What does a longer season mean for Division I soccer?

Morning practice. Class. Afternoon practice. Homework. Travel. Soccer game.

In its 10- to 13-week season, the Gonzaga men's soccer team competes each fall in 16 to 18 matches. But this could soon change.

The NCAA announced on May 13 that the Division I Men's Soccer Oversight Committee opted to expand practices and matches into the spring starting in August 2027.

The D I cabinet will vote on the legislation during its June 23 and 24 meetings.

Chris McGaughey, the head coach of men's soccer at Gonzaga, believes the 10-month season will be approved.

"It's, like, 99% that's gonna pass, from what I'm hearing," he said.

The two-semester model will allow a maximum of 18 matches in the fall from August until Thanksgiving. A maximum of 10 matches will be allowed in the spring before entering postseason championship matches. The timeline of the spring season has yet to be determined, the NCAA news release said.

The longer season will be beneficial, because it will allow players to integrate into campus, form deeper bonds with their team, miss fewer classes and have more recovery time between matches, the release said.

An expanded season offers multiple benefits, McGaughey said.

Although a maximum of 18 games can occur in the fall portion of the season, which is the same as the current model, he said, matches likely would be more spaced out.

McGaughey is looking forward to having more time to develop his players.

"I'm gonna love it just because I have more time on the coaching pitch, on the training pitch. We have a lot more time to work on things," he said.

There is little time to fine-tune mistakes during the season, he said, with two days a week dedicated to games and three days allotted for travel. McGaughey's hope is he'll have more time with players between matches to correct their technique.

A longer season is better for player recovery, he said. Players who are out for two weeks with an injury will miss one or two games as opposed to three or four.

Cade Mitchell, a Spokane resident and previous college player at North Idaho College, said he thinks the 10-month season will give college teams the opportunity to bounce back better when players are injured or in need of recovery time.

"I would think that in professional, you're having more of an option to bring on different players," Mitchell said. "If a core team that you're playing all the time, someone's getting injured, that could affect it quite a bit."

The 10-month season also will mirror the professional soccer season, McGaughey said, and will better prepare players for professional leagues. He's seen players struggle to adjust to the pros.

"They're not used to a 10-month season; they're used to a three-month season," he said. "So, their bodies can't cope."

Joe Shields, a Spokane soccer fan, said he agrees the rule changes will help NCAA players become better prepared for professional seasons. Shields, 20, played soccer from the time he was 3 to 18, and he still follows the sport locally and nationally.

He said he thinks many of the rules in the NCAA are still somewhat behind. He referenced rolling substitutions, which happen in college but aren't done in the pros. Shields also said he finds it odd that stoppage time isn't done in college either.

"I think there's a lot of things still to catch up in that space," Shields said.

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