Since the NCAA Division I Cabinet affirmed the proposal of a segmented season for men’s soccer on Oct. 7, the proposal has been facing lots of opposition during the 30-day rescission period.
Most recently, Executive Director of the Intercollegiate Men’s Lacrosse Coaches Association and Tampa men’s lacrosse head coach J.B. Clarke made a late push to reject the proposal as the rescission period ends Friday at 5 p.m.
Clarke sent out a message to all Division I men’s lacrosse coaches, urging them to reject
the “year-round model” because of “the strain it places on shared athletic resources and facilities.”
“Currently the rescission period is underway … and we need approximately 100 more “NO” votes by Nov. 5 to successfully rescind this proposal,” Clarke said.
Clarke also highlighted “key points to know and pass along to your administrator.” Among these points were a reminder of how to vote, that every DI institution has a vote and a claim that women’s soccer is drafting a similar proposal as well.
Clarke ended his message by encouraging the coaches to speak to their athletic directors and compliance staff about their concerns for the proposed model.
Maryland men’s soccer head coach Sasho Cirovski provided a response to Clarke Wednesday across multiple social media platforms, addressing “several important misconceptions” in Clarke’s message and further advocating for the proposed model.
Cirovski emphasized that the model is not “year-round” but rather an “academic-year redistribution” that decompresses the concentrated fall season while maintaining the current competition limits.
“Calling this a ‘year-round model’ is inaccurate and creates unnecessary concern,” said Cirovski.
Cirovski recognized the aforementioned administrative considerations of faculties and staffing but asked how many institutions “demonstrated that these scheduling changes can be resolved.” Cirovski also highlighted that the proposal is meant to serve student-athletes.
“Throughout this lengthy process, student-athlete support for calendar reform has consistently exceeded 86%,” Cirovski said. “Their voices deserve to be heard and respected.”
Cirovski also clarified that the women’s soccer coaches are developing their own proposal separately and asked Clarke not to speak on their behalf. Cirovski also had a message to the IMLCA as a whole.
“I find it particularly disappointing that one coaches association would organize a campaign to overturn a reform overwhelmingly supported by the student-athletes of another sport,” Cirovski said.
Cirovski expressed his respect for the Maryland men’s lacrosse program and head coach John Tillman, and hoped that the soccer coaching community would support reasonable reforms for lacrosse student-athletes as well if the situation arose.
Cirovski ended his message to Clarke and the IMLCA by asking them to reconsider their position while reminding coaches of their responsibility to student-athletes.
“Our responsibility as coaches and leaders is to advocate for what is best for the young people we serve,” Cirovski said. “That responsibility should transcend the boundaries of our individual sports, while also respecting the distinct positions and processes of each sport’s coaching community.”
