Mike Noonan

Mike Noonan doesn't sugarcoat where he thinks college athletics is headed.

"Buckle up and hold on tight, because we're going to go through a hurricane," he said.

Noonan, who has led Clemson to two national titles in men's soccer, is privy to major changes taking shape in the college game.

"We've made about five different attempts to become a two-semester sport, and modernize the sport, but we have hit roadblocks in the NCAA bureaucracy every time," he said.

"So with all the changes going on with college athletics, and there's been a number of changes in the governing body at U.S. Soccer ... we re-engaged in conversations with them.

"There was a pilot program put forward, similar to the College Football Playoff. We're not leaving the NCAA, but we would play over two semesters and there'd be a national tournament sponsored by U.S. Soccer at the end of the spring portion of our season. The national governing body would pay for the championship, and we would be able to progress our game in a way that we haven't been able to." 

Noonan said athletics directors have been in "great discussions" with U.S. Soccer about adopting the pilot program for the 2026-27 year.

He said there are different championship models that feature 36 teams, 48 teams and even 72 teams.

"We all feel favorable that it's going to happen. It will be a big change."

Noonan also shares how, a few years into his Clemson tenure, he significantly changed his recruiting model.

"When we got here we were in a position where we had to just look for talent. And talent without character is a recipe for disaster."

Noonan consulted a familiar name as he constructed his new model: One Dabo Swinney.

Swinney's advice to Noonan:

It's not what works everywhere; it's what works at Clemson.

"That flipped a switch for me," Noonan said. "We came up with 10 recruiting criteria and decided we were going to recruit to them. And any player that we were going to let come into our program was going to have to tick seven of those criteria."