USSF 2nd Division Soccer Schedule Close to Release; Some Details Revealed
US Soccer Division II Soccer League is close to releasing their schedule.
Sources close to the situation said there are still some details to work out but it could be published as early as today, while others say later this week.
Brian Wellman, president of the Carolina RailHawks, had previously gone on record as saying the NASL already had a season schedule worked out when the league compromise was made with USL and the USSF. He told a radio talk show on January 9 that the league would be using the NASL’s schedule and incorporate in the 3-USL teams, Austin, Portland and Puerto Rico, to the 9 NASL teams: AC St. Louis, Carolina RailHawks, Crystal Palace Baltimore, Miami FC Blues, Montreal Impact, NSC Minnesota, Rochester Rhinos, Tampa Bay Rowdies and Vancouver Whitecaps.
Sources are saying the league schedule will be based on a system that is not balanced but will instead try to be economical by playing teams within a region more often than teams out of a team’s region. These regions would not 
be conference affiliated and are for scheduling purposes only. The 2-conferences, USL and NASL, will both be broken down into 3 regions with 4 teams in each region. All teams will play the three other teams in their region 4 times (2 home and 2 away) and one team out of their region 4 times (2 home and 2 away). A team would then play all other teams in the other 2 regions 2 times (1 home and 1 away) making a 30-game schedule.
Minnesota’s home opener will be in late April at the National Sports Center and this year’s regular season schedule will take all the teams into early October.
Edited 12:20 CT – 01/25/10
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Sure, that makes sense?
I understand the economics, but why shouldn’t they have just done the regional thing for the Conferences?
2H/2A within Regional Conference
1H/1A against other Conference
32 matches, and an unbalanced schedule that makes sense.
From what I heard Dave, that was the original idea of the NASL. I know MN was supportive of that idea as well. But the politics of the compromise did not allow conferences based on region. Sometimes you do what you have to do to get through it and make better plans for the following year.
Ok, at least the starting point for one side of this thing made sense.
I wonder who the “sources” are?
Someone who didn’t disclose that he was on the payroll for one of the sides in the fracus and now can’t blog such things under his own name?
Nah, couldn’t be.
You can just go ahead and cite Kartik as the source. We all will understand.
The islanders via facebook told the fans to make note of 10 of April which we have enterprite to be de home opener.
My guess for the groups:
Austin
Vancouver Whitecaps
Portland
NSC Minnesota
AC St. Louis
Crystal Palace Baltimore
Montreal Impact
Rochester Rhinos
Carolina RailHawks
Tampa Bay Rowdies
Puerto Rico
Miami FC Blues
Oh, and, as UR78 pointed out on BigSoccer, the math, if the game allotment is right, should only total up to 30 games. So, which is it? Is it only 30 games? Or is the arrangement of opponents wrong?
Your right, my math is wrong. I just went back and refigured it out.
4 games x3 regional opponents =12
+ 4 games against team not in region = 16
+ 2 games against remaining 7 teams = 14 +16
————————————————
30 games
I made the mistake of adding the team outside the region that we already play 4 times. I’ll correct the article.
Sooo *shivers* unbalanced…
Whatever works, I guess. Gotta make money! I just hope they seed the playoffs in a fair manner.
I’m gonna go stare at Premiership tables now. I need to calm my OCD nerves.
3 regions with 4 teams each allows for a 28 game season:
4 games (2 home, 2 away) vs three regional opponent for 12 games
2 games (1 home, 1 away) vs other eight teams for 16 games
Total – 28 games
My suggestion for playoffs would be eight teams, top two per division plus two wild card teams.
Normally I would agree with you, but again, (I know not everyone has read it even though I’ve printed it here many times) the conferences were for political sake.
OK, fine! I’ve hinted around at it lots of times but I’ll come right out and say it; The only reason there are two conferences with equal teams in each conference is because the USL was making a big deal out of it in negotiations. They wanted an equal number of teams in their conference even if they didn’t have an equal amount of teams in the league. Remember, USL had the trump card here in the lawsuit. This is why we “negotiate”.
2 possibilities as I see it for playoffs.
#1) Both sides are thrown into one big table for standings playoffs much like the single table with USL the last number of years.
#2) There are two championships. One for USL and one for NASL.
I will expect we will be hearing details on all this very soon from USSF.
I think you’re on the right track, BQ.
Some kind of combination of the two might be kind of cool. Rather than determine the conference champions via playoffs, why not let the conference championship be a separate cup to be won before the overall league playoffs begin?
-You could just have a table within the overall league table and the overall winner is crowned conference cup champion.
-Or it could be like the Carling Cup and they could play an intra-conference knockout tourney throughout the year.
Convoluted and far fetched? Absolutely! But it could spice up the season a bit. It’s always cool when clubs have a few chances to win hardware and cash. Hell you could even have a cup winners match at the beginning of the following season to get people pumped up! You could call it the Compromise Shield or something.
On a side note, *steps on soap box*
lots of people complain (myself included) when we don’t follow the league models set up in other countries. “Promotion/Relegation, No Playoffs”, blah blah. Likewise, there’s the other side that always scream “eurosnob, Americans would never go for this, bluh bluh”. Nobody ever really talks about how we can do things BETTER than the leagues abroad AND in America (and Canada*wink*).
I’m not talking about financial stability or boring stuff like that, but improving the game itself. I’m talking about making life easier for referees by putting more officials on the field/goal line technology (if we can afford it of course). And taking real concrete steps against diving and bad sportsmanship. Or giving the season ticket holders special privileges league wide. Or maybe just by doing more unique things with the club, e.g. Drew Carey’s marching band. The leagues are still young, and still small. There’s a lot of room for innovation and clever thinking. Something that would make a English dude say “That’s awesome. I can’t believe the Yanks have that and we don’t”. Can’t see them saying that about the band though.
*Steps off Soap Box*
By the way, for those trying to cite Kartik:
Please remember while covering the USL v NASL debate, I made many connections throughout the US. and Canada. Some of those connections are inside clubs and some are with fans close to the inner workings of these clubs.
Also remember, there are still not that many people who really care about 2nd division soccer now that the battle seems to be over for now. I am still interested and I will continue to keep reporting on these things. Would you prefer for me to be calling sources and getting information on the V-league in Viet Nam.
Lastly, even if Kartik had given me information, making a statement like you did is naive. What do think a PR persons job is if not to control and manage information. Its widely used and very long standing practice to allow some information out concerning vague details of something in order to get the word out and create interest. Do you really think that this didn’t happen with all three parties involved in the debate of the USL v NASL.
Can we move on now and talk about the league and quite pouting about the choice for PR person for a league.
CoconutMonkey, I very much appreciate you trying to think out of the box. Just don’t bring back the Shoot-out.
Please, BQ. If you think that the USL/NASL debacle is over, you have not heard from Kartik recently.
This is all about the 2011 season. Period. Getting sanctioned. Both sides will undoubtedly be preparing for an application, and all that appears to be gold does not actually glitter.
I have said as much Bart. But for now, people want to talk about the season and so do I. There is no doubt each side is posturing for control again next year. But we are 2.5 months away from kickoff. Lets focus on some positive for a change, shall we?
It’s not about pouting about the choice. It’s about full disclosure and pseudo-journalism. Someone hired someone – good for them. But it’s about people pretending to be what they’re not. Or failing to disclose their conflicts of interest.
CoconutMonkey, while there may be some merit to experimenting with “goal judges” and other innovations, such “tampering” would not be allowed by FIFA.
The old NASL got into hot water for its shoot-out and 35-yd line offside (how many people remember that one), almost to the point of the league being outlawed by FIFA. Such action would have disqualified all players, coaches and referees in the league from any FIFA competitions, including the World Cup.
While becoming a renegade league might sound romantic to some, the bottom line is in today’s football world it would seriously impact the quality of players and officiating in the league.
Unfortunately, we are bound to follow FIFA to the letter and not try to go it our own way.
pseudo-journalism.? Really? Explain that one to me. They guy has reported on US and international soccer for years, and has done countless interviews, etc… No one else is giving people this information. Why is that not called journalism?
Sure Karik had good connections with Miami FC. But I know as a reporting partner, he also had excellent connections with many USL people that were sometimes calling him and telling him information throughout the story.
“Journalism is the craft of conveying news, descriptive material and opinion via a widening spectrum of media. These include newspapers, magazines, radio and television, the internet and even, more recently, the mobile phone. Journalists—be they writers, editors or photographers; broadcast presenters or producers—serve as the chief purveyors of information and opinion in contemporary mass society.”
Seems to me he certainly fit that criteria.
Is this damn schedule ever going to come out!!??
“and this year’s regular season schedule will take all the teams into early October” – by Brian Quarstad
Which is really screwed up with Playoffs after that running the Season super LATE~! – So much for interfacing w/MLS late skeds… & so much for a few USSF Div 2 ringers moving on to MLS Playoffs, so much for all the guys USSF Div 2 loses every year to Indoor in the end of Season runs up to Playoffs, etc, etc…
BQ,
This is my first post after reading your comments for some time. You are a journalist. The people you have gotten information from are whatever you want to call them. Please don’t get mad at Alex or anyone else and please keep finding out whatever you can for us. I do follow K and J league stuff (after being stationed there, Go Bluewings) so maybe V-league would be fun??
On topic, will the groups have to allign with geography? Planes in and out of P.R. might make them an east coast team rather than southern team and Austin might fit better with Tampa, Miami and Carolina with Southwest flights, just saying sometimes proximity is not the best way to lump teams, airlines are to be considered.
Thanks for the positive endorsement.
I’m just not sure at this point. There seems to have been some issues this week with the schedule and a few team owners. So who knows, perhaps the change everything but I doubt it. All teams and the USSF met in Chicago on Friday. Lets hope they worked something out and the schedule is out soon.
USL could whip up a good sked every year in Florida in between a few long evenings in the local Bars… obviously USSF has a different system.
Groundhog’s day, only six more weeks until we get a schedule!