NCAA Committee Proposes Rule Changes for Targeting Suspensions, OPI Penalties, Fair Catch Kick, More

The NCAA’s Division I Football Rules Subcommittee proposed adopting new rules that would go into effect with the 2026 season, including one lessening the punishment for targeting.

A player who commits targeting for the first time would still be ejected but wouldn’t miss any time in his team’s next game. A second instance of targeting would, however, trigger an automatic first-half suspension. A third results in a one-game ban.

The subcommittee is also calling for offensive pass interference to result in a 10-yard penalty rather than its current 15 yards.

Fair catch kicks could be coming to college football as well. Under the rule, a team could attempt a free kick from wherever the return man caught the ball.

The subcommittee zeroed in on one area that doesn’t impact the action on the field.

Short pants, which became a divisive topic, could be a thing of the past. A new rule stipulates that players have “leg coverings from the top of their shoes to the bottom of their pants.”

Explaining the motivation behind the change, subcommittee chairman A.J. Edds said that “the current look of the uniform is clearly not meeting the expectations of the college football community.”

In general, Thursday’s announcement represents incremental change rather than dramatically altering how college football is played.

The Athletic’s Chris Vannini reported, for example, that “there remains little to no support” for eliminating targeting altogether or adopting a two-tiered penalty system. Under that idea, referees would have discretion in determining the severity of a targeting foul.

Vannini reported there were concerns that officiating would be “even more subjective” by removing the standard penalties for targeting.