The NCAA Playing Rules Oversight Committee on Friday formally approved the use of helmet communications and sideline tablets and two-minute warnings in the Football Bowl Subdivision.
The change was proposed and expected to be approved by the NCAA's Football Rules Committee on March 1. Friday's decision is the final rubber stamp and was announced after successful trials by several teams using the technology in bowl games.
Teams will be allowed to have one player on the field using helmet communication technology. This is indicated by a green dot on the helmet, similar to his NFL, which used the helmet technology for the first time in 1994. The Athleticteams may bring up to 10 coach-to-player devices to a game, and teams must submit a list of device-eligible players to the conference office by the pregame meeting.
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NCAA Rules Committee Proposes Helmet Communication, 2-Minute Warning
A team can use helmet technology even if the opponent chooses not to use it. The conference selects vendors according to policy and ensures that everyone attends the same company's conference. GSC (supplying NFL helmet technology) and CoachComm (handling coaches' headsets for most teams) are expected to be the primary vendors.
Communication is cut off when there are 15 seconds left on the play clock or when the ball is snapped, whichever comes first. Cutoff operators are hired, assigned, and managed by the conference. If one team's operations stop, both teams will stop using communications.
The technology rule change was not a response to the Michigan sign-stealing scandal that came to light after the Big Ten first proposed the rule last summer. This isn't expected to eliminate sideline signals and sign-stealing, especially for up-tempo teams that need to get plays to wide receivers quickly, but it's a step towards an easier process.
Some coaches have expressed a desire to see more players with communication skills on the field. During the bowl commissioning there were no restrictions and in some cases no signals were generated. But the rules committee had no intention of going any further than the NFL at this point.
“The idea is to get a little bit closer to what the NFL has been doing to allow for communication,” Georgia head coach and committee co-chairman Kirby Smart said last month. “This will allow us to communicate with the quarterback or anyone on defense and we'll know where it's going.”
New Iowa State offensive coordinator Tim Lester, who used the technology last year as an analyst for the Green Bay Packers, said helmet communication this spring has been “great.”
“This allows us to talk to them as they get closer to the line of scrimmage, relay plays to them and hopefully be more efficient,” Lester said. “I think this is going to be a good thing for college football. When you can talk directly to the quarterback, you don't have to make 10,000 signals, you have more detailed information, you have more things you can do offensively, so the offensive line is better.” Sounds like a good thing for college football.
“When it was passed, I honestly don't think I expected it to happen this quickly, but I'm very happy about it. It's been a pretty smooth transition.”
side job tablet
The committee also approved the use of tablets to watch in-game video only for all three divisions of soccer. Video can include broadcast feeds and camera angles from the sideline or end zone, and teams can use up to 18 tablets in total. This is a little different than the NFL, which only allows images on tablets.
Tablets are not allowed data or other communication access. His DVSport, which handles most teams' film, is expected to be the vendor of choice for most schools.
Some state high school associations have allowed tablets for years, meaning college football is finally catching up.
2 minute warning
The most notable change for fans will be the addition of a two-minute warning in the second and fourth quarters, similar to the NFL. This becomes a fixed point for media timeouts, but is not a new media timeout. This is expected to prevent broadcasters from using his TV timeouts (touchdown, commercial, kickoff, commercial) in succession. It also allows referees to switch to rule changes that occur with two minutes remaining, such as a running clock after a first down or an out-of-bounds play.
“This is not a new timeout or an additional timeout,” AJ Edds, co-chair of the rules committee and the Big Ten's vice president of football administration, said last month. “This is a known position and is expected to soften the impression earlier in the quarter when media partners took back-to-back breaks. It will be secured.”
It also changes the end-of-game scenario, making it a little harder for the dominant teams to run out the clock, potentially creating more chances for a comeback.
— Scott Dochterman contributed reporting.
(Photo: Carmen Mandert/Getty Images)
