1. Why doesn't USC have a DI team already?  Isn't it a Title IX issue?

First, to answer this question, please check out a great article from USA Today here. An excerpt is included below:

"Schools have three ways to comply with Title IX: Match the proportion of female athletes to the proportion of women on campus; show a history of increasing sports for women; or prove the school has met the interest and ability of women to participate in athletics."

We believe there is room within this definition to incorporate male sports, so Title IX is not the issue behind SC's lack of a DI team. 

Secondly, to hear straight from the source, there are two brochures about Title IX from the NCAA here and here. 

2. So is this like a club team? 

Trojans FC plays in a league which is independent of the National Intramural and Recreational Sports Association (NIRSA), the league which oversees collegiate club sports across the United States.  

Our team is a member of the SoCal Premier League, a branch of the US Soccer Federation pyramid of leagues. As such, we are eligible to compete in the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup, the oldest ongoing soccer competition in the United States, and the national tournament for all amateur and professional teams in the country. 

In the future, we could be competing against upper division teams, and one day even play against professional MLS teams like Los Angels Football Club and LA Galaxy!

3. Who plays For You?

While we are not the official team of the University of Southern California, all of our players are currently students at the school.

We welcome all types of players in our organization.  Currently, on our 26 man roster, we have 12 international students, from 4 different continents, 6 graduate students, and 15+ different majors. We are proud of our diversity, and believe it is the backbone of our team. 

Also, because we play independently of USC, we are also exempt from NCAA rules. Therefore, we hope to use that advantage in the near future to provide scholarships to local LA high students who want to come to USC and play for our team. 

4. Where do you guys play? 

All of our games (home and away) are played in Orange County, California because that is where our league is based. However, with ample field space available around us at USC, we would like to move our home games closer to campus in order to support and encourage fan attendance. 

There are high school fields available for rent and turf/grass fields on top of parking structures in Los Angeles as well. Our dream, though, would be to play in the Banc of California Stadium, the new soccer-specific stadium built by the Los Angeles Football Club. Since USC Men's Lacrosse has already played a game at the Coliseum, we feel there is precedent and remain hopeful about the opportunity. 

5. How are you paying for all this? 

As a 501(c)(3) non-profit, we have been fully funded by generous donations from local businesses, USC alumni, and our players - who pay membership dues to support the club.

However, through careful market research we have determined that Trojans FC can be become self-sustaining in the future and actually be one of the few net-positive sports played at USC. Soccer is quickly on its way to becoming one of the most popular sports in the United States, and is already one of the most popular in Southern California, so as time goes on we will only have more fan support.