Home  >  Resources  >  NCAA Media Center

NCAA Football Resource Center

Publish date: Aug 1, 2012

Fall 2012

The NCAA Football Rules Committee passed several rules changes, effective for the 2012 season, intended to enhance student-athlete safety.

Rules Changes

Kickoff and Touchback Starting Lines Moved: Kickoffs will take place at the 35-yard line (instead of at the 30-yard line), and kicking team players must be no further than five yards from the 35 at the kick. This is intended to limit the running start kicking teams have during the play. The committee also voted to move the touchback distance on free kicks to the 25-yard line instead of the 20-yard line to encourage more touchbacks. NCAA data indicates injuries during kickoffs occur more often than in other phases of the game.

Loss of Helmet During Play: If a player loses his helmet (other than as the result of a foul by the opponent, like a facemask), it will be treated like an injury. The player must leave the game and is not allowed to participate for the next play. Current injury timeout rules guard against using this rule to gain an advantage from stopping the clock. Additionally, if a player loses his helmet, he must not continue to participate in play to protect him from injury. Data collected during the 2011 season indicated that helmets came off of players more than two times per game.

Blocking Below the Waist: The intent of the changes made last season were to only allow blocking below the waist when the opposing player is likely to be prepared for this contact, but the opposite impact was discovered in some cases. To clarify the intent, blocking below the waist is only allowed by offensive players in the tackle box at the snap that are not in motion. All other players are restricted from blocking below the waist with a few exceptions (e.g. straight ahead blocks).

Shield Blocking Scheme on Punting Plays: The Football Rules Committee reviewed several examples of shield blocking, which has become a popular blocking scheme for punting teams. In several cases, a receiving team player attempts to jump over this type of scheme in the backfield to block a punt. In some cases, these players are contacted and end up flipping in the air and landing on their head or shoulders. The committee is extremely concerned about this type of action and proposed a rule similar to the leaping rule on place kicks that does not allow the receiving team to jump over blockers, unless the player jumps straight up or between two players.

Additional Protection to Kick Returner: Through officiating interpretation, kick returners are provided protection of one yard (in front of the returner) to complete a catch before the kicking team is allowed to make contact.

Bounty Program Education: The NCAA Committee on Competitive Safeguards and Medical Aspects of Sports, which is responsible for overseeing NCAA health and safety rules, and the NCAA Committee on Sportsmanship and Ethical Conduct, discussed the issue at their respective summer meetings and reaffirmed the NCAA rules prohibiting such activity.

  • Targeting of opponents with intent to injure is strictly prohibited under NCAA rules and will not be tolerated. Any football programs proven to be in violation of these rules will be held accountable according to existing NCAA rules.
  • NCAA members and student-athletes will be encouraged, via ongoing membership updates, to utilize the NCAA Customer Service Center to anonymously report potential violations involving bounty programs.
  • The NCAA will partner with the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) to emphasize existing rules on this issue at the AFCA annual conference.

Health guidelines for the start of football practice

Preseason football practices begin with a five-day acclimatization period that applies to all student-athletes, including those who start practicing after the first day.  Here is how the process is conducted:

  • All incoming student-athletes must undergo a medical examination administered by a physician prior to participating in any preseason workouts.

  • During the acclimatization period, participants are not to engage in more than one on-field practice per day which can last no more than three hours.
  • During the first two days of that period, helmets are the only piece of protective equipment student-athletes may wear.  After that, only helmets and shoulder pads may be worn on the third and fourth days of acclimatization.  On the final day of that period, and on any days thereafter, student-athletes may practice in full pads.

The remaining preseason practice period follows these steps:

  • Teams can practice in full pads after the five-day period. However, an institution may not conduct multiple on-field practice sessions (e.g., two-a-days or three-a-days) on consecutive days;
  • Student-athletes can not participate in more than three hours of on-field practice activities on the days in which one practice is permitted;
  • Student-athletes may not participate in more than five hours of on-field practice activities on the days in which more than one practice is permitted; and
  • On days that teams conduct multiple practice sessions, student-athletes must be provided with at least three continuous hours of recovery time between the end of the first practice and the start of the last practice that day.  During this time, student-athletes may not attend any meetings or engage in other athletically related activities (e.g., weightlifting). Time spent receiving medical treatment and eating meals may be included as part of the recovery time.

General guidelines for other fall sports

The NCAA also recommends these additional procedures be followed as best practices for other fall sports.

  • Plan for a heat acclimatization period:: Student-athletes should gradually increase exposure to hot, humid summer weather for a minimum of 10 to 14 days at the beginning of preseason activities. Similar to the preseason conditioning plan, activity during each exposure to heat should gradually increase in intensity and duration until the exercise is comparable to the exposure likely to be experienced in competition. During periods of intense heat, it is recommend that practices be scheduled during cooler times of the day.
  • Walk-through after a break: : Walk-through sessions are not considered practices during the preseason, but just like multiple-practice days, student-athletes should also be given a rest period of at least three hours between practice and the walk-through. During the walk-through, student-athletes should not wear any equipment related to the sport or perform conditioning exercises.
  • Take a day off:: Student-athletes should not participate in practice sessions for more than six consecutive days. This includes any organized physical activity related to the sport, such as warm-ups, stretching, scrimmaging, weight lifting, fitness testing, conditioning, pilates, cool downs and non-medically related rehabilitation or captain’s practices.