AP file photo by Craig Hudson / West Virginia athletic director Shane Lyons is also the head of the NCAA's Football Oversight Committee, and he said the committee is recommending freshmen who enroll early for the 2021 signing cycle not be allowed to play games for teams conducting winter or spring seasons.The NCAA's Football Oversight Committee has recommended that freshmen who enroll early for the 2021 signing cycle not be allowed to play games for teams conducting winter or spring seasons.
West Virginia athletic director Shane Lyons, who heads the committee, told The Associated Press on Thursday night the committee worked on setting parameters for a 13-week winter/spring season that included an April 17 end to regular-season competition but no uniform start date.
Lyons said the committee will send a report with its recommendation to the Division I Council for approval by next week.
As for who will be playing in those nontraditional football seasons, it is unlikely to be incoming freshmen or mid-year enrollees who transfer to a new school for the start of the second semester.
"They can practice," Lyons said, "but not compete."
Early enrollment has become a common practice among incoming freshmen football players who want to participate in spring practices.
Adding early enrollees to rosters has been of interest to some coaches in conferences looking at starting the season in the second semester. The newcomers could be used to offset the loss of upperclassmen who don't want to stick around to play a season in the winter.
Four Football Bowl Subdivision conferences, including the Big Ten and Pac-12, and all of the Football Championship Subdivision conferences, have postponed their traditional fall football seasons with the hopes of making them up later. The Big Ten and Pac-12 have been considering seasons that would start in January, though the Big Ten has also looked kicking off in late fall.
"We're providing maximum flexibility in the models," Lyons said. "If the Big Ten wants to start Thanksgiving weekend, fine, start Thanksgiving weekend. And they would have until early February until their 13 weeks would run out."
Lyons said a trimmed-down FCS playoffs would be held the four weeks after the final date of regular-season competition.
The committee also is finalizing a model for spring practices that teams could use in the fall to prepare for winter/spring seasons. Lyons said teams that use what he called "fall ball" will not be permitted to conduct spring practices no matter when their regular seasons end.
He said the committee also will recommend extending the dead period in recruiting through Oct. 31 and that the evaluation period be eliminated for the fall.