Athletics Veritas is a weekly series aimed at helping higher education executives, faculty, and other stakeholders stay tuned in on trending national issues impacting college athletics, especially NCAA Division I. Athletics Veritas is created by senior DI athletic administrators around the nation.
Term-in-Ology:Why Some Division I Football Teams Get to Play Earlier Than Others
For Division I football—FBS and FCS teams alike – the first permissible date of competition is no earlier than the Thursday preceding Labor Day. This year that day is Thursday September 1.
With that said, we know NCAA rules often are kept in check with legislated exceptions. For the first permissible date of competition in football, there are three primary exceptions to the “Week 1” calculus— thereby creating the “Week 0” phenomenon.
An institution that is scheduled to play a regular-season game in Hawaii may play its first permissible contest with outside competition on the Saturday prior to the Thursday preceding Labor Day. If the institution's first opponent of the season is not a member institution located in Hawaii, the institution’s first opponent of the season may also play its first contest (game or scrimmage) with outside competition on the Saturday prior to the Thursday preceding Labor Day. This year, the Vanderbilt Commodores travel west to Hawaii to open their season tomorrow at Hawaii.
In FCS football, an institution may participate in a nationally televised (broadcast or cable; not Internet only) contest against a nonconference opponent during the weekend (Saturday-Sunday) before the Thursday preceding Labor Day. Participation in such a contest is limited to one institution per conference per year. An institution that participates in such a contest for two consecutive years may not participate in such a contest in the following year. Austin Peay, for example, is playing at Western Kentucky on CBS Sports Network tomorrow– giving the Ohio Valley Conference school the opportunity for national exposure in Week 0. Several FCS football teams are taking advantage of the “national broadcast” exception.
Lastly, an institution that is scheduled to play a regular-season game in a foreign country may play its first permissible contest with outside competition on the Saturday prior to the Thursday preceding Labor Day. An institution that uses this exception must provide its student-athletes with five additional days off from all countable athletically related activities during the institution's declared playing season.
And we have a game in a foreign country to start the 2022 season— as Big 10 Conference play starts early with the Northwestern Wildcats facing the Nebraska Cornhuskers tomorrow in Dublin, Ireland.
Slainte to all teams starting their seasons this weekend!
Athletics Veritas is presented for information purposes only and should not be considered advice or counsel on NCAA compliance matters. For guidance on NCAA rules and processes, always consult your university’s athletics compliance office, conference office, and/or the NCAA.
