A missed opportunity: Tulane should consider varsity soccer
October 23, 2019
The Green Wave Athletics program has not had a soccer team since 2008, when there was a women’s team but not a men’s team. This might seem unusual. A bona fide NCAA Division I athletic program with athletes seeking professional careers across multiple sports lacks soccer, the most popular sport in the world.
Unlike football, the sport that produces a large number of professional athletes for Tulane, soccer has an extremely diverse fan base. In fact, a whopping 203 nations attempted to qualify for the 2014 World Cup. That is more than the number of countries in the United Nations.
Having locally popular sports makes sense, but Tulane not having a varsity soccer team is strange. Not only would it be adding a very popular sport, soccer would allow Tulane to market its brand internationally to foreign students wishing to play varsity soccer and get an education in the U.S.
Soccer has the largest global following at 4 billion fans, more than half the world’s population. Cricket and field hockey sit second and third in total following with 2.5 billion and 2 billion fans in the world, respectively. Soccer has the widest margin of following between any two consecutively-ranked sports on the World Atlas ranking.
The simplicity of soccer means it is accessible to nearly everyone. All you need is a round ball and you can start playing anywhere, anytime. Other sports like football require much more equipment, making the game much less accessible to low-income populations.
The high participation rate among club soccer athletes clearly shows that there would be an audience for the sport. According to the club soccer page on WaveSync, Tulane men’s club soccer boasts a whopping 237 total members while the women’s team having an impressive 193 members. In addition, soccer has been, by participation rates, the school’s most popular intramural sport, with 530 unique participants this semester.
New Orleans is known for its diversity and that is exactly what soccer brings. Adding soccer could diversify our campus. Tulane prides itself on being a global school — a school known not only locally, but internationally. To help promote its international brand, Tulane should add varsity soccer teams for both men and women.
Jessica • Oct 5, 2021 at 11:25 pm
I was a member of Tulane’s inaugural 1996 varsity soccer team. I was disheartened to see the program come to an end. My oldest daughter is a sophomore in high school and currently looking into colleges. Sadly Tulane is not on her list because it does not offer a varsity program.
Danny • Oct 4, 2021 at 1:28 am
My daughter just told us that Tulane is one of her 5 schools she would most want to visit and consider attending. However, she is also a highly competitive soccer player and I think Tulane will be off the list when we let her know that soccer isn’t offered there. Administration, add women’s & men’s soccer and watch your admission applications increase exponentially!
Samuel • Aug 5, 2021 at 7:50 pm
Not having a soccer team definitely won’t make Tulane attractive to candidates that are already playing competitive soccer. My son plays globally, following Tulane, but not ready to hang his soccer boots. I would recommend the administrators seriously reconsider this. They will be amazed at the number of candidates that will apply to Tulane globally.
Derek Mitchell • Jul 27, 2021 at 3:10 pm
Just visited New Orleans with my high school freshman who fell in live with the city and Tulane. Among other academic pursuits he is interested in the music department to continue with his piano. However his passion of playing soccer will keep him from Tulane unless they consider a change. What a pity. In this day and age where soccer’s prevalence is so widespread.
Joel Denaro • Jan 22, 2021 at 10:26 pm
No brainer – Tulane needs d1 soccer.
Omar Crosby • Nov 29, 2020 at 7:09 pm
Similar to the other posts, we were looking into Tulane as well but my daughter (another ECNL player) can’t consider it because of the lack of varsity Soccer.
Mom • Apr 18, 2020 at 11:18 pm
It’s ashame no woman’s soccer. My daughter would pick this over all other division 1 teams. She does not want to give up high level soccer.
Laurie Kelly • Mar 25, 2020 at 7:23 pm
We agree , that Tulane should offer a soccer program. My son is very interested in this school and receives admissions emails, but cannot consider it as they do not offer men’s soccer. The university is missing out on its global appeal.
Lora Steiner • Dec 9, 2019 at 10:01 pm
We are receiving admissions emails to Tulane but my daughter will not consider going there now because they are a Division 1 school with no soccer. She is an ECNL player and would love to compete and get a good education!
Jim Fletcher • Oct 24, 2019 at 4:53 pm
I’d love to see Tulane add two varsity soccer teams. Moreover, I’d absolutely love to see Tulane become a member of the Big 12 Conference.