Football Oversight Committee finalizes proposed preseason model

After several weeks of discussion and feedback, the Division I Football Oversight Committee on Thursday finalized its recommendation for summer athletic activities and preseason practice for the upcoming 2020 season.

The model will be acted on by the Division I Council next Wednesday. It assumes COVID-19 local and state health policies are considered at the institutional level.

“This is the culmination of a significant amount of collaboration in our effort to find the best solution for Division I football institutions,” said Shane Lyons, chair of the committee and director of athletics at West Virginia. “Our student-athletes, conference commissioners, coaches and health and safety professionals helped mold the model we are proposing.”

2020 VISION: When does the 2020 college football season start?

Under the proposed model, assuming a school’s first scheduled football contest is on Saturday, Sept. 5, student-athletes may be required to participate in up to eight hours of weight training, conditioning and film review per week (not more than two hours of film review per week) from July 13-23.

Then, from July 24 through Aug. 6, student-athletes may be required to participate in up to 20 hours of countable athletically related activities per week (not more than four hours per day) as follows:

• Up to eight hours per week for weight training and conditioning.
• Up to six hours per week for walk-throughs, which may include the use of a football.
• Up to six hours per week for meetings, which may include film review, team meetings, position meetings, one-on-one meetings, etc.

During this 14-day period, student-athletes are required to get at least two days off.

FOOTBALL HISTORY: Notable firsts and milestones

The model does not make any adjustments to the legislated 29-day preseason practice period. In the previous example, the school’s preseason practice period would begin Aug. 7 with a five-day acclimatization period, followed by the opportunity for up to 25 on-field practices.

“Given the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic across the country, we believe this model provides institutions and their student-athletes flexibility to prepare for the upcoming season,” Lyons said.