Sounding Off on Soccer: Talking 21st Century college soccer model proposal with Pitt’s Jay Vidovich

There’s growing momentum, particuarly among Division I college soccer coaches to change the schedule from a Fall season, to a two-semester, Fall and Spring season schedule.

This endeavor has picked up steam again this Spring.

A proposal has made its way to the NCAA Division I Committee, which will vote on the proposal for the change. Among the biggest proponents of this initiative is University of Pittsburgh’s men’s soccer coach Jay Vidovich, who shared his thoughts and his desire to see this change with Pittsburgh Soccer Now.

As they await NCAA verdict, many college soccer coaches are determined to implement 21st Century Model

The NCAA Division I committe has received the proposal, and were set to vote on this in April, but it was tabled for a later meeting , which likely will come in June.

Looking at the larger scope of college athletics, the NCAA’s Transformation Committee has an Aug. 1 deadline to make recommendations on how college sports are structured and governed. Among the issues it is tackling is how to streamline the enforcement process and how to deal with NIL (name, image and likeness) legislation that allows athletes to be paid for the first time.

The end result is expected to be a diminished NCAA in terms of its power over conferences and schools.

This week, Jay Vidovich opened up more about these topics and made his case for the 21st Century College Soccer model proposal, gave his thoughts on the Transfer Portal and how some of his recent players are doing in the professional ranks on Pittsburgh Sports Live.

To further make their case, the coaches have created a website – https://www.21stcenturymodel.org/ – which outlines in detail the rationale for making the change.