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Marshall Morehead led his Stillwater High School Ponies to two straight high school soccer championships, an undefeated 1996 season, and received the 1996 Mr. Soccer award honoring the top boys high school player in the state last year. He should have been one of the most highly recruited athletes in the state this year, but he didn't receive a single scholarship offer from a Minnesota school. It's not that any coach in the state wouldn't want him, it's simply that there is no team for him to play on. For this reason, the University of Minnesota needs to do the unthinkable and consider adding a men's team to its list of varsity sports. Of the 21 high school varsity sports that attracted at least 1,200 participants in 1995-96, men's soccer is the only sport not represented at the varsity level at the University of Minnesota or its system of state colleges. In fact, ten varsity sports currently sponsored by University of Minnesota have lower high school participation rates than men's soccer. Most striking is the fact that women's soccer is recognized but men's is not. In an age where gender equity is supposed to reign, women's soccer is a varsity sport at the U of MN and at least seven other state schools in Minnesota, yet men's soccer is not recognized as anything but a club sport at any of these campuses. This is despite the fact that boys have a higher participation rate than girls in both youth and high school soccer. Many factors are favorable to the development of a men's soccer program at the University of Minnesota. Minnesota would be joining the Big Ten soccer conference which has a proven record of success. (Both Indiana and Wisconsin have won national titles in the last 10 years.) In addition, because of the groundwork laid down by the formation of the women's team, playing facilities already exist and administrative structures are in place to hire stadium workers, contract referees, and perform field maintenance. The revenue potential from men's soccer is also high. Both Penn State and Indiana average over 2,000 fans per home game, and soccer is one of only four sports whose playoffs are a net money maker for the NCAA. Finally, the greatest resource the state of Minnesota has to offer a newly formed division one program is its players. With over 50,000 youth soccer players in the state, a team would have a tremendous base from which to draw players that currently are drawn out of state by college recruiters. (Minnesota has produced at least four division one men's All-Americans over the past 10 years.) There is no reason to believe that a men's team could not follow the women's team quick path to success by resting heavily on attracting the top in-state recruits. Even as a young program, the women's team has often been ranked in the top 25 and has made the NCAA playoffs each of the last two years. The top Minnesota men's players have the potential to equal this type of success. The moratorium on adding men's sports ends this year, and the
University should take a positive step by adding men's soccer after years
of neglecting this great sport. It's time to finally give players like
Marshall the chance to play for their home state.
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