Important Rule Changes for the 2024 College Football Season
CFO and NFF team up to highlight the changes designed to improve the game in 2024, including the role of technology during the game.
IRVING, Texas (Aug. 22, 2024) – As the 2024 college football season approaches, the National Football Foundation (NFF) & College Hall of Fame has again partnered with the College Football Officiating (CFO) to highlight the key rule changes that will take effect this fall.
Since 2011, the NFF has partnered with the College Football Officiating (CFO), led by Steve Shaw and chaired by Mid-American Conference Commissioner Jon Steinbrecher, to help generate awareness for the rule changes in college football. The CFO functions as the national professional organization for all football officials who work games at the collegiate level, and the organization has held its annual winter meeting of conference coordinators for football officials each January at the NFF headquarters in Irving, Texas since 2013.
Shaw, who became the CFO National Coordinator of Football Officials in March 2020, previously served the Southeastern Conference and Sun Belt Conference as coordinator of officials. He also serves as the Secretary-Rules Editor of the NCAA Football Rules Committee, a position critical to the development of competition rules and policies. Shaw excelled as a head referee for 15 years in the SEC, earning 14 postseason assignments, including two national championship games. He has been a leader in revamping the sport's officiating mechanics and advancing the use of technology to assist officials.
"The mission of the Rules Committee is to develop and evaluate rules changes that will enhance the sport, protect the image of the game, and enhance the student athlete's health and safety," said Shaw. "Player safety has been the highest priority of the committee for many years now resulting in significant changes that have improved the game in terms of mitigating injuries.
2024 Rules Changes
Coach-to-Player Communications (Rule 1-4-11-b, Exception)
Coach to player communications through the helmet is permissive in 2024 for the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) based on the following guidelines:
Only one player may be on the field per team at a time with radio receiving capability and the player must be identified by an unbranded green dot on the back midline of the helmet.
Coach-to-player communications will be cut off when the play clock reaches 15 seconds or at the snap, whichever comes first. When the play clock resets to 25/40, the communications will be turned back on.
If more than one green dot helmet is detected on the field by the game officials, the result is a live ball 5-yard equipment violation penalty, and this penalty initiates a conference review.
On free kick plays, the coach-to-player communications will not be in effect. There is no limitation to the number of green dot helmets for either team during free kick plays.
A conference may develop a policy to provide guidance in handling situations dealing with communications failure.
Back Judge mechanics will be developed dealing with an in stadium play clock failure and Rule 3-2-2-f, starting of the play clock when the game clock is less than 40/25 will be modified.
FCS teams playing an FBS team may utilize coach-to-player communications in that game.
Tablets for In-Game Video (Rule 1-4-11-a, Exception 3)
Standard Tablets for in-game video only is permissive in 2024 for all football playing subdivisions and are subject to the following guidelines:
Tablets shall be restricted to "in-game video" (current game) and may not include analytics, data or data-access capability or any other communications access. No other video is allowed (e.g., scouting video, practice video, etc.).
Tablets may be used in the coach's box, sideline, and locker room and may not be interconnected to other devices to project larger/additional images.
Video may include coach's sideline, coach's endzone, and a program feed per play from the current game only and may also display "game circumstances," including down / distance / time / quarter / play-number / score.
A team may have up to 18 standard tablets active, and all team personnel may view the tablets.
If any team personnel engages an official with a tablet to show or review video, an automatic Unsportsmanlike Conduct foul will result.
Wearable Technologies
The committee had a thorough discussion of wearable technologies. The committee received and approved three DIII requests for wearable Technologies. The conferences receiving approval to experiment with wearable technologies are:
Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) - Armilla Tech
Liberty League - GoRoute
Eastern Collegiate Football Conference (ECFC) – AT&T 5G Visual Helmet for Gallaudet University
Two-Minute Timeout (Rule 3-3-5)
When the game clock is running and the ball is not live, the Referee shall stop the clock with exactly two minutes remaining in the second and fourth quarters for a Two-Minute Timeout. If the ball is live when the game clock reaches two minutes in the second and fourth quarters, the play will continue, and the Referee shall stop the clock when the ball is subsequently declared dead for a Two Minute Timeout.
The radio / TV broadcast partner will hold back at least one media timeout to coincide with the Two-Minute Timeout. If there is no media timeout partner in the game, the timeout shall be one minute plus the five-second referee notification and the 25-second play clock interval.
This change will synchronize all in-game timing rule changes to be effective following the Two-Minute Timeout, including the first down timing rules, runs, fumbles, and backward passes out of bounds, Rule 3-4-3-b penalty enforcement, replay clock adjustment, and all 10-Second Runoff situations.
The play clock will be set at 25 seconds and the clock will start on the snap.
After a year of review, Division III Committee members decided to adopt the timing rules where the game clock will continue to run when a first down is gained in bounds. The game clock will be stopped subsequent to the Two-Minute Timeout in each half. Divisions I and II institutions utilized this timing rule last season.
Collaborative Replay (Rule 12-4-3)
Conferences are now allowed the option of implementing a Collaborative Instant Replay review system. Currently, this is an experimental rule.
A collaborative decision-making model during instant replay reviews, which is in full compliance with Rule 12 and follows the Collaborative Replay Officiating Standards, is not limited to the press box of a stadium (Part II Officiating Standards, Section 16).
Horse-Collar Tackle (Rule 9-1-15)
For player safety, Horse-collar tackles that occur within the tackle box will be penalized as a 15-yard personal foul penalty. Currently, a horse-collar tackle within the tackle box is not a foul.
Replay – Halftime Intermission (Rule 3-2-1-b)
At the end of the first half, after the teams have left the field and the Referee has cleared the final play with the on-field crew and the instant replay official, and there is no coach challenge, the Referee will declare the half ended.
After the Referee has declared the first half ended, there can be no additional replay reviews from the previous play (Exception: For games in which Instant Replay is not used, a halftime Targeting video review as outlined in the Penalty section of Rule 9-1-3 & 9-1-4 may be completed).
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CFO and NFF team up to highlight the changes designed to improve the game in 2024, including the role of technology during the game.
IRVING, Texas (Aug. 22, 2024) – As the 2024 college football season approaches, the National Football Foundation (NFF) & College Hall of Fame has again partnered with the College Football Officiating (CFO) to highlight the key rule changes that will take effect this fall.
Since 2011, the NFF has partnered with the College Football Officiating (CFO), led by Steve Shaw and chaired by Mid-American Conference Commissioner Jon Steinbrecher, to help generate awareness for the rule changes in college football. The CFO functions as the national professional organization for all football officials who work games at the collegiate level, and the organization has held its annual winter meeting of conference coordinators for football officials each January at the NFF headquarters in Irving, Texas since 2013.
Shaw, who became the CFO National Coordinator of Football Officials in March 2020, previously served the Southeastern Conference and Sun Belt Conference as coordinator of officials. He also serves as the Secretary-Rules Editor of the NCAA Football Rules Committee, a position critical to the development of competition rules and policies. Shaw excelled as a head referee for 15 years in the SEC, earning 14 postseason assignments, including two national championship games. He has been a leader in revamping the sport's officiating mechanics and advancing the use of technology to assist officials.
"The mission of the Rules Committee is to develop and evaluate rules changes that will enhance the sport, protect the image of the game, and enhance the student athlete's health and safety," said Shaw. "Player safety has been the highest priority of the committee for many years now resulting in significant changes that have improved the game in terms of mitigating injuries.
2024 Rules Changes
Coach-to-Player Communications (Rule 1-4-11-b, Exception)
Coach to player communications through the helmet is permissive in 2024 for the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) based on the following guidelines:
Only one player may be on the field per team at a time with radio receiving capability and the player must be identified by an unbranded green dot on the back midline of the helmet.
Coach-to-player communications will be cut off when the play clock reaches 15 seconds or at the snap, whichever comes first. When the play clock resets to 25/40, the communications will be turned back on.
If more than one green dot helmet is detected on the field by the game officials, the result is a live ball 5-yard equipment violation penalty, and this penalty initiates a conference review.
On free kick plays, the coach-to-player communications will not be in effect. There is no limitation to the number of green dot helmets for either team during free kick plays.
A conference may develop a policy to provide guidance in handling situations dealing with communications failure.
Back Judge mechanics will be developed dealing with an in stadium play clock failure and Rule 3-2-2-f, starting of the play clock when the game clock is less than 40/25 will be modified.
FCS teams playing an FBS team may utilize coach-to-player communications in that game.
Tablets for In-Game Video (Rule 1-4-11-a, Exception 3)
Standard Tablets for in-game video only is permissive in 2024 for all football playing subdivisions and are subject to the following guidelines:
Tablets shall be restricted to "in-game video" (current game) and may not include analytics, data or data-access capability or any other communications access. No other video is allowed (e.g., scouting video, practice video, etc.).
Tablets may be used in the coach's box, sideline, and locker room and may not be interconnected to other devices to project larger/additional images.
Video may include coach's sideline, coach's endzone, and a program feed per play from the current game only and may also display "game circumstances," including down / distance / time / quarter / play-number / score.
A team may have up to 18 standard tablets active, and all team personnel may view the tablets.
If any team personnel engages an official with a tablet to show or review video, an automatic Unsportsmanlike Conduct foul will result.
Wearable Technologies
The committee had a thorough discussion of wearable technologies. The committee received and approved three DIII requests for wearable Technologies. The conferences receiving approval to experiment with wearable technologies are:
Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) - Armilla Tech
Liberty League - GoRoute
Eastern Collegiate Football Conference (ECFC) – AT&T 5G Visual Helmet for Gallaudet University
Two-Minute Timeout (Rule 3-3-5)
When the game clock is running and the ball is not live, the Referee shall stop the clock with exactly two minutes remaining in the second and fourth quarters for a Two-Minute Timeout. If the ball is live when the game clock reaches two minutes in the second and fourth quarters, the play will continue, and the Referee shall stop the clock when the ball is subsequently declared dead for a Two Minute Timeout.
The radio / TV broadcast partner will hold back at least one media timeout to coincide with the Two-Minute Timeout. If there is no media timeout partner in the game, the timeout shall be one minute plus the five-second referee notification and the 25-second play clock interval.
This change will synchronize all in-game timing rule changes to be effective following the Two-Minute Timeout, including the first down timing rules, runs, fumbles, and backward passes out of bounds, Rule 3-4-3-b penalty enforcement, replay clock adjustment, and all 10-Second Runoff situations.
The play clock will be set at 25 seconds and the clock will start on the snap.
After a year of review, Division III Committee members decided to adopt the timing rules where the game clock will continue to run when a first down is gained in bounds. The game clock will be stopped subsequent to the Two-Minute Timeout in each half. Divisions I and II institutions utilized this timing rule last season.
Collaborative Replay (Rule 12-4-3)
Conferences are now allowed the option of implementing a Collaborative Instant Replay review system. Currently, this is an experimental rule.
A collaborative decision-making model during instant replay reviews, which is in full compliance with Rule 12 and follows the Collaborative Replay Officiating Standards, is not limited to the press box of a stadium (Part II Officiating Standards, Section 16).
Horse-Collar Tackle (Rule 9-1-15)
For player safety, Horse-collar tackles that occur within the tackle box will be penalized as a 15-yard personal foul penalty. Currently, a horse-collar tackle within the tackle box is not a foul.
Replay – Halftime Intermission (Rule 3-2-1-b)
At the end of the first half, after the teams have left the field and the Referee has cleared the final play with the on-field crew and the instant replay official, and there is no coach challenge, the Referee will declare the half ended.
After the Referee has declared the first half ended, there can be no additional replay reviews from the previous play (Exception: For games in which Instant Replay is not used, a halftime Targeting video review as outlined in the Penalty section of Rule 9-1-3 & 9-1-4 may be completed).
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