The NCAA is prepared to make major changes to preseason camp, severely limiting the number of padded practices while banning a handful of contact drills, according to Ross Dellenger of Sports Illustrated.
There, Dellenger reports the NCAA's Football Oversight Committee is prepared to recommend reducing the allowable number of full-padded practices from 21 to eight. Teams would not be allowed to hold more than two padded practices in a row, and no more than 90 minutes of full tackling would be allowed in any one practice. Also, teams would be limited to two scrimmages during the preseason period, which will remain at a maximum of 25 practices over 29 days.
With the number of padded practices set to drop from 21 to eight, teams would be required to hold nine helmet-only practices, a dramatic increase from the current minimum of two. That would leave eight practices to be held in shells, where thudding is allowed but tackling is not.
Additionally, the Oklahoma drill, the Board drill, and Bull in the Ring would be banned from Division I practices.
The Football Oversight Committee -- a group of 18 voting members, primarily ADs, including Alabama's Greg Byrne, and Eastern Illinois head coach Adam Cushing -- was compelled to recommend the changes after reviewing an NCAA/Department of Defense study that found 50 percent of concussions occurred during fall camp. Similar data caused the NFL to make the same recommendation in 2019.
“The data is the data,” Lyons told SI. “We’re going to have to make changes. We have to reduce the exposure that we’re having with concussions in the preseason practice time period.”
Once the committee irons out its proposal (which should happen Thursday), it will then forward its work to the Division I membership before formally presenting them to the Division I Council. The Council would have to approve the changes at its May 19 meeting for the new rules to take effect this season.