The NCAA announced the upcoming agenda for the Division I Football Oversight Committee on Friday and a few head coaches around the country could be very pleased if those bullet points turn into actual changes on the docket for the sport.
Most notably, the committee is set to look into expanding the standard regular season schedule to 14 weeks. This move is being examined as a result of previous changes that eliminated two-a-days for programs across college football and the subsequent need for a host of pre-season waivers allowing teams to start fall camp earlier than normal. According to the association’s release on the matter, administrators would prefer to keep the standard early August start date for camp and move to a 14-week slate that would not result in the need for waivers to start early.
“A variety of different models will be looked at,” said Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby, the oversight committee chair. “We think there are some ways that the beginning of preseason practice can be kept in August and still meet the appropriate safety considerations.”
Teams normally play a 13-week season with one bye weekend but the calendar does provide a few opportunities every once in a while to play a 14-week season when there is an extra Saturday baked into the standard Labor Day through Thanksgiving run. The move to 14-weeks would probably get a big thumbs up from coaches with the inclusion of an extra bye week for most.
Also on the agenda are an AFCA proposal to allow for players to play in a limited number of games without using up a full year of the eligibility and a more in-depth look at the size of non-coaching football support staffs. It appears the committee is already asking schools to submit details of the number of folks connected to their football program in areas from quality control to the front office.
Don’t hold your breath if you’re expecting a quick move on some of these items though, as the committee will not meet again until early October and the meandering NCAA process making it 2018 at the earliest before any changes will be enacted.