College soccer season is still nearly seven months away but the Summit League and University of Denver have several key decisions that will need to be considered and made by this summer.

DU men’s soccer, a marquee sport for the University of Denver, continues to look vulnerable with the loss of former Summit League member school Western Illinois to the Ohio Valley Conference. Jeff Colpack of The Mitchell Republic cited the outlook as ‘bleak’ to replace the Leathernecks with a sixth team for the Summit League membership and an automatic qualifier for the NCAA Tournament. Ironically, Denver men’s soccer may be the spark to drive DU to seriously examine other conference options. All this while the NCAA is facing extinction as impatient power-conference members are at the precipice of a break-away as the gulf between the haves and have-nots looks irreconcilable.

Colpack cites that Augustana, which recently added Division I men’s hockey, is in no financial position at this point to move up its entire athletic department to DI. Northern Colorado, often cited as a possible replacement, is a much better geographic fit for the Big Sky Conference as a home for their sports portfolio, especially football. Plus, UNC does not even have a men’s soccer team.

Not mentioned in the article was Chicago State, a struggling, underbudgeted independent program that appears on the brink of extinction. Lindenwood University was another candidate who fled the Summit League as an affiliate soccer member for the more geographically appropriate Ohio Valley Conference. Lindenwood is unlikely to return. The only other realistic option is elevating a DII program to DI, a technique mastered by former Summit League commissioner Tom Douple. However, with declining enrollment and rising costs to enter DI, there are no obvious candidates in the northern tier.

Numerous social media outlets are reporting that the West Coast Conference would like to expand to 12 schools, and possibly 14. The WCC currently has nine members after the exit of BYU. Seattle University, Grand Canyon (a controversial for-profit university) and the University of Denver have been rumored for years. Recently, Cal Baptist, currently situated in the WAC, has been rumored as well.

More interesting are ongoing rumors about a possible BIG East/WCC “consortium” where there would be an eastern and western division, and perhaps one day, a mid-western division.  We have talked about this in the past and believe that, ultimately, there will be a private school NCAA Division I with aligned priorities, operating principles and values while competing on a level playing field.

CBS Sports recently reported the Big 10 and the SEC are forming an ‘advisory group’ because, “They’re going to figure out the future of college athletics themselves. They’re done waiting for Congressional intervention or NCAA action.”  This is just a continuation of the dissolution of the NCAA as the two primary power conferences want to drive the bus.  They see little alignment between themselves and other schools, particularly revenue sharing with mid-majors.

Ironically, with all the changes taking place with the NCAA, it may be men’s soccer that forces the University of Denver to face the evolving DI future sooner rather than later. The NCAA may give the Summit League a one-year waiver for the automatic qualifier for the NCAA Tournament. A one-year waiver poses a risk to recruiting and program stability and pushes the problem further down the road. However, if there is no clear sixth team available for Summit League soccer membership, Denver must navigate the changing realities of college sports.

Photo courtesy of Denver Athletics