Penn State men’s soccer remains in favor of the proposed two-semester season that would completely overhaul college soccer, despite the proposal being on the brink of collapse.

In October, the NCAA Division I Cabinet for men’s soccer approved the shift to a split fall-and-spring format. However, the cabinet did not approve the proposal by a 75% vote, leaving a 30-day recess in which schools could vote to reverse the change.

As of Thursday, the threshold of votes needed to defeat the proposal is expected to be reached, according to GOAL.

Schools were asked to vote only if they favored rescinding the motion, while not voting was considered support for the model. The Nittany Lions did not vote.

“Penn State is aligned with the Big Ten Conference and fully supports the move to a year-round calendar for Division I men’s soccer,” Penn State men’s soccer said in a statement to Onward State.

“Aligning the college calendar with MLS and the rest of the soccer world creates a stronger development environment, with more balanced scheduling. Most importantly, the change supports the health and wellness of our student-athletes, moving away from a compressed season packed into a short fall window.”

Penn State’s statement aligned with head coach Rob Dow’s comments in October about supporting the two-semester model.

According to Dow, 245 schools would need to vote to rescind the proposal in order for the change to be trashed. Only 213 schools sponsor Division I men’s soccer — the only level of the sport affected by the proposed change.

That means if every Division I men’s soccer team voted against the motion, 32 other schools would still be needed to reverse it.

However, it is not the schools that sponsor men’s soccer that oppose the two-semester model. According to GOAL, 80 schools that do not sponsor the sport at the Division I level, or at all, voted against the proposal.

Those in favor of the change remain confident.

“I believe U.S. Soccer is going to step up and find another solution for the very interested schools. … Maybe we get an FBS/FCS situation now,” Maryland head coach Sasho Cirovski told GOAL. “Maybe schools that don’t want to do it can stay and keep doing what they’re doing, and maybe we now create a situation for the schools that are interested in doing this. I think that could be a very likely outcome.”

Under the new schedule, the regular season would span both the fall and spring semesters while keeping the total game limit at 25.

Teams could schedule up to 18 matches from late August to the week before Thanksgiving, then up to another 10 during the spring.

In a news release, the NCAA said the change would “allow more time for rest and recovery between games for men’s soccer student-athletes, in addition to reduced weekday travel.”

The NCAA has not approved a similar model for women’s soccer, though it reviewed one.

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