Scott Adamson, Author at Adamsonmedia.com

Pro/rel coming to USL

**The USL announced on Wednesday it would implement a promotion/relegation system to coincide with its plan to add a top-tier division in 2028.**

Back in 2020, when Greenville Triumph SC won the championship of USL League One, I remember thinking how bittersweet it was. At the time I was a resident of the city, so I was happy for them, of course. After all, my local soccer team had earned a crown, and that’s a big deal. But in just their second season, they’d already hit the ceiling.

Without a system of promotion and relegation – the standard in international association football – there was nowhere to go. The USL Championship was atop the pyramid in the United Soccer League system, and its lineup of franchises was set. A Triumph title in a lower circuit didn’t secure passage to a higher one.

**Scott Adamson writes stuff. Follow him on Bluesky @scottadamson1960.bsky.social**

But that’s all about to change.

Today the USL announced that a supermajority of owners voted to implement pro/rel. The news – some of the biggest in U.S. soccer history, if you ask me – comes on the heels of the organization’s plan to create a new Division One league starting in 2028.

“A new chapter in American soccer begins,” Alec Papadakis, CEO of the United Soccer League, said. “The decision by our owners to approve and move forward with this bold direction is a testament to their commitment to the long-term growth of soccer in the United States. This is a significant milestone for the USL and highlights our shared vision with our team ownership to build a league that not only provides top-tier competition but also champions community engagement. Now, just as it is in the global game, more communities in America can aspire to compete at the highest level of soccer.

“It’s time.”

Once the Division One league is formed, the USL Championship – already considered second division by United States Soccer Federation standards – will remain in that spot while League One will be D3. (The USL system also includes League Two, which is a developmental league with 74 teams).

USL officials have hinted for years that they were open-minded about pro/rel, but it never seemed to get beyond the talking stage.

The National Independent Soccer Association, on the other hand, was founded in 2017 with the intent of creating a pathway pyramid, but that didn’t happen. As of now, NISA is struggling to even stay afloat. It’s not sanctioned by USSF for 2025 and has long been overshadowed by MLS Next Pro and League One.

And Major League Soccer never has and never will consider it. In 2024 Forbes estimated that the average MLS club is worth $658 million.

League commissioner Don Garber famously (infamously?) said this about pro/rel in 2015:

“If you’re investing billions and billions of dollars, which we are now at about $3.5 billion invested (in MLS) in twenty years, to build something in Kansas City and they have a shitty season, to think they might be playing in Chattanooga in a stadium of 4,000 people on a crappy field with no fans, makes no sense.”

Garber later apologized (and Chattanooga FC is now part of MLS Next Pro), but the point was made. It’s a closed league and it’s staying that way.

Thus, the boldest step possible in domestic soccer is finally being taken by the USL.

“Promotion and relegation transforms the competitive landscape of American soccer,” Paul McDonough, President and CEO of the USL, said. “With the 2026 World Cup and other major international events approaching, we have a unique opportunity to build on that momentum and create a sustainable future for the sport in the U.S. Fans and stakeholders have been clear – they want something different. They’re drawn to the intensity of high-stakes competition, where more matches have real consequences – just like we see in European leagues.

“This shift challenges the status quo and brings a level of excitement and relevance that can elevate the game across the country.”

I’m truly excited about this. Moving up or dropping down based on sporting merit has long been a defining feature of international soccer, and soon – in the USL – every single match will matter. Few things are as dramatic as seeing some clubs climbing up the ladder and others desperately trying to avoid falling off.

Obviously, there are plenty of major details to be worked out. We don’t even know who’ll comprise the top division once it kicks off in 2028. And USSF Pro League Standards require first division clubs to play in stadiums that seat at least 15,000, which could create problems for those in cozy, smaller confines.

Still, this is major news for a circuit determined to take on Major League Soccer. And the investors who buy into the premiere division of USL will know exactly what they’re getting into.

Even though I no longer live in Greenville, I’m still gonna keep a close eye on the Triumph and root for their success.

Winning a trophy in 2020 was cool.

But winning promotion? That’s gonna be so much cooler.

A house full of memories

The old Queen Anne-style house situated just off the Highway 149 was definitely a fixer-upper, almost to the point of being an eyesore.

The dark grey eaves were in immediate need of major repair, with the edges frayed like a block of cheese that had been nibbled by a rat.

The faded white wraparound porch seemed fine at first glance, but a closer inspection revealed badly damaged spindle work and several rotted boards that made for hazardous walking. The porch columns needed reinforcement, and at least one had to be completely replaced due to a large crack that started at its base and ran all the way to the top.

Some of the bay windows were broken, all of the window treatments were a mess … there was a laundry list of renovation and restoration needs. Frankly, it was a miracle that a This Property Is Condemned sign hadn’t been tacked to the door.

Still, the house could certainly be restored to its original glory, but it wouldn’t happen overnight. It was going to cost a whole lot of money – and countless hours of work – to make it both presentable and livable.

Frederick and Nettie were hopeful, though; they had seen a realtor come by twice in the last week with two different parties. Whether the potential buyers were looking for a place to live or a place to flip didn’t really matter to the couple as long as someone fixed it up and moved back in.

“It’s been what, 12, 15 years since the Williams family lived here?” Frederick wondered aloud.

“Fourteen years,” Nettie said. “They moved out on March 17, 2011. I hated to seem ‘em go. I’ll never forget waving goodbye to that little girl – Marcy was her name. Such a sweet child. The whole family was good people.”

“They were, they were … Jane and Daryl Williams,” Frederick said wistfully. “Remember that funny dog they had? Dipper. Ol’ Dipper would just stand there and bark and bark at us and Mr. and Mrs. Williams never could get him to quiet down. But Marcy would walk over, look at us and smile. When she did that, Dipper would walk away and go about his business. Course, the next day it all started up again. I guess dogs have short memories.”

A car slowed down in front of the house, and both the driver and the passenger leaned in to take a closer look. They talked among themselves briefly, pointed at the property, then slowly eased back onto the road and drove away.

“Don’t guess they were interested in buying,” Nettie said. “You never know, though. That’s how the Carters found this place, you recall. They rode up in that fancy looking Packard Caribbean and she had on those big sunglasses and that polka dot bandana, and her little bitty husband was gobbled up in that velvety sport coat. It tickles me to even think about it. She walked right up on the porch and decided right then she wanted the place and he just laughed.”

“Oh, yeah, Dee and Desi Carter,” Frederick said. “Now, he was plenty nice and friendly but she was something else … she was something else entirely, and I mean that in a good way. Lordy, she loved to have those big parties, didn’t she? All those people would come around from all over, dressed to the nines, drinking whiskey sours and having a big time. Thing about her, it was like she knew what kinda music we liked and wanted to make us part of it, too. Every Halloween she’d put Down Hearted Blues and Memphis Blues on the gramophone. Every single Halloween, long about midnight. It made me think about those days when you sang and I played and we toured all over the country with W.C. Handy and Bessie Smith. That was awfully nice of her, I think. She’s another one I miss.”

Several families had come and gone, all making an impact on the couple one way or another. Nettie peered outside one of the windows on the second floor and watched as several more cars whizzed by – but not one gave the house a second look.

“Frederick, you think maybe it’s the stories that keep people away? You know, the stories about the murders. Everybody had pretty much forgotten about it, but then those ghost hunter shows started popping up and the next thing you know people start talking about the evil in this house. It ain’t right.”

Frederick glided over to Nettie and put his arm around her.

“Well, sugar,” he said. “The man that killed us was evil, but he’s gone now … went to prison first and now I’m pretty sure he’s in a place I don’t think anybody wants to go. But you and me? We’re just regular ol’ spirits, and this is where we belong. Little Marcy knew it. Mrs. Carter knew it, too. Don’t think anybody was ever really afraid of us, except maybe ol’ Dipper.

“No, this is a happy place. It’s our happy place. If we can just get another family in here, you and me will make sure they’re looked out for. Our house seems more like a home when we have company.”

When Marquette snubbed the NCAA

**Marquette coach Al McGuire didn’t like his team’s Midwest Regional placement in the 1970 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament, so he took an NIT bid instead.**

Today at 6 p.m. ET, the field for the 2025 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament will be announced, officially bringing the joy of March Madness to 68 schools.

At 9:30 p.m., the National Invitation Tournament will reveal its bracket – one chock full of teams bitterly disappointed that they failed to make the Big Dance.

There is no confusion about the hierarchy of postseason tourneys in modern college hoops: if you aren’t in the competition that ultimately crowns a national champion, every matchup is a consolation game.

Of course, there was a time when the NIT was the premiere event in amateur basketball, playing all its games at Madison Square Garden in New York with the tourney winner considered America’s top collegiate team for the season. It began in 1938, predating the NCAA tourney by a year.

But the competition sponsored by the sport’s governing body became the alpha by the 1960s, and by 1969 the NCAA Tournament was clearly the main event of collegiate basketball, featuring 25 participants.

The NIT, on the other hand, had just 16 schools in its field.

Yet, while the senior tournament was no longer the star attraction, it still carried a measure of prestige. And in 1970, the Marquette Warriors actually turned down an NCAA bid in favor of an NIT berth.

Marquette (23-3) was ranked No. 8 in the Associated Press poll when the 1969-70 regular season ended, and on February 24, 1970, the school was one of 10 programs to receive at-large bids to the NCAA Tournament.

The others were Jacksonville, Notre Dame, St. Bonaventure, New Mexico State, Houston, Utah State, Villanova, Niagara and Long Beach State. Fifteen conference champions earned automatic bids.

However, the NCAA Selection Committee placed Marquette in the Midwest Regional, which was being played in Fort Worth, Texas. Warrior coach Al McGuire declined the invite because he thought his team deserved to play closer to home in the Mideast Regional, contested in Dayton, Ohio. They were the third highest-ranked independent school named to the field.

“I am very disappointed,” McGuire told AP. “Our heart was set on going to the NCAA.”

McGuire said he talked to NCAA officials and told them Marquette deserved the Mideast Region berth regardless of whether teams were picked based on strength of schedule, records or rankings.

“We belong in Dayton, Ohio,” McGuire said. “That’s all there is to it. I can’t see their thinking.”

Tom Scott, Davidson athletic director and chairman of the NCAA Selection Committee, said he was sorry Marquette decided to opt out.

“Our selection committee ranks the teams in each region and Marquette was third in the Mideast, behind both Notre Dame and Jacksonville,” Scott explained in a United Press International story. “We have only two at-large berths in the Mideast and so the third team is the ‘swing’ team – the team we can, according to the (rule book), move to another regional.

“Our purpose is to select the 10 independent teams we consider the best in the country and we certainly feel Marquette is one of those teams.”

Based on Scott’s logic the decision made perfect sense, but McGuire wasn’t having it. His team had been in the Mideast Regional the previous two seasons, and his 1969-70 squad had a better record than either of those teams.

“I’m disgusted,” he said. “We take basketball seriously here. Maybe it was something between me and the committee … I don’t know. They speak out of both sides of their mouth. First, they speak about schedules, then records. We can’t do any better than we did. What do we have to do – 23-0?”

The Warriors’ leading scorer – junior guard Dean Meminger – backed his coach.

“You must stand up against the establishment,” Meminger said in a February 25 UPI article. “You can’t let people walk over you. What the committee did was a total contradiction.

“My heart was set on going to the NCAA because I wanted to play against the best.”

While Dayton was quickly named as Marquette’s replacement in the NCAA Tourney, the Warriors just as quickly accepted an NIT bid.

McGuire’s team opened with an 83-63 victory over Utah.

“There is a certain electricity about the NIT,” McGuire told Newsday’s George Usher. “It turns New York into a small town – a Madison, Wisconsin – but a lot of so-called dreams are put in the background. I’m just tickled pink the NIT is alive and took us in.”

Marquette thumped LSU (and “Pistol Pete” Maravich), 101-79, in the semi-finals, limiting Maravich to 20 points – 27 points below his average.

And the Warriors claimed the NIT Championship with a 65-53 win over St. John’s on March 21, their twelfth consecutive victory.

“I felt we could win the NCAA, but I’m happy to win any championship,” McGuire said. “I’ve never won one anywhere.”

The same night of the NIT finals, the UCLA Bruins claimed their fourth consecutive national championship with an 80-69 victory over Jacksonville. The Dolphins, by the way, won the Mideast Regional.

The 1969-70 season was the last time an NCAA Tournament invitee had the option of trading down to the NIT. Starting with the 1970-71 campaign, any school receiving an NCAA bid was required to accept it.

Incidentally, Marquette was selected as an at-large team in the 1977 NCAA Tournament and – you guessed it – sent to the Midwest Regional.

In McGuire’s last game before retiring, the Warriors defeated North Carolina, 67-59, to claim his only national championship and – to date – the school’s lone NCAA men’s basketball crown.