Football Rules Committee Statement on Proper Equipment

[Rulesman]

This should make for an interesting first Saturday in November. 

MEMORANDUM

November 2, 2016

VIA EMAIL

TO: NCAA Football Conference Commissioners and Head Coaches.

FROM: Bob Nielson, Chair, Football Rules Committee

Rogers Redding, Secretary-Rules Editor, Football Rules Committee.

SUBJECT: Football Rules Committee Statement on Proper Equipment.

The NCAA Football Rules Committee reminds conferences and member institutions of the importance for taking responsibility to ensure that student-athletes are properly equipped for each game. Coaches must see to it that players are wearing equipment as prescribed by the rules. It is especially noticeable when players are not wearing regulation kneepads, tailbone protectors, or pants that come to at least the knees. The wearing of shorts rather than pants is not acceptable. Conferences and their coordinators of officials have front-line responsibility for insuring that the rules for wearing mandatory equipment and for not wearing illegal equipment are vigorously enforced.
Thank you for your time and attention to this important issue.

BN:mm

cc: Football Rules Committee

Selected NCAA Staff

[Etref]

Problem is getting the coordinators on board!!!
!

[AFOpie]

What illegal equipment?

[bossman72]

This is prompted by a Pitt DE basically wearing shorts:

http://www.espn.com/blog/acc/post/_/id/96101/who-wears-short-pants-pitt-de-ejuan-price-does-and-he-makes-no-apologies

[Andrew McCarthy]

So they take that rule out of the book then they complain when someone doesn't follow it?  Brilliant.

[NVFOA_Ump]

So they take that rule out of the book then they complain when someone doesn't follow it?  Brilliant.

Actually it's still in the book, but it was modified to still require knee pads but only that "it's strongly recommended that they actually cover the knee".  The well intentioned change was to avoid the virtual measurement process we were getting into trying to decide if they "cover the knee", but I guess we see the ultimate result of a "well intentioned change".

[Rulesman]

After reading the memo (and the way it is styled) multiple times, something in the back of my head tells me a lawyer was involved. The fact that is comes from 2 people, but only "signed" by one also makes me wonder if not everyone was onboard.

[cperezprg]

And what about "all team member must wear pants with the same colour and design"

[Andrew McCarthy]

Changing it to "strongly recommended" removed it as a requirement.  If they are requiring a certain length of pants then they need to say that.

[NVFOA_Ump]

The requirement for knee pads is still in the book, so even the ultimate optimist would be stretching simple English to say that those are my knee pads 15 inches above my knees on my thighs.  The knee pad requirement hasn't been removed, the location has been made "flexible" but I believe that there is some level of common sense in how flexible?

Mandatory Equipment
ARTICLE 3. All players must wear the following mandatory equipment:
a. Helmet.
b. Hip pads.
c. Jersey.
d. Knee pads.
e. Mouthpiece.
f. Pants.
g. Shoulder pads.
h. Socks.
i. Thigh guards.

d. Knee Pads. Knee pads must be at least 1/2-inch thick and must be covered by pants. It is strongly recommended that they cover the knees. No pads or protective equipment may be worn outside the pants.

[scrounge]

What's the point of requiring knee pads if you're not going to require them to actually be on the knees?

[bossman72]

What's the point of requiring knee pads if you're not going to require them to actually be on the knees?

Liability?  This is why they "strongly recommend" they be on the knees, but don't require.

[Rulesman]

Liability?  This is why they "strongly recommend" they be on the knees, but don't require.

Which is exactly why I said my gut tells me a lawyer could have been involved in drafting the memo.