Last season there was a little bit of drama in college football over a sign-stealing scandal involving the Michigan Wolverines. But after punishments were levied against Jim Harbaugh over the whole situation, the NCAA has decided to update its policies in response to the drama.
On Friday, the NCAA announced that it has approved new rules concerning the use of technology in helmets – which was one of the major reasons that sign-stealing has been seen as appealing. Under the new rules, each school now has the option to use coach-to-player helmet communications, so long as they’re identified as such.
“Optional technology rules in football, effective for the 2024 season, were approved by the NCAA Playing Rules Oversight Panel on Thursday,” the NCAA said in a statement.
“In games involving Football Bowl Subdivision teams, each school will have the option to use coach-to-player communications through the helmet to one player on the field. That player will be identified by having a green dot on the back midline of the player’s helmet.
“The communication from the coach to the player will be turned off with 15 seconds remaining on the play clock or when the ball is snapped, whichever comes first.
“For all three divisions, teams have the option of using tablets to view in-game video only. The video can include the broadcast feed and camera angles from the coach’s sideline and coach’s end zone.
“Teams can have up to 18 active tablets for use in the coaching booth, sideline and locker room. Tablets cannot be connected to other devices to project larger additional images and cannot include analytics, data or data access capability or other communication access. All team personnel will be allowed to view the tablets during the game.”
Some are jokingly thanking former Michigan staffer Connor Stalions for the “sacrifice” he made to make this long-awaited desire by teams a reality.
As for the Wolverines football program, they managed to win a national title in spite of the controversy and seeing their head coach suspended for three games. So all is well that ends well.