The Chicago and North Central Kerfuffle
The September 30, 2026 women's soccer game between UChicago and North Central (IL) was not played. UChicago lists it as a forfeit. North Central lists it as postponed. The NCAA lists it as canceled. This page reads both schools' schedule pages every hour and records every change.
Current listings
Postponed
- Date
- Sep 30 (Wed)
- Time
- 4 PM
- Home or away
- Away
- Opponent
- #21 University of Chicago
- Location
- Chicago, Ill., Stagg Field
- Status
- Postponed
Game Forfeited by North Central
- Date
- Sep 30 (Wed)
- Time
- 4 PM CT
- Home or away
- Home
- Opponent
- #13 North Central (IL)
- Location
- Chicago, IL, Stagg Grass Field
- Status
- Game Forfeited by North Central
- Note
- North Central women's soccer has forfeited game with refusal to play
Canceled
Division III women's soccer scoreboard for 09/30/2026 lists North Central (IL) (7-0-1) vs UChicago (7-1), 05:00 PM ET, as Canceled, with no box score.
What happened
North Central (IL), ranked 13th, was scheduled to play at UChicago, ranked 21st, on Wednesday, September 30, 2026 at 4 PM Central on the grass field at Stagg Field. UChicago had announced on September 22 that the game would stream on the FloSports Channel through Prime Video and on FloCollege, its first nationally distributed broadcast and the first University Athletic Association game on Prime Video. Both teams were unbeaten at the time of that announcement. UChicago leads the series 9-0-1 and won 2-1 in Naperville in 2025.
It rained in Chicago through the day. UChicago published an article, time-stamped 11:01 AM Central, saying the North Central coaching staff had decided not to travel, that UChicago had prepared both the grass field and the artificial turf, and that the game would be recorded as a forfeit win for UChicago. At 12:42 PM, North Central posted that the game was postponed because of weather. At 1:37 PM, UChicago posted its article on X with a "GAME FORFEITED" graphic. North Central has not commented further. The NCAA's scoreboard lists the game as canceled.
Timeline
September 30, 2026 unless noted. Times are Central, taken from each post's ID. (An earlier version of this page showed every post two hours early.)
- UChicago Athletics publishes "North Central Forfeits Women's Soccer Game at UChicago on Wednesday." It says the North Central coaching staff decided not to make the trip, that both playing surfaces were prepared, and that the game "will be recorded as a forfeit victory for the Maroons." The page's published time is 11:01 AM; it was last modified at 1:38 PM.
- North Central Athletics posts: "Tonight's @NCC_WSoccer match against University of Chicago has been postponed due to weather." The post points to Saturday's game at Elmhurst. (post)
- UChicago Athletics posts the article with a graphic that reads "GAME FORFEITED" and says the North Central team "has forfeited its contest with UChicago on Wednesday with a refusal to travel and play." (post)
- Matt Snyder: "Chicago says North Central is refusing to make the ~40 mile trip today for the scheduled Women's soccer match." (post)
- Bob Quillman posts screenshots of both schools' listings. A reply later notes that UChicago's page had shown a 3-0 result and removed it. (post)
- D3 Datacast: "Our understanding is UChicago was fully prepared to host and play as scheduled but North Central said they wouldn't. Was a little falling rain really the issue or was it the chance for a falling NPI?" (post)
- Ryan Whitnable summarizes the two statements: weather was bad all day, UChicago prepared two surfaces, the schools disagreed about whether the game could be played safely, UChicago wanted to play and North Central declined. (post)
- RedditCFB: "North Central and Chicago have slightly different interpretations of how a scheduled Women's Soccer game that wasn't played should be scored." (post)
- Scott Curry notes this is how two schools end up with different all-time records against each other. (post)
- Graham Dunwoodie: "It appears we've broken containment." (post)
- Whitnable: "The 3-0 scoreline (forfeit) was reported by one school and the other listed it at as 'Postponed'... NCAA rules 100% will see this as a 'No Contest'." (post)
- D3 Datacast lists Chicago-area games played that day: Illinois Tech, Rockford, Concordia Chicago, Dominican (IL), Lake Forest, Aurora, North Park, and Wheaton (IL). (post) DIII Region 10 Baseball: "Was it due to weather, NPI, or miscommunication????" (post)
- Mike Shoultz makes the same point about Concordia Chicago and Aurora. (post)
- Quillman: "Not much word coming from NCC on all of this. I'd love to understand what happened. This does not happen often (ever)." (post)
- Dave McHugh, replying to Shoultz: "Type of field can make a difference. If on grass, playing in rain is usually a no-go. I read Chicago claims they were preparing the turf field for the game and I know others who do the same in these cases. There may have been a breakdown with this shift as it was communicated or what NCC expected. No idea. Though I think the smoke coming from Chicago is unnecessary." (post)
- Lucas Mitzel notes that a men's soccer game against Edgewood that night was also postponed. (post)
- Pat Coleman of D3hoops, replying to the list of games played: "... and are those fields ... grass? Turf?" (post)
- Quillman: UChicago's official communications say the field was ready and North Central refused to play, many D3 matches were played that day, and until North Central comments, "Chicago is winning the narrative battle here." A reply says the NCAA stats site lists the game as canceled, one of ten canceled Division III women's games that day. (post)
- A retired college coach (@coachq19, a United Soccer Coaches Master Coach) replies to Quillman: "Yes, I can confirm it has happened in the past especially in late-season non-conference games in d3 soccer. Weak D3 conference & school admins don't police it & bad conference & institutional policies allow coaches the out." (post)
- The NCAA's Division III women's soccer scoreboard on stats.ncaa.org lists the game as Canceled, with no box score.
What the NCAA rules say
Four NCAA documents cover a game that is not played. The playing rules and the statistics policies apply to every division. Each quote below links to the PDF it comes from.
Playing rules: a game that never starts is a no contest
The 2026 and 2027 NCAA Men's and Women's Soccer Rules Book (updated August 10, 2026) covers both outcomes in Rule 7.6, "No Contest and Forfeit":
7.6.1 When a scheduled game is terminated before it begins, it is recorded as "no contest." Neither team is credited with a win or loss, regardless of the reason why the game was terminated.
7.6.2 If a game is terminated by the officials during play for violations of Rule 5.6.5, the following procedures shall apply. If 70 minutes have not been completed, the statistics shall not count, and all cards are voided, except for violent behavior II, fighting and referee assault red cards, which are subject to the associated penalties in Rule 12. The final score of a game under these circumstances shall be recorded as 1-0 to the nonoffending team. If 70 minutes have been completed, and the nonoffending team is in the lead, the score of the game when terminated becomes the final score. If the offending team is leading or the game is tied, the final score shall be recorded as 1-0 to the nonoffending team. If 70 minutes have been completed, all statistics, including cards, shall count and the appropriate penalties shall be served.
Rule 5.6.5 lists the only in-game situations that produce a forfeit: a coach who prolongs a discussion with an official or refuses to leave the field, a team that refuses to return to the field within three minutes, or an ejected player who reenters as a substitute. The penalty reads: "The game is terminated and a forfeit is awarded to the opposing team. See Rule 7.6.2."
A team that does not show up falls under Rule 5.6.6, which tells the referee to:
5.6.6 Declare a "no contest" when a team without prior notification is not on the field and prepared to play within 15 minutes after the contracted starting time, unless evidence of extenuating circumstances can be provided.
Rule 12.9.5.1 adds: "Regular season games that are cancelled or result in a no contest do not count for serving a suspension."
Statistics policy: a school cannot declare a forfeit for a game that was not played
The NCAA Statistics Policies and Guidelines, the document sports information directors follow when they report records to the NCAA, has a "No Contest" Declaration on page 23:
There is no forfeit of a contest until all participating teams are present and the referee or other appropriate contest official has assumed jurisdiction in accordance with the applicable playing rules. When a team does not appear (e.g., due to weather conditions, accidents, breakdown of vehicles, illness or catastrophic circumstances, shortage of players), a forfeit is not recorded unless the rules of the sport provide that option. An institution shall not, for statistical purposes, declare a forfeit for nonfulfillment of a contest. Such instances shall be considered as "no contest." In circumstances involving institutions from the same conference, the league office has the option to declare a forfeit win and loss for conference-standings purposes only, but this does not change an institution's overall won-lost record. The "no contest" declaration came into effect at the start of the 1977-78 season.
The same document sets the recorded score of a soccer forfeit at 1-0 and the "reasonable point of conclusion" for statistics to count at 70 minutes (page 22). The 3-0 score that UChicago's page showed briefly on September 30 is not the NCAA forfeit score for soccer.
The NCAA Soccer Statisticians' Manual repeats the policy as Article 7 of its official scoring section, with one change in wording: "An institution shall not, for statistical purposes, declare a forfeit for nonfulfillment of a contract."
Championship manual: NPI counts only contests that are played
The 2025-26 NCAA Division III Soccer Pre-Championship Manual defines the NCAA Power Index (NPI) inputs in Appendix D. Winning percentage is "A team's number of wins divided by the number of that team's total contests," and strength of schedule is the average of the opponents' NPI. For women's soccer the weights are 20 percent winning percentage and 80 percent strength of schedule, with a quality-win bonus above an NPI of 54.00 and a minimum of 8 wins. The manual has no provision for forfeits or no contests in the regular season. The only forfeit it mentions is for exceeding the 24-player squad limit during the championship. A no contest therefore adds nothing to either team's NPI. The 2026-27 manual had not been posted as of October 1, 2026.
How the rules apply here
Under Rule 7.6.1 and the statistics policy, a game that ends before it begins is a no contest for NCAA records, whatever the reason, and the host cannot record a forfeit win. The conference-standings exception does not apply because North Central plays in the CCIW and UChicago plays in the UAA. This matches what the NCAA scoreboard shows (canceled, no box score) and what UChicago's own schedule page shows: its 7-1 record does not include a forfeit win. The rules do not stop a school from describing the game as a forfeit on its schedule page or in a press release, which is where the two schools still differ. Whether a team that declines to travel owes the host anything is a matter of the game contract between the schools, which neither school has published.
Change log
Every change the hourly check has seen on either schedule page, newest first.
2026-10-01 10:31:43 · UChicago: first snapshot
Tracking started. 17 games on the schedule page.
2026-10-01 10:31:41 · North Central (IL): first snapshot
Tracking started. 22 games on the schedule page.
More Division III numbers
This page is a side project of The D3 Stat Lab, independent Division III women's basketball analytics: NPI rankings, season simulations with tournament odds, composite ratings, and conference rankings, updated through the season. If the NPI angle in this story interests you, that is where the metric is explained and tracked.