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Task force to assess Division I football landscape
Football Issues Committee members join other groups in collaborative approach
The NCAA News
Football Issues Committee members join other groups in collaborative approach
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The NCAA News
A task force of Division I Football Issues Committee members, coaches and other stakeholders will be appointed to examine the future direction of college football.
The football issues committee announced the formation of the new group at its January 11-12 meeting in San Antonio.
Among items the task force will address are non-scholastic camps and clinics, and coaches making on-campus contact in the spring with prospective student-athletes and with student-athletes who already have signed a National Letter of Intent.
Other items in-clude possibly establishing an early signing date in the sport and examining the feasibility of a fifth year of eligibility for football student-athletes.
“We all feel strongly about not making decisions in a vacuum, so that the results of one decision don’t negatively impact another area,” said Steve Pederson, chair of the football issues committee and director of athletics at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln. “That’s why we thought it was important to form a task force to look at all these issues.”
Stakeholders see the non-scholastic camps and clinics as a building influence during the recruiting process. Football issues committee members want to further examine the role such camps play in evaluations.
“We want to know whether coaches have to be seven places at once when recruiting,” Pederson said. “Is the time they are spending good recruiting time or are they just at places to be seen because other institutions are there?”
Grant Teaff, executive director of the American Football Coaches Association, said coaches believe additional access would help them acclimate prospects to campus. Currently, student-athletes who sign a national letter of intent are allowed one visit to the campus in the spring, but coaches aren’t allowed to have contact with them.
Early signing
Unlike men’s and women’s basketball that have an early signing period, football has but one signing day in early February. That means coaches constantly have to keep in touch with recruits who make oral commitments that are not binding. Many coaches believe an early signing day would eliminate this additional “recruiting” period.
Pederson heard AFCA coaches say that because more prospects are making oral commitments earlier, an early signing date would alleviate the pressure on prospects to change their minds and allow coaches to be focused in their recruiting efforts.
“It would take some people off the table,” Pederson said. “It would probably make it easier for schools wondering who they should be concentrating on in those last several months. It would eliminate some travel to go see somebody who told you three months ago that they are coming to your institution.”
Pederson said if an early signing day ever came to fruition, it would cause a domino effect for recruiting, but those details could be worked out later.
“What does it do to the entire recruiting calendar?” Pederson said. “What does it mean for official visits? Does it mean that you have to look at official visits in the spring, summer or early fall? There are no answers to that yet, but I think a broader-brush look at this is appropriate for now.”
Other issues
In other action at the football issues committee meeting, members noted the AFCA’s opposition to a proposal to eliminate text messaging. The Division I Management Council recently defeated a measure that would have restricted the practice, but kept alive Proposal No. 06-40, which would ban it altogether.
Coaches believe text messaging is a necessary part of recruiting. Pederson believes the legislation should be studied more closely.
“When you start passing technology rules, you almost have to convene a new group every day,” he said. “The rules are changing so fast. What is available today could be completely different than what is available tomorrow.”
Committee members also discussed the playing rules effective this season that were designed to speed up the game. Changes included the game clock starting after a change of possession and when the ball is put in play on kickoffs.
The rules led to an average decrease in game time of 15 minutes. In the 11 Football Bowl Subdivision conferences, the average number of plays, yardage and points decreased as well. The Big East Conference and the Southeastern Conference were the only leagues that saw an increase in average yardage and points.
The NCAA Football Rules Committee will review those rules and other proposals at its February 11-14 meeting.
The football issues committee announced the formation of the new group at its January 11-12 meeting in San Antonio.
Among items the task force will address are non-scholastic camps and clinics, and coaches making on-campus contact in the spring with prospective student-athletes and with student-athletes who already have signed a National Letter of Intent.
Other items in-clude possibly establishing an early signing date in the sport and examining the feasibility of a fifth year of eligibility for football student-athletes.
“We all feel strongly about not making decisions in a vacuum, so that the results of one decision don’t negatively impact another area,” said Steve Pederson, chair of the football issues committee and director of athletics at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln. “That’s why we thought it was important to form a task force to look at all these issues.”
Stakeholders see the non-scholastic camps and clinics as a building influence during the recruiting process. Football issues committee members want to further examine the role such camps play in evaluations.
“We want to know whether coaches have to be seven places at once when recruiting,” Pederson said. “Is the time they are spending good recruiting time or are they just at places to be seen because other institutions are there?”
Grant Teaff, executive director of the American Football Coaches Association, said coaches believe additional access would help them acclimate prospects to campus. Currently, student-athletes who sign a national letter of intent are allowed one visit to the campus in the spring, but coaches aren’t allowed to have contact with them.
Early signing
Unlike men’s and women’s basketball that have an early signing period, football has but one signing day in early February. That means coaches constantly have to keep in touch with recruits who make oral commitments that are not binding. Many coaches believe an early signing day would eliminate this additional “recruiting” period.
Pederson heard AFCA coaches say that because more prospects are making oral commitments earlier, an early signing date would alleviate the pressure on prospects to change their minds and allow coaches to be focused in their recruiting efforts.
“It would take some people off the table,” Pederson said. “It would probably make it easier for schools wondering who they should be concentrating on in those last several months. It would eliminate some travel to go see somebody who told you three months ago that they are coming to your institution.”
Pederson said if an early signing day ever came to fruition, it would cause a domino effect for recruiting, but those details could be worked out later.
“What does it do to the entire recruiting calendar?” Pederson said. “What does it mean for official visits? Does it mean that you have to look at official visits in the spring, summer or early fall? There are no answers to that yet, but I think a broader-brush look at this is appropriate for now.”
Other issues
In other action at the football issues committee meeting, members noted the AFCA’s opposition to a proposal to eliminate text messaging. The Division I Management Council recently defeated a measure that would have restricted the practice, but kept alive Proposal No. 06-40, which would ban it altogether.
Coaches believe text messaging is a necessary part of recruiting. Pederson believes the legislation should be studied more closely.
“When you start passing technology rules, you almost have to convene a new group every day,” he said. “The rules are changing so fast. What is available today could be completely different than what is available tomorrow.”
Committee members also discussed the playing rules effective this season that were designed to speed up the game. Changes included the game clock starting after a change of possession and when the ball is put in play on kickoffs.
The rules led to an average decrease in game time of 15 minutes. In the 11 Football Bowl Subdivision conferences, the average number of plays, yardage and points decreased as well. The Big East Conference and the Southeastern Conference were the only leagues that saw an increase in average yardage and points.
The NCAA Football Rules Committee will review those rules and other proposals at its February 11-14 meeting.
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