Like MLB, NCAA Approves Football Clock Rule Changes to Speed Up Game

NYSJ Sports-Entertainment Business News Service

April 21, 2023: MLB this season is on the clock in an effort to reduce the time of its games and provide a better flow of play.

In a similar fashion, NCAA Div. I and Div. II football teams this coming season will play under new clock rules when I comes to first downs.

The NCAA Playing Rules Oversight Panel (PROP) has approved several football timing rules changes for Div. I and Div. II “intended to continue the effort to control the flow of the game and encourage more consistent game management for the 2023-24 academic year.”

The Football Rules Committee anticipates the “adjustments will modestly reduce the number of plays in the game, something it will study closely during the 2023 season.”

Under the new rules, the game clock will continue to run when a first down is gained. The game clock will be stopped when a first down is gained during the last two minutes of either half.

Previously, the game clock stopped when a first down was gained, and the clock restarted when the offense was awarded a first down.

MLB said its use of the clock to time pitchers and hitters has reduced games this season to date by about 30 minutes.

Panel members approved two other adjustments for all three divisions intended to continue to reduce breaks in the game:

• Teams will be prohibited from calling consecutive team timeouts.

• Penalties at the end of the first and third quarter will carry over and be enforced on the first play of the next quarter.

The new clock rules will not impact Div. III football.

The Div. III Management Council voted to adopt legislation to eliminate the requirement that playing rules be the same for all three divisions.

The new NCAA Constitution, which became effective Aug. 1, 2022, included a provision that called for “flexibility at the divisional level in establishing rules.”

Div III Management Council requested this proposal be referred back to the Football Rules Committee due to opposition within its division.

PROP members sent the proposal back for further review for Div. III. 

Other clarifications that go into effect next season:

• Guidelines were established for second-half warmup activities, including requiring teams to wait until the field is made available to return and having designated areas of the field to warm up.

• When teams are on the field, drones are not allowed over the playing surface or the team area.

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