In Defense of College Soccer

First and foremost, congratulations to the University of North Carolina and The University of Vermont on winning the 2024 National Championship in Women's and Men's Soccer respectively. One of many for the Heels and Vermont's first, incredible on both sides. With the end of the 2024 college season now in the books I would like to share a piece, that I have been working on all year and where I see the game headed.   I can see the professional clubs and coaches around the world eyes roll in the back of their head when they see this title. I plead with you, hear me out. Are there things I completely disagree with when it comes to college soccer? Yes, I do, I think many of us do. I believe it is incomplete in its current form. However, people seem to forget that the bones of college soccer remain firmly intact. NCAA Soccer is the oldest versions of professional soccer that this country possesses.    I don't use that term professional lightly. Financial compensation in the form of athletic scholarships have been given to talented young soccer players since 1959 for males and 1982 for females, 83 and 42 years of memories for countless former and current collegiate soccer players. In any professional sport one of the most important factors of success is history. The longer a team has been around the more of a built in fanbase and support they tend to possess. These programs have alumni who played and care about the team's success, as well as local fans who grew up watching them play. It has immense potential.   The biggest problem that Collegiate soccer faces in the current climate is the schedule. It's a lot of games in a short period of time. Starting in late August most teams are done in Early November. If you are fortunate to go all the way like Marshall and UNC you are done in December. The Spring Schedule is meaningless teams play a maximum of 6 friendlies and they have limited hours of practice time. There is a need for more meaningful games at schools.   There are simple solutions to this problem. By extending the season into two separate parts that resembles a more traditional professional schedule with leagues and tiers that have promotion/relegation while maintaining conference alignment is the most progressive way forward.   My proposal consists of the first part of the season be from late August to early December and will consist of regional leagues across the NCAA Divisions I-III. With roughly 12 teams per league where everyone plays each other home and away with 22 games maximum total. So, in California on the Women's side for example: Stanford, USD, USC, UCLA, Pepperdine San Diego St., Cal Berkeley, Santa Clara, Cal Poly SLO, St. Mary's, USF, and LMU could make a proposed NCAA California Premier League. The next 12 programs would make up the 2nd tier of competition called the NCAA California Championship. You make equivalent leagues all the way down the NCAA ladder. You do this in states/regions across the country. Crowning a champion in every region. Two teams go up and two teams go down in each league at the end of every season. This would be followed by a 6-8 week winter break in December and January.    With the second part of the season starting in late January to Early May . This is when teams would compete in their respective conferences (ACC, SEC, BIG10 etc.). Where the season looks like what it does now only now it's in the Winter/Spring. NCAA national rankings remain intact for both seasons. With NCAA Postseason taking place in May and June.    Another problem, that I have expressed in previous literature is that 4-year eligibility should be re-examined, and I will stress it again. Coaches are forced to get rid of players when most of them are entering their prime physical condition. On the contrary, players get cut off from continuing their career and a chance for a discounted or free further education. And with name, image and likeness (NIL) opportunities on the rise 4-year eligibility makes no sense across NCAA Sports and needs to be changed. If, the athlete is pursuing higher education or NIL dollars and is good enough to compete he/she should be able to.    I am calling on US Soccer to make NCAA Collegiate Soccer a part of the Professional/Semi-Professional US Soccer Pyramid. On the Men's side for example, I believe that some collegiate teams could qualify as high as tier 2 clubs. Wich is currently, the USL Championship. enables collegiate sides with the ability to compete in the US Open Cup.    Firstly, there needs to be a US Open Cup equivalent in the Women's game. Why don't we? With the NWSL, USL Super League, and the entire NCAA Landscape there would be so much interest, and fandom behind a tournament like this with different layers of qualifying taking place.    On the Men's side The US Open Cup took a huge blow losing most MLS franchises refusing to compete in 2024. Allowing Collegiate teams to participate could be the kick start to a huge expansion opportunity. My proposal would be great for both parties bringing together two of the oldest soccer competitions in the USA to collaborate.    My financial argument to support this claim is the Stanford Men's Soccer Program. Whom in Jeremy Gunn have a Manager/Coach who would be the highest paid among his Tier 2 colleagues in the USL Championship and controls a budget that would compete with the top teams in the USL Championship if not exceed it. With the new 28-man roster rules and no restriction on scholarships coaches can now offer up to $2m in scholarships plus whatever NIL budget they are given. The salary cap in the USL Championship in 2024 was $2.1m and many teams don't come close to meeting it. A college such as Stanford is a Tier 2 professional club and should be recognized as one by US Soccer and they are not alone.    I would guess there are 15-20 other collegiate programs who could qualify for Tier 2 status around the country. Most Division I collegiate programs would qualify for Tier 3 and a handful of Division II programs. The rest would be Tier 4.    As a fan and product of the college game I want it to succeed, and I believe it has endless potential if set-up differently. A longer season, 3 sleeps between games, US Open Cup, local rivalries, regional promotion/relegation, and the ability for players to play for as long as it makes sense would be a monumental start in achieving a better product.    Here are some examples across the country of what it could look like in the Women's game. Two teams go up and two go down in each league. You can do a similar thing in the men's game.   California/Hawaii Region:   Premier League:   1.     Stanford   2.     Cal Berkeley   3.     UCLA   4.     USC   5.     UCSB   6.     Cal Poly SLO   7.     Santa Clara   8.     St Mary's   9.     LMU   10.  San Diego St   11.  UCSD   12.  Pepperdine   Championship:   1.     UC Irvine   2.     UC Riverside   3.     USF   4.     USD   5.     UC Davis   6.     Sac. St.   7.     University of Pacific   8.     Fresno St   9.     CSU Bakersfield   10.  San Jose St   11.  CSU Fullerton   12.  Long Beach St.   League 1:   1.     Hawaii University   2.     CSU Northridge   3.     Cal Baptist   4.     CSU Monterrey Bay   5.     SF State   6.     Cal State LA   7.     CSU Pomona   8.     CSU San Marcos   9.     Chico St.   10.  CSU Dominguez Hill   11.  Fresno Pacific   12.  Sonoma St.   League 2:   1.     Dominican University   2.     Academy of Art   3.     CSU East Bay   4.     Hawaii Pacific   5.     Cal State Stanislaus    6.     Point Loma Nazerene   7.     CSU San Bernadino   8.     Azusa Pacific   9.     Chaminade Hawaii   10.  Cal Lutheran   11.  Concordia   12.  Hawaii Hilo   League 3:   1.     Biola U   2.     UC Santa Cruz   3.     Chapman U   4.     University of the Redlands   5.     Pomona College   6.     La Verne   7.     Whitter College   8.     Cal Lutheran   9.     Occidental College   10.  CIT   11.  Mills College   Pacific Northwest Region:   I figured that Humboldt St which is on the Northern tip of California and would be better off in this region. As well as Montana University on the eastern tip of Montana.   Premier League:   1.     Oregon St   2.     Oregon   3.     Washington   4.     Washington St   5.     Gonzaga   6.     Boise St   7.     Portland U   8.     Seattle U   9.     Portland St   10.  Eastern Washington   11.  Montana U   Championship:   1.     University of Idaho   2.      Idaho St.   3.     Humboldt St   4.     Western Oregon U   5.     Saint Martins   6.     Seattle Pacific   7.     Western Washington   8.     Central Washington   9.     Northeast Nazarene     League 1:   1.     Willamette   2.     George Fox U   3.     Pacific U Oregon   4.     Puget Sound   5.     Pacific Lutheran   6.     Whitman U   7.     Whitworth   8.     Linfield   9.     Lewis and Clark   Nevada-Arizona-Utah-New Mexico-Wyoming Region:   Premier League:    <ol start="1" class="wp-block-list"> <li>University of Nevada </li>   <li>UNLV </li>   <li>Buffs </li>   <li>University of Denver </li>   <li>Arizona </li>   <li>Arizona St </li>   <li>Utah St </li>   <li>BYU </li>   <li>Utah </li>   <li>Air Force </li>   <li>U of New Mexico </li>   <li>Colorado St. </li> </ol>   Championship:    <ol start="1" class="wp-block-list"> <li>Colorado College </li>   <li>Utah Tech </li>   <li>Weber St </li>   <li>Wyoming </li>   <li>New Mexico Highlands </li>   <li>Eastern New Mexico </li>   <li>Utah Valley </li>   <li>Northern Arizona U </li>   <li>Grand Canyon U </li>   <li>New Mexico St </li>   <li>U of Northern Colorado </li>   <li>Southern Utah U </li> </ol>   League 1:    <ol start="1" class="wp-block-list"> <li>Westminster </li>   <li>Colorado Mesa </li>   <li>Fort Lewis </li>   <li>Western Colorado </li>   <li>Adams St </li>   <li>Colorado St Pueblo </li>   <li>Colorado Springs </li>   <li>School of Mines </li>   <li>Colorado Christian </li>   <li>Regis U </li>   <li>Metro St </li>   <li>Montana St </li> </ol>   Texas Region:   Premier League:    <ol start="1" class="wp-block-list"> <li>Hook 'em </li>   <li>Baylor</li>   <li>SMU </li>   <li>Texas A&M</li>   <li>Houston University</li>   <li>TCU </li>   <li>Texas Tech </li>   <li>Rice</li>   <li>Texas State</li>   <li>University Texas SA </li>   <li>Stephen F Austin</li>   <li>University of North Texas </li> </ol>   Championship:    <ol start="1" class="wp-block-list"> <li>El Paso</li>   <li>Abilene Christian </li>   <li>Tarleton State </li>   <li>Incarnate Ward </li>   <li>Texas A&M Corpus C </li>   <li>University of Texas RGV </li>   <li>Houston Christian </li>   <li>Texas Southern</li>   <li>Lamar University </li>   <li>Sam Houston St.</li> </ol>   League 1:    <ol start="1" class="wp-block-list"> <li>Sam Houston St</li>   <li>West Texas A&M</li>   <li>Lubbock Christian </li>   <li>University of Texas Permian </li>   <li>Angelo St </li>   <li>St Edwards </li>   <li>Univ. of Texas Tyler. </li>   <li>Dallas Baptist </li>   <li>Arlington Baptist </li>   <li>Texas Women's University </li>   <li>Midwestern St </li>   <li>Trinity </li> </ol>   League 2:    <ol start="1" class="wp-block-list"> <li>Austin College</li>   <li>Texas A&M International </li>   <li>Austin College UT Dallas </li>   <li>U Dallas </li>   <li>Letormeous </li>   <li>U East Texas Baptist </li>   <li>V of St-Thomas Texas </li>   <li>Southwestern </li> </ol>   League 4:    <ol start="1" class="wp-block-list"> <li>Concordia </li>   <li>Texas Lutheran </li>   <li>Midwestern St. </li>   <li>Shreiner </li>   <li>Howard Payne</li>   <li>Mcmurry St </li>   <li>Hardin Simmons </li>   <li>Sullross st </li> </ol>   Oklahoma-Arkansas-Missouri-Kansas Region   Premier League:   <ol class="wp-block-list"> <li>Uniersity of Arkansas </li>   <li>Oklahoma </li>   <li>Oklahoma St. </li>   <li>Tulsa </li>   <li>Oral Roberts </li>   <li>St Louis U</li>   <li>Arkansas St</li>   <li>Pine Bluff</li>   <li>Kansas </li>   <li>Kansas St</li>   <li>Mizzou</li> </ol>   Championship:    <ol class="wp-block-list"> <li>Central Arkansas </li>   <li>Southern Methodist</li>   <li>Lindenwood </li>   <li>Missouri St </li>   <li>Univ of Missouri-KC  </li>   <li>Harding University </li>   <li>Newman University </li>   <li>Ovachita Baptist U </li>   <li>Fort Hays U</li>   <li>Emporia St University</li>   <li>Washburn University</li>   <li>Pittsburg State </li> </ol>   League 1:    <ol class="wp-block-list"> <li>Northwestern Oklahoma St </li>   <li>Southwestern OSU </li>   <li>Southern Nazarene </li>   <li>University of Central Ok</li>   <li>Oklahoma Christian </li>   <li>Okl Baptist </li>   <li>East Central U </li>   <li>Mossouri Southern U </li>   <li>Drury U </li>   <li>Southwest Baptist</li> </ol>   League 2:    <ol class="wp-block-list"> <li>University of Miss. </li>   <li>Maryville U </li>   <li>U Central Missouri </li>   <li>Rockhurst </li>   <li>William Jewel </li>   <li>Missouri Western </li>   <li>Northwest Miss St </li>   <li>Truman State </li>   <li>Missouri S&t</li>   <li>Lincoln U </li> </ol>   League 3   <ol class="wp-block-list"> <li>Manhattan Christian College </li>   <li>University of Ozarks </li>   <li>Hendrix College </li>   <li>Lyon College </li>   <li>Webster U </li>   <li>Washington St L </li>   <li>Westminster </li>   <li>Mission U </li> </ol>   Nebraska-North Dakota-South Dakota-Iowa-Minnesota   Premier League:    <ol class="wp-block-list"> <li>Creighton </li>   <li>Nebraska </li>   <li>University of Neb. Omaha </li>   <li>South Dakota St </li>   <li>U of South Dakota </li>   <li>Drake </li>   <li>Iowa U </li>   <li>Iowa St.</li>   <li>Twin Cities. St Thomas </li>   <li>NDU</li>   <li>ND State </li> </ol>   Championship    <ol class="wp-block-list"> <li>Northern Iowa U </li>   <li>Minot State </li>   <li>U Mary </li>   <li>Black hill State </li>   <li>Northern State U </li>   <li>U Sioux Fall </li>   <li>Nebraska Kearney </li>   <li>Wayne State </li>   <li>Upper Iowa U </li>   <li>Southwest Minn State </li>   <li>Minn State Moorhead </li>   <li>U Minn Crookstown </li> </ol>   League 1:    <ol class="wp-block-list"> <li>Bemidji St</li>   <li>St Cloud State </li>   <li>Concordia </li>   <li>Winona St </li>   <li>St Marys Minn </li>   <li>Carleton </li>   <li>St Olaf College </li>   <li>St Catherine U </li>   <li>Macalester </li>   <li>Hamline</li> </ol>   League 2:    <ol class="wp-block-list"> <li>Northwestern St. Paul </li>   <li>Bethel U </li>   <li>Crown College </li>   <li>Gustaus Adolphus </li>   <li>Bethany Lutheran </li>   <li>Martin Luther College </li>   <li>Minnesota Morris </li>   <li>Saint Benedict </li>   <li>St Scholastics </li>   <li>Nebraska Wesleyan </li> </ol>   League 3:    <ol class="wp-block-list"> <li>Luther College </li>   <li>Buena Vista </li>   <li>Wartburg </li>   <li>Dubuque</li>   <li>Loras </li>   <li>Coe College </li>   <li>Cornell College </li>   <li>Grinnell College </li>   <li>Central College </li>   <li>Simpson College </li> </ol>   Wisconsin-Michigan-Illinois-Indiana-Ohio    Premier League:    <ol class="wp-block-list"> <li>Northwestern </li>   <li>Wisconsin </li>   <li>Marquette </li>   <li>Michigan St </li>   <li>Michigan </li>   <li>Purdue </li>   <li>Notre Dame </li>   <li>Ohio St</li>   <li>Xavier </li>   <li>Cincy</li> </ol>   Championship:    <ol class="wp-block-list"> <li>Wisconsin Milwaukee </li>   <li>Indiana Bloom </li>   <li>Illinois St </li>   <li>Loyola Chicago </li>   <li>Indiana State </li>   <li>Northern Illinois </li>   <li>DePaul </li>   <li>Akron </li>   <li>Dayton </li>   <li>Kent St </li>   <li>Western Michigan </li>   <li>Youngstown St </li> </ol>   League 1:    <ol class="wp-block-list"> <li>Central Michigan U </li>   <li>Oakland U </li>   <li>Detroit </li>   <li>Eastern Michigan </li>   <li>Evansville </li>   <li>Southern Indiana U </li>   <li>Valpo </li>   <li>Ball St </li>   <li>U of Illinois </li>   <li>Miami</li>   <li>Chicago St </li>   <li>U of Ill. Chicago </li> </ol>   League 2:    <ol class="wp-block-list"> <li>Wright St </li>   <li>Bowling Green </li>   <li>U Toledo </li>   <li>Cleveland St </li>   <li>University of Wisc Green Bay </li>   <li>Western Ill </li>   <li>Southern Ill Carbondale </li>   <li>Quincy U </li>   <li>Mckendree </li>   <li>U of Ill Springfield </li> </ol>   League 3:    <ol class="wp-block-list"> <li>Michigan Tech </li>   <li>Northern Michigan U </li>   <li>Grand Valley St </li>   <li>Davenport U </li>   <li>Ferris St </li>   <li>Northwood U </li>   <li>Parkside</li>   <li>Saginaw Valley St. </li>   <li>U of Ind</li>   <li>Findlay </li> </ol>    League 4: 1.     Tiffin U 2.     Lewis3.     Cedarville 4.     Ohio Dom 5.     Ashland 6.     Ursuline 7.     Lake Erie College8.     Walsh College 9.     Malone U  Louisiana-Mississippi-Alabama Premier League: 1.     NILSU 2.     Miss. St 3.     Ole Miss 4.     Roll Tide 5.     War Eagle 6.     Nicholls State 7.     U of L Lafayette 8.     Mcneese St 9.     Troy 10.  Alabama-Birmingham Championship: 1.     U of L Monroe 2.     Northwestern St 3.     Southern U A&M4.     Southeastern Louisana 5.     Alcorn St 6.     U of Southern Miss 7.     Jackson St8.     The University of Jerry Rice 9.     U North Alabama 10.  Jacksonville St 11.  Alabama St  League 1: 1.     Lou Tech 2.     Auburn Montgomery 3.     Montevello 4.     Alabama Huntsville 5.     West Alabama 6.     Miss College 7.     Delta State 8.     Centenary College 9.     Millsaps College 10.  Huntingdon College 11.  Birmingham Southern College  Florida Georgia Line Region:    League 4:    <ol class="wp-block-list"> <li>Tiffin U </li>   <li>Lewis</li>   <li>Cedarville </li>   <li>Ohio Dom </li>   <li>Ashland </li>   <li>Ursuline </li>   <li>Lake Erie College</li>   <li>Walsh College </li>   <li>Malone U </li> </ol>   Louisiana-Mississippi-Alabama   Premier League:    <ol class="wp-block-list"> <li>NILSU </li>   <li>Miss. St </li>   <li>Ole Miss </li>   <li>Roll Tide </li>   <li>War Eagle </li>   <li>Nicholls State </li>   <li>U of L Lafayette </li>   <li>Mcneese St </li>   <li>Troy </li>   <li>Alabama-Birmingham</li> </ol>   Championship:    <ol class="wp-block-list"> <li>U of L Monroe </li>   <li>Northwestern St </li>   <li>Southern U A&M</li>   <li>Southeastern Louisana </li>   <li>Alcorn St </li>   <li>U of Southern Miss </li>   <li>Jackson St</li>   <li>The University of Jerry Rice </li>   <li>U North Alabama </li>   <li>Jacksonville St </li>   <li>Alabama St </li> </ol>   League 1:    <ol class="wp-block-list"> <li>Lou Tech </li>   <li>Auburn Montgomery </li>   <li>Montevello </li>   <li>Alabama Huntsville </li>   <li>West Alabama </li>   <li>Miss College </li>   <li>Delta State </li>   <li>Centenary College </li>   <li>Millsaps College </li>   <li>Huntingdon College </li>   <li>Birmingham Southern College </li> </ol>   Florida Georgia Line Region:    Premier League:   <ol class="wp-block-list"> <li>Noles </li>   <li>Gators </li>   <li>The U </li>   <li>Dawgs </li>   <li>USF </li>   <li>UCF </li>   <li>FAU </li>   <li>FIU</li>   <li>Mercer </li>   <li>Georgia St </li>   <li>Jacksonville U </li>   <li>FGCU</li> </ol>   Championship:    <ol class="wp-block-list"> <li>University of North Florida </li>   <li>Stetson </li>   <li>Albany St </li>   <li>Georgia Southern</li>   <li>Georgia Southwestern </li>   <li>Valdosta St </li>   <li>Columbus St </li>   <li>West Florida Edward Water </li>   <li>Flagler College </li>   <li>Embry-Riddle</li>   <li>Rollins College </li>   <li>Columbus St </li> </ol>   League 1:    <ol class="wp-block-list"> <li>Georgia College U </li>   <li>Clayton St </li>   <li>U of West Georgia </li>   <li>Shorter U </li>   <li>Young Harris </li>   <li>U of North Georgia </li>   <li>Emannuel U </li>   <li>Saint Leo </li>   <li>Florida Southern </li>   <li>U of Tampa </li>   <li>Eckerd College</li>   <li>Palm Beach Atlantic </li> </ol>   League 2:    <ol class="wp-block-list"> <li>Lynn U </li>   <li>Nova Southeastern </li>   <li>Barry U </li>   <li>Covenant </li>   <li>Berry College </li>   <li>Piedmont U </li>   <li>Legranse College </li>   <li>Wesleyan </li>   <li>Agnes Scott College </li>   <li>Emory U </li>   <li>Oglethorp</li> </ol>   Tennessee-Kentucky Region     Premier League:    <ol class="wp-block-list"> <li>Volunteers </li>   <li>Kentucky </li>   <li>Memphis </li>   <li>Louisville </li>   <li>Vanderbilt </li>   <li>Belmont </li>   <li>Lipscomb </li>   <li>Chattanooga </li>   <li>Eastern Kentucky </li>   <li>Middle Tennessee </li>   <li>Bellarmine</li> </ol>   Championship:    <ol class="wp-block-list"> <li>Tenn Martin </li>   <li>Tenn Tech </li>   <li>East Tenn </li>   <li>WKU </li>   <li>Morehead St </li>   <li>Tusculum U </li>   <li>Carson-Newman </li>   <li>Lee U </li>   <li>Trevesca Nazarene U </li>   <li>Union U </li>   <li>Christian Brothers </li> </ol>   League 1:    <ol class="wp-block-list"> <li>Thomas More</li>   <li>Transylvania U </li>   <li>Centre College </li>   <li>Asbury U </li>   <li>Beren College </li>   <li>Maryville College </li>   <li>Covenant College </li>   <li>Sewanee </li>   <li>Rhodes 10. Kentucky Wesleyan </li> </ol>   Carolinas   Premier League:    <ol class="wp-block-list"> <li>Tar Heels </li>   <li>Duke </li>   <li>Wake Forest </li>   <li>Clemson </li>   <li>NC State </li>   <li>Gamecocks </li>   <li>UNC Charlotte </li>   <li>Steph Curry U </li>   <li>Eastern Carolina </li>   <li>UNC Greensboro </li>   <li>C of Charleston </li>   <li>Citadel</li> </ol>   Championship:    <ol class="wp-block-list"> <li>Coastal Carolina </li>   <li>Charelston Southern </li>   <li>UNC Wilmington </li>   <li>Campbell U </li>   <li>Elon </li>   <li>High Point </li>   <li>Wester Carolina</li>   <li>UNC Asheville </li>   <li>App State </li>   <li>Presbyterian</li>   <li>Wofford</li>   <li>Furman</li> </ol>   League 1:    <ol class="wp-block-list"> <li>U of SC Upstate</li>   <li>USCB </li>   <li>USC Riken </li>   <li>Francis Marion </li>   <li>Coker U </li>   <li>UNC Pembroke </li>   <li>Allen U </li>   <li>Newberry College </li>   <li>Eskine College </li>   <li>Lander U </li>   <li>Anderson U </li>   <li>Southern Wesleyan </li> </ol>   League 2:    <ol class="wp-block-list"> <li>North-Greenville </li>   <li>Converse U </li>   <li>Limestone College </li>   <li>Young Harris College </li>   <li>Mars Hill U </li>   <li>Lees-Mcrae </li>   <li>Lenoir-Rhyme </li>   <li>Catawba College </li>   <li>Belmont Abbey College </li>   <li>Wingate U </li>   <li>Shaw U </li>   <li>Barton College </li> </ol>   League 3:    <ol class="wp-block-list"> <li>Chowan College </li>   <li>Mount Olive </li>   <li>North Carolina Wesleyan </li>   <li>Methodist </li>   <li>William Peace </li>   <li>Meredith College </li>   <li>Greensboro College </li>   <li>Guilford College </li>   <li>Salem College </li>   <li>Pfeiffer U </li>   <li>Warren Wilson </li>   <li>Brevard College </li> </ol>   Virginia's Region:   Premier League:    <ol class="wp-block-list"> <li>WVU </li>   <li>UVA </li>   <li>Virginia Tech </li>   <li>George Mason </li>   <li>Marshall </li>   <li>Old Dominion</li>   <li> Hampton U</li>   <li>VCU </li>   <li>U of Richmond </li>   <li>James Madison U</li>   <li>Liberty</li>   <li>William & Mary </li> </ol>   Championship:    <ol class="wp-block-list"> <li>Longwood </li>   <li>Radford </li>   <li>Virigina Military Ins. </li>   <li>Kung U </li>   <li>Emory & Henry College </li>   <li>Chowan U </li>   <li>Virginia St </li>   <li>Bluefield St </li>   <li>Convord U </li>   <li>West Virginia St </li>   <li>Glenville St </li>   <li>U of Charleston </li> </ol>   League 1:    <ol class="wp-block-list"> <li>Salem U </li>   <li>Fairmont St U </li>   <li>Shenandoah U </li>   <li>Bridgewater College</li>   <li>Eastern Mennonite U </li>   <li>Mary Baldwin U </li>   <li>Southern Virginia </li>   <li>Washington/Lee U </li>   <li>Hollins U </li>   <li>Alderson Broaddus </li>   <li>Davis/Elkins College </li> </ol>   League 2:    <ol class="wp-block-list"> <li>Ferrum College </li>   <li>Averett U </li>   <li>Lynchburg U </li>   <li>Randolph College </li>   <li>Sweet Briar College </li>   <li>U of Mary Wash </li>   <li>Randolph Macon College </li>   <li>Christopher Newport </li>   <li>Virginia Wesleyan U </li>   <li>Roanoke College </li> </ol>   New England Region:    Premier League:    <ol class="wp-block-list"> <li>Maine </li>   <li>Vermont </li>   <li>Dartmouth </li>   <li>New Hampshire </li>   <li>Harvard </li>   <li>Boston College </li>   <li>Boston U </li>   <li>Northeastern </li>   <li>UMASS</li>   <li>Holy Cross </li>   <li>Merrimack</li> </ol>   Championship:    <ol class="wp-block-list"> <li>UMASS Lowell </li>   <li>Stonehill College </li>   <li>MIT</li>   <li>Tufts</li>   <li>Bates</li>   <li>Middlebury College </li>   <li>Saint Anselm </li>   <li>AIC </li>   <li>Assumption U </li>   <li>Bentley U </li>   <li>U of M Presque</li>   <li>Williams College </li> </ol>   League 1:    <ol class="wp-block-list"> <li>Husson U </li>   <li>Mine Maritime Academy </li>   <li>Thomas College </li>   <li>Colby College </li>   <li>Farmington </li>   <li>Bowdoin College </li>   <li>Saint Josephs </li>   <li>Southern Maine </li>   <li>UNE </li>   <li>Northern Vermont U </li>   <li>Northern Vermont Lynda </li>   <li>Westfield St</li> </ol>   League 2:    <ol class="wp-block-list"> <li>St Michaels </li>   <li>Norwich U </li>   <li>Vermont St Castleton </li>   <li>Plymouth St </li>   <li>Colby-Sawyer </li>   <li>New England College </li>   <li>Keene St </li>   <li>Rivier U </li>   <li>Gordon College </li>   <li>Salem St. </li>   <li>Lesley U </li>   <li>Smith College</li> </ol>   League 3:   <ol class="wp-block-list"> <li>Suffolk </li>   <li>Emerson </li>   <li>UMASS Boston </li>   <li>Wentworth</li>   <li>Emmanuel College </li>   <li>Brandeis U </li>   <li>Lasell U </li>   <li>Babason </li>   <li>Wellesley College</li>   <li>Framingham St </li>   <li>Regis College </li>   <li>Mass College of Liberal Arts  </li> </ol>   League 4:    <ol class="wp-block-list"> <li>Curry College </li>   <li>Mass Maritime</li>   <li>Bridgewater St </li>   <li>Wheaton College </li>   <li>Dean College Clark U </li>   <li>Worcester St </li>   <li>Anna Maria College </li>   <li>Nichols St </li>   <li>Amherst College </li>   <li>Western New England U</li>   <li>Springfield College </li> </ol>

First and foremost, congratulations to the University of North Carolina and The University of Vermont on winning the 2024 National Championship in Women's and Men's Soccer respectively. One of many for the Heels and Vermont's first, incredible on both sides. With the end of the 2024 college season now in the books I would like to share a piece, that I have been working on all year and where I see the game headed.