There was a time, just a few years back, when Major League Soccer was purchasing airtime from local and regional TV networks to broadcast its games. The hope was that the fledgling league would be able to lure enough fans away from football, basketball, baseball, or hockey to build a small fan base. Media executives were hesitant, asked pressing questions, “How long is this league going to last anyway? Or even, “Is soccer ever going to take off – is it really possible to make a dent in the American sports landscape?”
Soccer no longer has to recruit fans from other sports, they
have managed in the last decade to build their own fan base. Now, NBC is televising the English Premiere League; ESPN, Fox Sports, and Univision have announced a
one-of-a-kind eight-year deal with MLS and U.S.A. Soccer, reportedly worth $90
million a year to carry the league’s game. The World Cup had record-breaking viewership in the U.S., RSL is filling the Riot for every
game and has announced the formation of a minor league team to play in a
stadium to be built in Salt Lake’s Fair Park. And, in Utah County, as the
billboards on I-15 attest: Fútbol is here, at Utah Valley University.
This fall, UVU unrolls its newest athletic addition, men’s
soccer, at a great time for the university, and for the region. Some will
voice disappointment that its fútbol – and not football, but, with its new soccer program UVU
gets exclusivity - this is athletic territory the Wolverines don’t have to
share with anybody. Utah has long had one of the strongest young soccer player
development programs in the country. And now, those home grown all stars with a
mix of players from around the country, and a few international recruits, will
wear Wolverine Green.
UVU will bring a solid NCAA Division 1 team to Utah County.
Coaches Greg Maas and Matt Ellinger have done a great job building a team,
which has the potential to be competitive in its first year out of the gate. "Imagine if there was only one college football team in the state how talented they'd be," Ellinger said. "That's the level we aim to be. Merge Utah State, Utah, and BYU's football teams together and tell me they wouldn't be top 10." From KSL Sports [April 2014].
Initially, there was to have been an exhibition match
against RSL reserves on August 18th to kickoff the season, that has been changed to a
Green -v- White match on the 19th, which is part of a UVU meet the
team night, beginning at 6:00 pm.
The season begins in earnest with an exhibition game on Sept
23 against Northwest Nazarene in Nampa Idaho, and its first official game
against UMASS on Saturday August the 30th at 7:30 pm. It is
interesting that this game has been chosen by NSCAA TV as its first national
broadcast of the 2014 College Soccer Season. NSCAA Article [For details concerning college soccer
broadcasts].
Two weeks later, on Friday September 12, UVU will cap off Homecoming
Week with a game against Gonzaga University at 7:30 pm. "Every time we step on the field, it's something historical in nature," said head coach Greg Maas. If you’re a fan of the “beautiful game”
you’ll want to witness all this history. If you’re unfamiliar with game, you are invited to
come, learn its dynamics first hand and find out why this is the world’s most
popular sport. Get your green on – summertime is coming to a close, it’s time
go watch Utah’s only Division 1 Men’s Soccer Team in their inaugural year.
The 2014 Season Printable Schedule.
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