Many of the "BCS" conferences have something the SEC doesn't have: Men's Soccer programs. With the explosion of soccer at the youth level and more colleges adding the sport to their athletic programs (especially Women's soccer), there's no reason that the Southeastern Conference cant have Men's Soccer programs at Varsity status. Three SEC schools already have Men's soccer; Vanderbilt, South Carolina, and Kentucky. All three soccer programs are having to participate in other conferences because the rest of the SEC schools don't have a Men's program.
Yes, I know Title 9 has a lot to do with it, but that shouldn't stop the other SEC schools from adding the sport to their programs. The SEC has the best "American Football" conference in the country. Each school has made millions of dollars the past several years. It is said that football helps fund the "non-revenue" sports. Why couldn't football help fund Men's Soccer as well? The University of Georgia has already several Men's teams it could play within 150 miles of the school, such as Clemson, Furman, and South Carolina. Those three schools are in the top 25 every year.
Adding Men's Soccer programs would also help deserving college students get athletic scholarships as soccer players if they cant play football, basketball or the other sports. It would create more interest in these universities who would otherwise head to the traditional ACC powers or programs in other conferences. SEC schools would have another sport they could compete for a national championship. With the strong high school and club soccer played in cities like Atlanta, Greenville, SC, Birmingham, Nashville, and all of the major Florida cities, the schools could get plenty of talented players. As much as I love SEC Football, I would love even more SEC Men's Futbol (Soccer).
Saturday, April 18, 2009
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