FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. --- The NCAA Football Rules Committee reviewed and confirmed its rules relating to student-athlete safety and sportsmanship, calling on officials to continue to use strict enforcement regarding flagrant personal fouls. The committee, which met Feb. 9-11, reviewed several examples of contact above the shoulders on defenseless players, which was a rule change before last season. While enforcement was generally positive at all levels last season, the committee continues to be concerned with flagrant contact that endangers student-athletes. All rules proposals will be sent for membership comment and considered by the Playing Rules Oversight Panel before taking effect.
“The safety of the players in our game is of critical importance,” said Mike Bellotti, chair of the NCAA Football Rules Committee and head football coach at the University of Oregon. “We believe, in some cases, that players must be penalized more severely when the contact is clearly flagrant and dangerous.”
In these cases, the committee is instructing officials to eject student-athletes more frequently when warranted. The group will distribute several video examples to officials, coaches and conference administrators to educate and clarify what types of plays should result in an ejection. Additionally, any flagrant foul will automatically trigger a review by the offending player’s conference. A representative from the National Athletic Trainers Association participated in discussions and noted that both players are at risk when these fouls occur.
“We feel that the officials and coaches have generally responded well to last year’s rules change and this is another step,” said Rogers Redding, secretary-rules editor of the NCAA Football Rules Committee and coordinator of officials for the Southeastern Conference.
Unsportsmanlike conduct fouls were another main topic of discussion. The committee confirmed its rules in this area and developed a philosophy to help guide officials and coaches. The group also gave serious consideration to applying these fouls as live-ball fouls, which would penalize the offending team at the spot of the foul. The committee plans to continue to monitor this for possible future implementation and developed a statement to distribute and include in the rules book (attached to this release).
“College football is a team game and prolonged acts that draw attention to the individual are not consistent with that philosophy,” said Bellotti. “Overall, officials have maintained a strong standard in this area and this must continue.”
In other committee actions, the committee:
• Redefined the rules for roughing the kicker. Now, if the punter carries the ball outside the tackle box, he loses protections provided as a kicker.
• Approved a request to allow teams, when approved by the conference office and agreed to by both teams, to wear colored jerseys as long as they are clearly contrasting in color. When agreement is unable to be reached, the visiting team shall wear white.
• Noted that the next edition of the rules book will be in effect for the 2009 and 2010 football seasons as part of the NCAA’s two-year playing rules cycle.
-30-
NCAA FOOTBALL RULES COMMITTEE
Statement on Sportsmanship by the NCAA Football Rules Committee
Adopted February 11, 2009
After reviewing a number of plays involving unsportsmanlike conduct, the committee is firm in its support of the unsportsmanlike conduct rules as they currently are written and officiated. Many of these fouls deal with players who inappropriately draw attention to themselves in a pre-meditated, excessive or prolonged manner. Players should be taught the discipline that reinforces football as a team game.
The rules committee reminds head coaches of their responsibility for the behavior of their players before and after, as well as during, the game. Players must be cautioned against pre-game unsportsmanlike conduct on the field that can lead to confrontation between the teams. Such action can lead to penalties enforced on the opening kickoff, possibly including disqualification of players. Repeated occurrence of such unsportsmanlike behavior by a team may result in punitive action by the conference against the head coach and his institution.
Currently the penalties for unsportsmanlike conduct fouls are administered by treating these as dead-ball fouls, even though the fouls often take place while the ball is in play. The committee is considering the possibility that if such a foul is committed while the ball is in play, the penalty would be enforced according to the rules for other live-ball fouls. This would mean, for example, that if a ball carrier about to score a touchdown taunted his opponents while still in the field of play, the score would be voided and the penalty enforced from the spot of the foul. Although the committee has not taken any action in this regard, it is a viable option for possible rules changes in the future.
