The NCAA provided a forum to share a smorgasbord of college football issues with its third annual preseason media conference call August 20.

     The call featured points of emphasis for officials, rules changes involving the pay clock, and health and safety matters. Rogers Redding, the NCAA secretary-rules editor for football; Ron Courson, the director of sports medicine at Georgia; Dave Parry, the national coordinator of college football officiating; Grant Teaff, the executive director of the American Football Coaches Association; and various NCAA staff members were available for a Q&A.

     “We started doing this because of the significant interest of the fans and media in college football,” said NCAA Vice President of Football and Baseball Dennie Poppe. “It is productive to bring all these people together in one forum to answer various questions.”

     Poppe said the calls also serve to clear any misperceptions about rules changes or other policy-related matters that may be making the rounds.

     “We want everyone to have the correct information,” Poppe said. “This is an attempt to set the record straight about why some decisions were made that will have an impact on college football.”

     For example, Parry explained the emphasis officials will place on unsportsmanlike conduct and unnecessary roughness. The NCAA Football Rules Committee also outlawed the “horse-collar” tackle starting this season.

     Parry also addressed rules changes regarding the play clock. This season, when a runner goes out of bounds, with the exception of the last two minutes of each half, the game clock will re-start on a signal from the referee, rather than on the snap for the next play.

     The other change is a 40/25-second play-clock system that will standardize the pace of play. The offensive team will have 40 seconds to snap the ball after it is declared dead. The play clock will originate at 25 seconds after administrative stoppages (such as change of possession or injury).

     On the health and safety side, the rules committee has added tougher language to the rules book to penalize players who use the crown of their helmet or target defenseless opponents when making contact above the shoulders. Efforts also are being made to educate student-athletes on the dangers of having their heads down while making contact.

     Courson discussed precautions institutions can take to mitigate heat concerns during preseason practices. Institutions must comply with recently adopted acclimatization standards that preclude more than one workout in the first five days of preseason practice. Once two-a-days begin, teams are not allowed to have two consecutive days of double sessions.

     The college football season kicks off August 23 with a nationally televised Division II game (on CBS College Sports Network) featuring defending champion Valdosta State against Fort Valley State. Division I begins with a number of games on Thursday, August 28.