The Division I Football Oversight Committee set strategic priorities through the 2021-22 academic year during a meeting in Indianapolis this week.
The committee will focus on the following areas:
- Health and safety initiatives and research. The committee will continue to engage with the NCAA Sport Science Institute to stay informed of data related to health and safety. The committee will consider that data when deciding whether to recommend changes to existing legislation and playing rules.
- Transfer data and trends. The committee will continue to receive updates on data and trends for football student-athletes who transfer from one four-year college to another. After reviewing the additional data, the committee will consider whether to recommend modifications to the data required to be provided in the NCAA Transfer Portal or to the guidelines for waivers of the transfer residence requirement.
- Four-game redshirt rule. This is the second season with the four-game redshirt rule, which allows a football student-athlete to compete in up to four games without using one of his four seasons of eligibility. When the committee recommended the rule, part of its rationale was that the rule would help the student-athlete's development and transition to the college game by providing the opportunity to play in a small number of games. After the current season, the committee will gather additional data about how the rule is being used, including the role the rule may play in recruiting for prospective and enrolled student-athletes.
- Review of the recruiting landscape. When the current recruiting model was adopted by the membership in 2017, the committee committed to reviewing the model's impact after two years. The committee will collect feedback on the changes implemented in the current model, including the early National Letter of Intent signing period added to mid-December; the recruiting calendar, including additional dead periods and junior-year recruiting activities; the "hard cap" on the annual signing limit; and rules related to individuals associated with prospective student-athletes. The committee will initiate this review in January.