[Papa John]

It's a bit late for me to jump back in, but I appreciate the comments from ColoradoTree and oldalum. The substitution rule changes the college game so much that players are not getting the technical and tactical training that they need to succeed in the pros. I can't think of a more drastic, rule-based difference between the college and professional versions of a major sport.

But you need the current substitution rule if you have teams playing twice--or even three times!--within a week. The only way to change it is to stretch out the season.

I like the idea of having a one-match-per-week nonconference season in the fall, take off December and January and start the one-match-per-week conference schedule in February. Regular season ends in April, scrap the conference tournament if you have one (Pac-12 does not), and you have the rest of April and all of May for five or six rounds of NCAA tournament play.

The College Cup will have to be reconsidered. Last fall, the Stanford women played Friday/Sunday in San Jose, CA. To stretch that over two weekends would have required UNC to travel cross-country four times. So maybe you do like American football and have the two semifinals and finals matches played in different, but predetermined, locations.

[Papa John]

It's a bit late for me to jump back in, but I appreciate the comments from ColoradoTree and oldalum. The substitution rule changes the college game so much that players are not getting the technical and tactical training that they need to succeed in the pros. I can't think of a more drastic, rule-based difference between the college and professional versions of a major sport.

But you need the current substitution rule if you have teams playing twice--or even three times!--within a week. The only way to change it is to stretch out the season.

I like the idea of having a one-match-per-week nonconference season in the fall, take off December and January and start the one-match-per-week conference schedule in February. Regular season ends in April, scrap the conference tournament if you have one (Pac-12 does not), and you have the rest of April and all of May for five or six rounds of NCAA tournament play.

The College Cup will have to be reconsidered. Last fall, the Stanford women played Friday/Sunday in San Jose, CA. To stretch that over two weekends would have required UNC to travel cross-country four times. So maybe you do like American football and have the two semifinals and finals matches played in different, but predetermined, locations.