College Football

NCAA proposes coach-to-player helmet communication, two-minute warning

Published Mar. 1, 2024 1:24 p.m. ET

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The NCAA Football Rules Committee announced Friday that it has proposed optional technology rules for the 2024 season, which includes coach-to-player communications through the helmet of one player on the field. 

The proposal must be approved by the NCAA Playing Rules Oversight Panel, which is scheduled to discuss football proposals on April 18. 

This option would be extended to games involving Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) teams, with each school having the opportunity to utilize the helmet communication system. The selected player to communicate with the coach would be identified with a green dot on the back midline of his helmet. 

The communication from the coach to the player would be turned off with 15 seconds on the play clock or when the ball is snapped, whichever occurs first. 

The optional coach-to-player helmet technology proposal comes in the wake of Michigan's sign-stealing scandal last season in which a low-level staffer allegedly bought tickets to upwards of 30 games as part of an elaborate scheme to steal the in-game signs used by Michigan's opponents.

The committee also proposed the option for teams to use tablets to view in-game video only. This option would extend to all three NCAA divisions, with the video being able to include the broadcast feed of the game as well as camera angles from the coach's sideline and the coach's end zone. 

Teams would be allowed to have up to 18 tablets for use in the coaching booth, sideline and locker room. Tablets could not be connected to other devices to project larger additional images and could not use analytics, data or data access capability or other communication access. All team personnel would be allowed to view the tablets during the game. 

Committee members also had discussions surrounding wearable technologies, with invites extended to non-FBS conferences that are interested in using wearable technologies to submit an experimental proposal to the committee by June 15. 

Another committee recommendation included the addition of an automatic timeout when two minutes remain in the second and fourth quarters of a game. The proposal synchronizes all timing rules, such as 10-second runoffs and stopping the clock when a first down is gained in bounds, which coincides with the two-minute timeout. 

The committee also proposed a stronger enforcement structure for uniform violations, as well as a collaborative replay review system, and penalizing horse-collar tackles that occur within the tackle box as a 15-yard personal foul, as there is not a current penalty for the play. 

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