The Division I Men's NCAA tournament started pretty one-sided, as St. Louis University won 9 of the first 14 championships. However, men's soccer conferences are getting more competitive, as teams from five different conferences have won the last 10 College Cups. Here are four of the best Division I men's soccer conferences:
1. Atlantic Coast Conference
The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) holds the title for the most men's soccer national championships, with 20 wins. They have also claimed the last three championships, when Clemson University won in 2021, Syracuse University won in 2022, and Clemson lifted the trophy again in 2023.
In the 2023 national tournament, the ACC had nine teams earn bids into the NCAA tournament. This included Notre Dame, North Carolina, Virginia, Clemson, Duke, Wake Forrest, Syracuse, and Pittsburgh. All nine teams also earned a home game for their first match.
Some famous men's soccer players who had college careers in the ACC include Matt Besler (Notre Dame), Stuart Holden (Clemson), and Oguchi Onyewu (Clemson).
2. Pac-12
The Pac-12 Conference is always a dominant force in the NCAA tournament. This conference has a combined seven national championships and 23 College Cup appearances. UCLA and Stanford have been some of the most dominant in NCAA history, as UCLA has claimed four titles and Stanford has won three.
The Pac-12 also claims some names you might recognize: Jordan Morris (Stanford), Ryan Hollingshead (UCLA), and Steve Birnbaum (Cal Berkeley).
3. Big Ten
The Big Ten Conference has been one of the best conferences in the NCAA since the beginning. Indiana University has the second most national championships in the nation, with eight. Indiana recently came close to another in 2022 but they fell short in the final. The University of Maryland is also up there, with four national titles.
Omar Gonzalez, Graham Zusi, and Robbie Rogers all played at Maryland in the Big Ten.
4. Big East
The Big East Conference hasn't always been successful in the NCAA, but they have really stepped into the spotlight recently. Georgetown also recently claimed the title in 2019. St. John's also won a title in 1996.
Some players you might know who played in the Big East include Sacha Kljestan (Seton Hall), Joshua Yaro (Georgetown), and Sean Zawadzki (Georgetown).
