NCAA soccer in the U.S. has always had some quirky rules that differentiate it from the professional game. Gradual progress has been made in recent years, namely removing overtime in the regular season in 2022. And now the NCAA is looking to clamp down on excessive substitutions in games.

In professional soccer, each team can make five substitutions per game but only have three slots to halt the game's flow. This makes the limitless substitutions in college soccer seem extreme.

Current substitution rules:

• Players can reenter once during the second half 
• Substitutions are only allowed on goal kicks, your team's throw-ins, and corner kicks after a goal has been scored or after a caution has been issued.
• The clock only stops during the last five minutes of play when the winning team makes subs.

Proposed changes (DI men's soccer only)

• No reentry in either half after a player has been substituted.
• A maximum of six opportunities to stop the game to make substitutions (+ an additional opportunity in the event of overtime).

Proposed changes (all levels)

• Clock stops for all substitutions in the last 15 minutes of play in the second half and at any point during overtime periods.

The NCAA's motive for these potential rule changes is to “discourage using substitutions as a tactic to slow the pace of the game.”

UC Riverside men's soccer coach Tim Cupello shared his thoughts on the issue, saying, “This aligns with the sport that our incoming student-athletes are used to,  “It also aligns with the sport they would be playing if they are fortunate to continue playing after college into a professional career. The game model and coaching style will reflect what they had during their youth development.” 

It wasn't just substitutions on the rules committee's agenda; they also proposed some enhancements to the scope of the video review process (when available). 

They suggested that the following scenarios be considered for video review:

• Potential penalty kick situations.
• Potential straight red card situations.
• Any potential offside violations.
• A foul denying an obvious scoring opportunity.

Cupello explained that expanding the potential scenarios would aid match officials: “Whatever we can do to make the calls correct is a benefit…If we can provide an extra tool to the referees to help get decisions correct, it is a positive. Student-athletes will feel like their performance is rewarded correctly. That is the ultimate goal.”   

Other proposals included the reintroduction of the sudden-victory format (golden goal) in the postseason and the requirement of teams to provide roster copies with starting lineups to the scorer's table and opposing coach a maximum of 15 minutes before the game begins, as well as providing a clean copy of each roster to the match officials.  

Overall, these proposals are a step in the right direction for NCAA soccer as it continues to move towards looking like the more well-known version of soccer.