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Premier Development League Soccer A Good Fit For Athens

by Chris Anthony
08/22/2007

A soccer player races up the field and passes to a teammate. His teammate spins a defender like a turnstile and unleashes a thunderous drive into the upper 90 of the goal.

Golazo!

He and his teammates then jump into the stands where they are embraced by the Bulldog faithful.

Of course, this is merely a pipe dream of the average Athens soccer fan. The University of Georgia does not have a men's varsity soccer team.

Title IX is the main reason for this lack, said Tom Camp, president of the Athens United Soccer Association. Title IX dictates that there should be equal opportunity based on gender in education, which includes college athletics.

In order for the University to add a men's varsity soccer team, another women's athletic team would need to be added so that the University would be compliant with Title IX. Camp claims that there are "no more women's programs to add." Funding also becomes an issue, as it is unlikely the University has enough room in the athletic budget to support two more varsity teams.

The University is presented with a similar Title IX dilemma that faced Brigham Young University. Despite much success at the club soccer level, BYU was unable to add a men's varsity team due to budget issues created by Title IX.

BYU's best alternative was the Premier Development League. The PDL allows college-age soccer players to gain experience in a professional atmosphere without losing college eligibility.

In 2003, BYU's club soccer team purchased a PDL franchise for what the New York Times reported around $40, 000. The team sought better competition, and they found it while circumventing the National Collegiate Athletic Association and its Title IX implications.

Despite a rough first year, the BYU team rebounded and is currently atop its division in the PDL.

Although there are similarities between the Title IX issues of BYU and UGA, it is hard to determine if UGA could replicate the relative success of BYU if the University did acquire a PDL franchise.

UGA's club soccer team has come nowhere near duplicating the success of BYU's club soccer team during the '90s and early 2000s. And then there is football, undoubtedly the No. 1 sport in Athens, which might put a damper on any potential fanbase of a PDL franchise in Athens.

Camp said he was "not sure if [any potential fanbase] would be significant enough to support a PDL team."

However, Lee Cohen, the director of PDL operations for the United Soccer Leagues, believes that any prospective Athens franchise depends on the pull within the local community and "on who wants to back it." Cohen estimates that the average PDL club operates on $80, 000 to $100, 000 on a yearly basis.

For a league that is averaging 515 fans per game in 2007, "the first couple of years [of a franchise's existence] are difficult" from a business aspect, said Cohen. However, most teams break even after year three.

Cohen claims that there is "always interest" in purchasing a PDL franchise in most markets in the United States. A potential Athens franchise would need sizeable interest among the community and an investor willing to take a risk.

Until then, Athens soccer fans will be left to their pipe dreams.

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