Formerly, teams such as Laredo Heat, New Orleans Jesters, Vancouver Whitecaps FC U-23, Kitsap Pumas and the Hollywood United Hitmen had embraced partial professionalism through the PDL-Pro program, whereby teams could choose to employ players who were paid for their performances, but who still met the age eligibility criteria. This did not contravene NCAA rules, which state that college players cannot play "alongside" professionals, but may play "against" them. What this also meant, however, is that PDL-Pro teams could not have any active NCAA players on their rosters, but could employ NAIA and community college players, ex-NCAA players who have already graduated, or other local players who do not play college soccer at all.