sport. As far as the Big XII and SEC go, there may be a couple of factors at play here. One reason could a limited recruiting are within the conference's footprint. In terms of HS soccer, FL (SEC) and TX (Big XII and SEC) are the only Deep South states that have a high enough number of HS soccer programs capable of producing DI talent. Plus, it may be tougher for those schools to convince a kid from Cali (or any of the other states good at soccer) or Europe to come play for them especially since not everyone will receive a full scholarship.

Two other possible reasons could be they don't want to sponsor the sport for racial and/or political reasons. In addition to needing a women's sport to satisfy Title IX requirements, either/both conferences may view women's soccer as inferior (in terms of skill level) to men's soccer. As a byproduct, the criteria to determine if a HS recruit is DI caliber or not may not be as strict as it is for the men's sports. Hence it is easier for their schools to recruit within the conference's footprint. If these are factors, then I am not suggesting that they are obvious and even blatant about it. It may be more subtle or even easily explained by labeling it as being "a cultural thing."
[Post edited by VTHokie2000 at 06/08/2016 2:09PM]