2023 NCAA Division I men's soccer season
The 2023 NCAA Division I men's soccer season will be the 65th season of NCAA championship men's college soccer. The season will begin in August 2023 and conclude in December 2023. Syracuse are the defending national champions.
| 2023 NCAA Division I men's soccer season | |
|---|---|
| Duration | August to December 2023 |
| Number of teams | 211 |
| Preseason No. 1 | Clemson |
| Statistics | |
| Tournament | |
| Duration | November to December 2023 |
| Men's College Cup | |
| Site | WakeMed Soccer Park Cary, NC |
| Seasons | |
← 2022 2024 → | |
Changes from 2022
Coaching changes
The following coaching changes occurred during the 2022–23 offseason.[1]
| Program | Outgoing coach | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Incoming coach | Date of appointment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cal Poly | Steve Sampson | Retired | October 18, 2022 | Oige Kennedy | December 9, 2022 |
| Temple | Brian Rowland | Fired | November 11, 2022 | Bryan Green | December 22, 2022 |
| Rider | Charlie Inverso | Retired | November 12, 2022 | Chad Duernberger | January 3, 2023 |
| Jacksonville | Mauricio Ruiz | Resigned | November 2, 2022 | Ali Simmons | December 19, 2022 |
| Georgia Southern | John Murphy | Resigned | November 4, 2022 | Lee Squires | December 14, 2022 |
| Bryant | Seamus Purcell | Retired | November 14, 2022 | Ruben Resendes | December 7, 2022 |
| Gardner–Webb | Tony Setzer | Fired | November 8, 2022 | Scott Wells | December 22, 2022 |
| Robert Morris | Jason O'Keefe | Resigned | November 10, 2022 | Jonathan Potter | December 20, 2022 |
| Saint Francis (PA) | Frank Olszewski | Fired | November 18, 2022 | Mads Kaiser | December 12, 2022 |
| Detroit Mercy | Nicholas Deren | Nate Kopunek | March 6, 2023 | ||
| Lindenwood | Carl Hutter | Fired | November 29, 2023 | Kris Bertsch | January 11, 2023 |
| Presbyterian | Jonathan Potter | Hired by Robert Morris | December 20, 2022 | Nick Finotti | January 24, 2023 |
| Oregon State | Terry Boss | Resigned | December 22, 2022 | Greg Dalby | January 26, 2023 |
| UMBC | Pete Caringi | Anthony Adams | February 6, 2023 | ||
| Columbia | Kevin Anderson | Hired by Southern Connecticut | March 30, 2023 | ||
| Wright State | Jake Slemker | Fired | March 30, 2023 | ||
| Seattle U | Pete Fewing | Resigned | April 4, 2023 | Nate Daligcon | April 4, 2023 |
| St. Francis Brooklyn | Tom Giovatto | Athletic program disbanded | March 23, 2023 | — | — |
Conference realignment
The ongoing conference realignment had two especially significant impacts on men's soccer in the 2023 season.
First, the Mid-American Conference announced on November 11, 2022 that it would no longer sponsor men's soccer after the 2022 season. The MAC had dropped to five men's soccer members during the realignment cycle, and was unable to find the sixth member needed to maintain its automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.[2] The four full MAC members that sponsored the sport found new conference homes within a week, with Akron joining the Big East Conference[3] and Bowling Green, Northern Illinois, and Western Michigan joining the Missouri Valley Conference.[4] The one associate member of the group, full independent Chicago State, was temporarily left without a home for its own program.
Then, on March 28, 2023, the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) announced that it would launch a men's soccer league in the 2023 season with eight members, equally divided between full members and associates. Three full OVC members (Eastern Illinois, Lindenwood, Southern Indiana) moved men's soccer from the Summit League, with the other full member (SIU Edwardsville) leaving the Missouri Valley Conference. The new associates are the aforementioned Chicago State; Houston Christian, which formerly housed men's soccer in the Western Athletic Conference; Incarnate Word, which had played the 2022 season as an independent; and Liberty, which left the ASUN Conference (which sponsors soccer for both sexes) for Conference USA (which sponsors it only for women).[5] The soccer league would add a ninth member on May 12 when Western Illinois, previously a full member of the Summit League, was announced as a new full OVC member effective in 2023–24.[6]
Discontinued programs
In March 2023, St. Francis College, athletically known as St. Francis Brooklyn, announced that it would shut down its entire athletic program at the end of the 2022–23 school year.[7]
Season outlook
Preseason polls
Preseason polls will be released in July and August 2023.
Regular season
Major upsets
In this list, a "major upset" is defined as a game won by an unranked team that defeats a ranked team, or a team ranked 10 spots lower than the other team.
All rankings are from the United Soccer Coaches Poll.
| Date | Winner | Score | Loser |
|---|
Early season tournaments
Several universities will host early season soccer tournaments.
| Name | Date(s) | Stadium | City | No. teams | Champion |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Postseason
Conference winners and tournaments
| Conference | Regular Season Champion(s) |
Tournament Winner |
Conference Tournament |
Tournament Dates |
Tournament Venue (City) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ACC | 2023 tournament | ||||
| America East | 2023 tournament | ||||
| American | 2023 tournament | ||||
| ASUN | 2023 tournament | ||||
| Atlantic 10 | 2023 tournament | ||||
| Big East | 2023 tournament | ||||
| Big South | 2023 tournament | ||||
| Big Ten | 2023 tournament | ||||
| Big West | 2023 tournament | ||||
| CAA | 2023 tournament | ||||
| Horizon | 2023 tournament | ||||
| Ivy | No tournament | ||||
| MAAC | 2023 tournament | ||||
| Missouri Valley | 2023 tournament | ||||
| Northeast | 2023 tournament | ||||
| OVC | 2023 tournament | ||||
| Pac-12 | No tournament | ||||
| Patriot | 2023 tournament | ||||
| SoCon | 2023 tournament | ||||
| The Summit | 2023 tournament | ||||
| Sun Belt | 2023 tournament | ||||
| WCC | No tournament | ||||
| WAC | 2023 tournament | ||||
References
- Clark, Travis (April 17, 2023). "Tracking Division I coaching changes". TopDrawer Soccer. Retrieved April 30, 2023.
- "MAC to Suspend Sponsoring Men's Soccer Following 2022 Season" (Press release). Mid-American Conference. November 11, 2022. Retrieved November 18, 2022.
- "BIG EAST Adds Akron For Men's Soccer" (Press release). Big East Conference. November 16, 2022. Retrieved November 17, 2022.
- "Missouri Valley Conference To Expand in Men's Soccer for 2023" (Press release). Missouri Valley Conference. November 11, 2022. Retrieved November 23, 2022.
- "OVC Adds Men's Soccer as Championship Sport" (Press release). Ohio Valley Conference. March 28, 2023. Retrieved March 28, 2023.
- "Western Illinois University to Join the OVC in 2023-24" (Press release). Ohio Valley Conference. May 12, 2023. Retrieved May 12, 2023.
- "St. Francis College Restructures to Further Advance SFC Forward; COO Tim Cecere Appointed Acting President" (Press release). St. Francis Brooklyn Terriers. March 20, 2023. Retrieved March 20, 2023.