CSC Soccer Study Gets Wider Notice

It’s been a good day for the College Sports Council and our study on disparities in Division I soccer. Earlier today, Charlotte Allen of the Independent Women’s Forum wrote a piece based on our study entitled, “Why U.S. Men’s Soccer Will Decline.” Here’s an excerpt:

The effect of the proportionality rule on opportunities for young men to play college soccer has been devastating, the CSC figures and graphs show. In 1996 there were 197 men’s soccer teams in Division I and about 190 women’s teams. In 2009 there were still 197 men’s teams—even though the NCAA had added 27 new member schools—but the number of women’s teams had soared to 310. Some 93 percent of Division I athletic programs offer women’s soccer, compared with only 59 percent of Division I programs offering men’s soccer.

Compounding the problem are the NCAA’s scholarship policies. NCAA rules limit Division I men’s teams to 9.9 scholarships, while women’s teams are allowed 14 scholarships. “when considered across all of Division I, that means that the maximum number of possible scholarships offered to women in the sport in Division I outnumber those available to men by a ratio of greater than 2-1 (4,340 to 1,950.e).”

The growing disparity between men’s and women’s opportunities to play college soccer doesn’t reflect men’s declining interest in the sport—far from it. According to data cited by the CSC from the National Federation of State High School Associations, nearly 384,000 boys and 345,000 girls played soccer at the nation’s high schools during the 2008-2009 academic year.

Thanks to Charlotte for taking notice of our study and its implications. After that, Glenn Reynolds, the Instapundit, also linked to Charlotte’s piece, meaning that the study will now be exposed to an even wider audience. If you’ve stumbled upon our blog thanks to those links, welcome. Please feel free to take a look around here at our blog, as well as over at our main site. And don’t forget you can follow us on our Twitter feed or Facebook.