The nearly 3 1/2 hours it takes to play a typical college football game are still worth the time investment for many fans, but sports officials worry they’re losing a large chunk of the next generation caught up in an increasingly distracted society.
So steps are being taken to address these concerns, but there is a fear of radically changing what remains a popular game, meaning changes will only be made at the margins.
Game length was a major topic of discussion when the NCAA Division I Football Oversight Committee met for two days this week in Indianapolis.
“There was no desire to change the rules of the game in a way that would reduce the number of games played,” said Mountain West deputy commissioner Bret Gilliland, who is on the committee. “Everybody felt like the game was going well. You don’t necessarily want to disrupt that, but were there things we could do administratively to try to reduce the length of games?”
Due to changes made last year, the national average duration has decreased by five minutes to 3 hours and 19 minutes. Halves no longer extend beyond 20 minutes for special occasions, the halftime clock starts when the teams leave the field, television interviews are conducted off the field and the 25-second second-half clock starts when the game clock reaches zero.
This season, the 40-second game clock starts immediately after a kick or touchdown. Gilliland said the sample size isn’t large enough at this early point in the season to gauge the effectiveness of those changes.
The Pac-12 Conference shortened halves from 20 to 15 minutes in seven nonconference home games last season that were televised on the league network, and kickoff time was moved from seven minutes into the broadcast to one minute. The result was an average decrease of five minutes to 3:14.
This season, the Pac-12 has expanded its schedule to include some conference home games on ESPN and Fox. The average length of Pac-12 home games with 20-minute halves is 3:19, and the average for the 18 games with the five-minute halves is 3:13.
The 13 Pac-12 road non-conference games this season have averaged 3:34.
UNLV opened its season on Sept. 1 against Pac-12 member Southern California using the reduced timing rules.
“I think it’s all about the fan experience, and that’s why they do it,” Rebels coach Tony Sanchez said. “As a coach, it drives the players crazy when you’re sitting here and you have all these TV timeouts. It’s a dilemma. You do it because of the revenue it generates.”
“I think the shortening of the game time makes a difference. We played SC, and the half was 15 minutes. I didn’t think it was a bad thing. We didn’t really notice it. We went into the game and had the same conversations that we needed to have. Half the time, you go out there and look at each other for four minutes before you throw the ball back.”
Gilliland said the halftime cut would be problematic nationally, largely because of the television contracts that networks finance through advertising.
“If you take away commercials or cut back on halftime, that could have an impact,” Gilliland said. “That would certainly be a negotiating point. You also have to be receptive to other groups on your campus: your bands, some of your promotions and that kind of thing. It’s a balancing act.”
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Contact Mark Anderson at [email protected]. Follow @markanderson65 on Twitter.
College Football Schedule Changes
Since last season
—Halves are no longer extended beyond 20 minutes for special occasions.
— The clock before halftime starts when the teams leave the field.
— TV interviews are done off the field.
— The 25-second game clock for the second half begins when the game clock reaches zero.
From this season
— The 40-second game clock starts immediately after a kick or touchdown.
