An under-the-radar change is coming to Division 3 soccer during the 2023-24 academic year, allowing teams to train more during the spring semester.
Currently, men’s and women’s teams have 16 days of play (broken down as 15 practices and one play day) to utilize across a five-week window. But in mid-January, the NCAA approved schools moving to 24 days of play (still one day of competition) starting in the Spring 2024 semester -- plus eliminated weeks as the overall measuring stick.
In practice, most local Division 3 teams are training in late-March through late-April to maximize weather and avoid spring soccer interfering with end-of-semester exams and assignments. Next year, weather permitting, they might start as early as mid-to-late February and combine that with strength and conditioning programs.
