy, the NCAA brought back oversight committees for all sports. The men’s soccer committee was formed, with the schedule changes as the first order of business.

Cirovski showed appreciation for North Carolina head coach Carlos Somoanao and Northwestern head coach Russell Payne for their work on the committee, along with support from U.S. Soccer CEO JT Batson.

Batson expressed immediate support for the proposal, ultimately creating the Next Gen Committee. It featured athletic directors from different levels and locations in the country, former big-name soccer players and other stakeholders.

One of the biggest positives with the changes is the ability for coaches to keep their team intact for an entire season. Cirovski cited the issues of players graduating, going to professional teams or transferring in the middle of the year, leading to smaller spring rosters.

Now with the transfer portal being at the end of the split-season, teams will have a full team for the entirety of the season. It also gives more opportunities for competitive training sessions with proper rest periods, leading to a better product on the field by the end of the spring segment.

Having the College Cup moved from December to May will increase the quality of the soccer being played and fan attendance. December subjects players to poor weather conditions that seriously affect the game and hamper the on-field product.

“I’ve played enough quarterfinals and final fours where … the field is so frozen you can’t feel your feet,” Cirovski said. “Players don’t even want to go in because they’re frozen on the sidelines.”

In addition to the improved weather, the new schedule lines up the College Cup with the MLS playoffs and end of the Premier League season, adding to the high-quality soccer during that time. The split schedule also offers the unique opportunity for student-athletes to have their summer, as opposed to other sports that hold their athletes all summer.

By not having their first game until the second week of September, student-athletes will be able to rest after the season ends in May and even pursue jobs and internships in the meantime.

Cirovski is also expecting an influx of top domestic talent entering college soccer as the schedule lines up with the MLS. International scouts may also be more prevalent as many of the players will be free agents.

“I think we’re going to get a lot of the top young talent to come to college again,” Cirovski said. “I think the game is going to look a lot better.”

The proposal was passed in May, but it had to wait until October to be affirmed. The final step is the next three weeks of the rescission process in which any eligible Division I schools can vote to defeat the proposal.

The biggest pushback the proposal has received is its potential to lead other sports to advocate for a similar model, Cirovski said. He stated that people struggle with change and the NCAA is built on a stationary system that is built to benefit those within it.

“Having any school stand up and oppose this tells me only one thing,” Cirovski said. “They want to do what’s best for their school and not what’s best for their student-athletes and the game of soccer.”

Until then, the No. 14-ranked Terps still have a final season left to play in the original scheduling format. They face an uphill battle as they fight to hold on to their sixth-place spot in the Big Ten tournament through the final five games of the regular season.

The Terps wouldn’t mind a final winter run on frozen feet for the chance to ice Maryland’s fifth national championship.