COLLEGE: NCAA bans reentry in any period

The NCAA Men's and Women's Soccer Rules Committee has banned reentry in any period of the game.

The move was, according to the NCAA News, ''in response to the membership and in an effort to improve the flow of the game, lessen game times and promote student-athlete safety'' and an appeal ''to the 'purist' aspect of soccer.''

Players are still allowed to return to the game in the second half if they have been substituted in the first half. Coaches won't be allowed, however, to make mass substitutions, often used for the sole purpose of killing the clock or stopping momentum at the end of a game.

College soccer for years has allowed players to come in and out of the game, turning matches into fitness contests. For a while, it limited a player to returning to once in the second half. Last season, NCAA rules permitted reentry in each half (but not overtime).