Helmet communication, 2-minute warning coming to college football

On Friday, the Football Bowl Subdivision’s usage of sideline tablets and helmet communication, along with a two-minute warning, was formally approved by the NCAA Playing Rules Oversight Panel.

The NCAA football rules committee made the revisions on March 1 and it was anticipated that they would be accepted. The final approvals were obtained on Friday, following a successful test run of the technology in bowl games by many teams.

Teams may have one player on the field who is equipped with helmet communication equipment; this player will be identified by a green dot on the helmet, similar to how the NFL did when it introduced helmet technology in 1994. Teams are permitted to bring up to ten coach-to-player devices to a game, per the policy recommendation obtained by The Athletic. Teams are also required to provide the conference office with a list of players who are eligible for devices by the pregame meeting.

Even if the other team decides not to employ helmet technology, a team is still able to use it. In accordance with the guideline, conferences will choose their preferred vendor, ensuring that all participants are working with the same business. The primary suppliers are anticipated to be GSC (who provides the NFL helmet tech) and CoachComm (who handles coach headsets for the majority of teams).

When there are fifteen seconds remaining on the play clock or the ball is snapped, whichever comes first, the conversation will end. The conference will employ, assign, and oversee the cutoff operator. If there is a disruption in one team’s operations, the communication will be stopped by both teams.

The Big Ten originally recommended this regulation last summer, but it was not until after Michigan’s sign-stealing controversy that the technology rule was changed. Additionally, it is not anticipated that this will put an end to sideline signals or sign-stealing—especially for fast-paced teams that must promptly get a play to wide receivers—but rather that it would make the procedure simpler.

There should be more players on the field who are eligible for communication, according to some coaches. During the bowl testing run, there were no restrictions, which in certain situations did prevent signaling. However, at this point, the rules committee did not want to go much farther than the NFL.

“The intent is to get a little closer to what the NFL has done to allow communication,” Georgia head coach and committee co-chair Kirby Smart said last month. “It’ll allow communication with a quarterback and someone on defense, and we’ll find out where it takes us.”

Sideline tablets

The council also permitted the three football divisions’ exclusive use of tablets to watch in-game video. Teams may use up to 18 tablets in total, and the footage might feature camera angles from the end zone and sideline as well as the broadcast stream. The NFL permits just images on tablets, so this is a little different.

Data access and other forms of communication are prohibited for the tablets. The majority of teams’ film is handled by DVSport, so most schools should choose them as their vendor of choice.

Since tablets have been permitted by several state high school associations for years, college football is just now catching up.

Two-minute warning

The biggest adjustment that fans will notice is the addition of a two-minute warning for the second and fourth quarters, just as in the NFL. There will not be a new media timeout; instead, it will be a fixed point. It is intended to stop broadcasters from utilizing TV timeouts (touchdown, commercial, kickoff, commercial) back-to-back. Additionally, it will enable officials to implement rule modifications, like the running clock following first downs and out-of-bounds plays, that take place in the last two minutes of play.

“This is not a new or additional timeout,” rules committee co-chair and Big Ten VP of football administration A.J. Edds said last month. “This is a known position that will hopefully alleviate the impression early in the quarters where media partners have taken breaks in consecutive opportunities. This will give them a larger runway over the second and fourth quarters.”

Additionally, it will alter the circumstances around the finish of the game, making it slightly harder for a team in the lead to run out the clock and possibly opening up more chances for comebacks.

 (Photo: Carmen Mandato /Getty Images)