That AR first appeared in 1986. I was 14 years into my career. I don’t recall exactly what happened or why, but prior to that year, there were 51 ARs in the Interpretations, but they started in Rule 3, and were all consecutively numbered through the end of the book. At that time, the Interpretations consisted mostly of text, expounding on the rules, and explaining their purpose and how they were to be applied. The ARs were used to offer examples of what they were explaining in the text.
In 1986, the ARs were re-numbered per Rule, as we see them now, and this AR appeared. I vaguely think it appeared because a few officiating groups or individuals were incorrectly applying the NFL’s rule/interpretation/philosophy regarding a ‘force out.’ So this AR was put in place to clarify the NCAA rule, which, I recall the rules makers wanted in place, to allow the defense to be able to use the sideline as a defensive tool.
Sometime shortly before 2000, the ‘text’ was incorporated into the body of the rules, and the Interpretations section of the book became strictly ARs, as we see it today.
