Three more NCAA DI conferences implement changes for 2020 seasons
- by Paul Kennedy @pkedit, Jun 8, 2020
Many of the reductions are related to eliminating travel expenses. Cuts relate to changing regular-season schedules and conference tournament formats as well making conference meetings and media days online events. Those changes affected men's and women’s soccer.
Many other conferences are waiting to see how the 2020 football season is disrupted before they implement cuts to programs that affect their operating budgets and those of their members.
Power 5 conferences
ACC (M/W). No action taken.
Big Ten (M/W). No action taken.
Big-12 (W). No action taken.
Pac-12 (M/W). No action taken.
SEC (W). No action taken.
Group of 5 conferences
American (M/W). No action taken.
Conference USA. No announcement has been made but the Conference USA's championship schedule lists the 2020 men's soccer champion being awarded to the regular-season champion, eliminating the conference tournament. The Charleston Gazette-Mail reported that women's soccer tournament will still take place and consist of eight teams. Regular-season teams will be divided into divisions to reduce the conference schedule to six games.
Mid-American (M/W). Will eliminate conference tournaments in men's soccer and women's soccer.
Mountain West (W). Will eliminate the conference tournament in women's soccer.
Sun Belt (M/W). No action taken.
Other Division I conferences
America East (M/W). No action taken.
Atlantic Sun (M/W). No action taken.
Atlantic 10 (M/W). Will cut the schedules for men's and women's soccer by 25 percent and "regionalize" the schedules. The conference tournaments will now feature the top four teams.
Big East (M/W). Will adopt regional play for the regular season. Men's and women's soccer teams will play each team in their division twice in a double round-robin format. Geographic divisions: Georgetown, Providence, St. John's, Seton Hall, Villanova and returning member Connecticut in the East Division; Butler, Creighton, DePaul, Marquette and Xavier in the Midwest Division. Tournament dates, sites and formats will be announced at a later date.
Big Sky (W). Will stage its usual nine-game regular season for women's soccer but eliminate the conference tournament. (It does not sponsor men's soccer.)
Big South (M/W). Will limit its conference tournament fields for men's and women's soccer to just the top four teams and move the championship games to on-campus sites.
Big West (M/W). No action taken.
CAA (M/W). Will adopt that it terms an "extreme flexibility model" to allow men's soccer and women's soccer teams to reduce expenses associated with regular-season travel. All teams will play at least the minimum number of games required for NCAA Tournament eligibility but teams are flexible in terms of the number of conference opponents they face and how often, if at all, they meet. The format and field size for conference tournaments are still under discussion.
Ivy League (M/W). No action taken.
Horizon (M/W). No action taken.
MAAC (M/W). Will reduce the number of teams qualifying for conference tournaments in men’s and women’s soccer to four teams (from six teams) and hold them at one site with games Thursday/Saturday or Friday/Sunday.
Mid-Eastern. No soccer.
Missouri Valley (M/W). No action taken.
Northeast (M/W). No action taken.
Ohio Valley (W). No action taken.
Patriot (M/W). No action taken.
Southern (M/W). Will reduce the number of teams qualifying for conference tournaments in men’s and women’s soccer to four teams.
Southland (W). Will reduce the number of teams qualifying for conference tournaments its women’s soccer to four teams.
Summit (M/W). Will keep the number of teams qualifying for conference tournaments its men's and women’s soccer at four teams.
SWAC (W). No action taken.
WAC (M/W). No action taken.
WCC (M/W). Will make no changes to men's and women's soccer, which don't hold conference tournaments (regular-season champions earn automatic bids to the NCAA Tournament).
