TASO State Meeting Report 2013 NCAA Rules Changes

1. TASO State Meeting Report 2013 NCAA Rules Changes

2. Special Guest Speaker • Debbie Weir, CEO of MADD • Officials’ primary role in view of parents is “protecting our boys out there.” • MADD’s mission includes preventing underage drinking and addressing the culture that excuses it as inevitable. • Mission moment with Chilli Vasquez illustrates what’s at stake.

3. What’s at Stake • CFO is the only authoritative site. • With legal issues over, we must do our job so that the legislature doesn’t have an excuse to intervene. • Football is facing a “1905 Moment,” needing to demonstrate confidence in player safety is justified.

4. Targeting • The targeting rule has not changed; the penalty for it has changed. • The severe penalty means we must exercise careful judgment about whether fouls involve targeting. • Key elements are targeting and contacting together, with considerations of head/neck contact and defenseless players.

5. Targeting & Contact: • Crown of Helmet • Initiating contact with crown is not, alone, targeting. The rule prohibits targeting and then initiating contact. • The targeting is what is proscribed. • Is a player making a football play or simply delivering punishment? Officials do not have to look for targeting; it will present itself.

6. Targeting & Contact: • Head or Neck of Defenseless Player • Initiating contact with head or neck is not, alone, targeting. The rule prohibits targeting a defenseless player. • FR-88 includes “indicators” of targeting (Note 1) and of defenseless player (Note 2). • Incidental, tangential contact with head or neck may be possible.

7. Targeting Notes • The targeting rule emphasizes that two elements must be present: contact must be initiated and it must be targeted contact. • High hits are not necessarily targeting, and targeting can occur with or without a defenseless player involved. • A high hit could be a personal foul (as in 9-1-2-a) without being a targeting foul. • As with pass interference’s defined foul types, officials should cultivate the habit of reporting what elements of targeting were present if they call such a foul.

8. Blocking below the Waist • Simplified rule—prohibition now based more on the nature of the block than on where the blocker came from. • Two zones of interest: • the tackle box, centered on snapper, 5 yards wide each way, from neutral zone to A’s end line • the low-blocking zone, centered on snapper, 7 yards wide each way, from 5 yards beyond neutral zone to A’s end line

9. Blocking below the Waist • Rule’s intent is limit blocks to those defender can reasonable expect to anticipate because they’re from the front (therefore, 10-2 o’clock guideline and crack back prohibition). • Rule’s intent is to limit “crack backs” that occur just after the snap (therefore the amended provision concerning blocking back to original position of ball). • Rule prohibits peel back blocks, consistent with philosophy of protecting players from unexpected contact.

10. Blocking below the Waist Notes • The direction of the block matters in two cases: peel back block (not toward own end line) and crack back (not toward initial position of the ball). • Backs must meet two criteria to be unrestricted: position with respect to tackle box and with respect to second lineman from the snapper. Because the BJ’s pre-snap key may be receiver 2 (inside receiver), BJs may have a role in determining a back’s status. • BBW rules are all about giving B a reasonable opportunity to see a block coming, so a “delayed” or “downfield” crack back may not be ruled a foul if it’s otherwise legal.

11. Helmet Off Accommodation • Teams can spend a precious timeout to keep a key player in the game in a key moment. • A timeout is the only way to keep a player in the game. There is no option, for example, to take a delay of game penalty if a team’s out of timeouts.

12. Spike Plays to Stop the Clock • Extensive review of game tapes suggests that 3 seconds is a reasonable expectation for the time it takes for a spike play. • If the clock shows 3 seconds or more, Team A has the potential—but not guaranteed—opportunity to snap, spike, and get another play. If A doesn’t execute cleanly, the clock may run out. • If the clock shows less than 3 seconds, there is no opportunity for another play. The clock operator should be sure to let the clock run out.

13. Uniforms • If a player enters the game after changing his number, he must report to the R, who should announce the change. Failing to report is an unsportsmanlike foul. • Players at the same position may not have the same number. • Numbers must clearly contrast with the jersey. • Towels must be between 4x12 and 6x12, which means streamers are illegal uniform attachments.

14. Post Scrimmage Kick Enforcement • PSK applies without regard to the location of B’s foul—the provision for at least 3 yards beyond the neutral zone has been deleted. • PSK applies to B fouls during a scrimmage kick, not during a scrimmage kick play.

15. Unsportsmanlike Conduct Contact Fouls • There now exists a type of personal foul that can be regarded as an unsportsmanlike conduct foul, which means there could be implications for disqualification exposure for subsequent fouls. • Instead of being meaningless double dead ball fouls when there is chicken fighting and other dead ball behavior, such fouls can now be regarded as UC for each player.