National Collegiate Athletic Association

The NCAA News - News and Features

July 6, 1998

Football Issues Committee proposes 12th-game option

The NCAA Division I Football Issues Committee has developed a proposal that it believes is a reasonable alternative to the current practice of permitting preseason football games in Division I-A.

At its June 13-14 meeting, the committee noted its support for the position of the Football Certification Subcommittee, which is recommending that Division I-A preseason football games be discontinued after the 2002 season (see the June 22 issue of The NCAA News).

In the alternative, the Football Issues Committee is recommending that beginning with the 2003 season a 12th regular-season game be permitted in years in which there are 14 playing dates from the first permissible playing date through the last playing date in November. In addition to the 2003 season, that would next occur in 2008, 2013, 2014 and 2019.

The football season in Division I begins on the Thursday preceding Labor Day and ends on the second Saturday or Sunday in December.

Various Division I groups have addressed the question of preseason football games in Division I-A. Such games have become significant revenue sources, both for the sponsoring agencies and for the participating institutions. The number of such games has grown, leading the membership to examine how the teams for such games are chosen and competitive-equity questions that may result.

Among the items under review has been whether Division I-A conferences should be limited to one preseason opportunity a year. At its April meeting, the Division I Board of Directors accommodated a request to permit more than one institution from a conference to participate in preseason games in the 1998 season; however, the Football Issues Committee has asked that the restriction be reinstated between 1999 and 2002, when preseason games would end if the recommendation of the Football Certification Subcommittee is approved.

The committee believes that permitting the 12th game in selected years while ending preseason games would bring more uniformity to the length of the regular season in Division I-A football and would eliminate the somewhat arbitrary process that currently exists for determining which teams are permitted to play 12 games.

The Football Issues Committee's recommendation to add the 12th game in certain years will be forwarded to the Division I Championships/Competition Cabinet and would need to be approved by the Division I Management Council and Board of Directors to become effective.

Statistical study

The committee also requested $10,000 to update the statistical information contained in the 1994 report prepared by the NCAA Special Committee to Review a Division I-A Football Championship.

The committee stressed that this proposal does not include a market evaluation. It is intended only to keep the statistical information contained in the report current so that the membership would have up-to-date information about the status of Division I-A postseason football.

In other business, the committee:

  • Recommended that a three-person subcommittee of the Football Issues Commit-tee serve as an appellate body to consider unique and/or catastrophic situations that might affect the number of equivalencies in meeting the requirement for Division I-AA institutions to qualify as opponents for Division I-A institutions attempting to meet the six-win eligibility requirement for postseason competition. Division I-AA institutions are required under the new legislation to have averaged 60 grants-in-aid over the preceding three-year period.

  • Decided to resubmit to the Championships/Competition Cabinet a recommendation that would require a Division I-A institution to designate before the season the Division I-AA opponent that would count toward the six victories required to qualify for a postseason bowl game.

  • Recommended that NCAA Bylaw 11.7. 2.2 be revised to provide for the head coach to exchange days with one assistant coach once during a recruiting calendar week (that is, Sunday through Saturday). Under the recommendation, no more than seven coaches would be permitted to be involved at any one time with the off-campus contact and evaluation of prospects. The committee believes that the extensive responsibilities of most head coaches prevent them from using the allowable days and that the additional flexibility provided by the proposal would benefit the coaches and the recruiting process in general.

  • Recommended that Bylaw 17.1.6.2.1 be revised to allow football skill instruction without pads or helmets for no more than three student-athletes outside of the institution's declared playing season.

  • Did not support a proposal that would permit Division I-AA institutions to simultaneously telecast or cablecast Division I-AA football games after 7 p.m. on Friday nights.