2016 NCAA Division I FBS football season
The 2016 NCAA Division I FBS football season, play of college football in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) level, will begin on August 27, 2016, with the regular season ending December 10, 2016, and (not including all-star games) conclude on January 9, 2017 with the 2017 College Football Playoff National Championship. This is the third season of the four-team College Football Playoff tournament system.
Rule changes
The following rule changes were voted on by the NCAA Football Rules Committee for the 2016 season:[1]
- Requiring replay officials to review all aspects of targeting penalties, including the option to call a targeting foul missed by the on-field officials if the foul is deemed egregious.
- Allowing electronic devices to be used for coaching purposes in the press box and locker room during the game. Electronic devices will still be prohibited on the field and sideline.
- A ball carrier who "gives himself up" (ex. by sliding) will now be considered a defenseless player.
- Deliberate tripping of a ball carrier with the leg is now a penalty (15 yards for tripping).
- Players who leave the tackle box are now prohibited from blocking below the waist toward the initial position of the ball.
The committee, once again, took no action on changing the ineligible receiver downfield rule from three yards to one yard, however it will once again be a "point of emphasis" and will adjust officiating mechanics to better officiate those plays.
Conference realignment
Membership changes
Although Coastal Carolina is beginning an FBS transition in the 2016 season and joining the Sun Belt Conference in non-football sports, it will be officially classified as an FCS independent for the first season of the transition. Coastal will not become a provisional FBS member until the football team joins the Sun Belt in 2017. Full FBS membership and bowl eligibility will follow in 2018.[2]
Other headlines
- March 1 – The Sun Belt Conference announces that its football-only membership agreements with Idaho and New Mexico State will not be renewed when they expire at the end of the 2017 season.[3]
- April 8 – The NCAA Division I Council votes to prohibit FBS schools from participating in or conducting so-called "satellite camps". The NCAA had already prohibited schools from hosting camps located more than 50 miles from campus, but many coaches, notably Jim Harbaugh of Michigan, took advantage of a loophole that allowed them to participate in off-site camps as guest coaches.[4]
- April 11 – The Division I Council approves a three-year moratorium on new bowl games, following a season in which a record three teams with sub-.500 records made bowls. No new bowls will be allowed until the 2019 season. This decision affects three games that were in the process of seeking NCAA certification for the 2016 season.[5]
- April 28
- The University of Idaho announces that the Vandals football team will return to the FCS Big Sky Conference, its all-sports league, effective with the 2018 season.[6] The Vandals will become the first team ever to voluntarily drop from FBS to FCS.[7]
- The Division I Board of Directors rescinds the FBS satellite camp ban that had been approved less than three weeks earlier. The ban had sparked major controversy within several conferences, notably the Pac-12 (whose Division I Council representative voted for the ban despite 11 of the league's 12 members opposing it). Additionally, the ban was seen as having the unintended effect of limiting scholarship opportunities, especially at Group of Five schools, for a large number of high school prospects.[8][9]
- California and Hawaiʻi will play the first game of the 2016 season at ANZ Stadium in Sydney, Australia on August 27. This will be the first college football game in Oceania since 1985.[10]
- Boston College and Georgia Tech will play at Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Ireland on September 3, in a game billed as the Aer Lingus College Football Classic.
- Wisconsin will host LSU at the first-ever Division I FBS game at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin, also on September 3.
- Virginia Tech will play Tennessee at Bristol Motor Speedway near Bristol, Tennessee on September 10. At a venue with a capacity of over 150,000, this game has the potential to break the record for the largest college football attendance by a wide margin.
- Houston and Oklahoma will play week 1 of the season at NRG Stadium in Houston, a nominally neutral site.
- Arizona and BYU will play week 1 of the season at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona on September 3, in a Cactus Kickoff.
- USC and Alabama will play at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas on September 3, in a Cowboys Classic.
- Ole Miss and Florida State will play at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Florida on September 5, in a Camping World Kickoff.
Updated stadiums
- Utah State is expected to debut major renovations to Maverik Stadium, adding a new complex to the west side featuring expanded concourses, luxury suites, and a new press box.[11]
- Oklahoma is currently undertaking a $160 million renovation of the south end zone of Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. The renovation which will bowl in the end zone includes 22 enclosed suites, 60 loge boxes and nearly 2,000 club seats.[12] The new end zone when completed will be topped by a new state of the art 7,806 square feet scoreboard.[13]
- Ole Miss will debut phase 2 of the latest renovations and expansion of Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. The latest expansion that will open for the 2016 season bowls in the north endzone bringing capacity to 64,038.
In addition to the stadium updates above, one school is playing its final season in its current venue:
Conference standings
Television viewers and ratings
Most watched regular season games
- Excludes Conference Championships
Bowl Games and the College Football Playoff
Awards and honors
Heisman Trophy
The Heisman Trophy is given to the year's most outstanding player.
Other overall
Special overall
Offense
Quarterback
Running back
Wide receiver
Tight end
Lineman
Defense
Defensive line
Defensive back
Special teams
Other positional awards
Coaches
Assistants
Coaching changes
This is restricted to coaching changes taking place on or after May 1, 2016. For coaching changes that occurred earlier in 2016, see 2015 NCAA Division I FBS end-of-season coaching changes.
See also
References
- ↑ ncaa.org (February 11, 2016). "Football Rules Committee Approves Proposals to Enhance Player Safety". ncaa.org. Retrieved 11 February 2016.
- ↑ "Coastal Carolina Announces 2016 Football Schedule" (Press release). Coastal Carolina Athletics. March 1, 2016. Retrieved March 17, 2016.
"This is an important year for our program as we start our transition to the FBS," said fifth-year head coach Joe Moglia. "However, we are still an FCS independent this year and have put together a nationally-competitive schedule to reflect that.
- ↑ "Sun Belt Football to Be 10 Teams in 2018" (Press release). Sun Belt Conference. March 1, 2016. Retrieved March 3, 2016.
- ↑ Cooper, Sam (April 8, 2016). "NCAA votes to prohibit satellite camps". Dr. Saturday. Yahoo! Sports. Retrieved May 5, 2016.
- ↑ McMurphy, Brett (April 11, 2016). "NCAA approves three-year halt to new bowl games". ESPN.com. Retrieved April 11, 2016.
- ↑ "UI Moving Football to Big Sky Conference" (Press release). University of Idaho Office of the President. April 28, 2016. Retrieved May 1, 2016.
- ↑ Dodd, Dennis (April 27, 2016). "Idaho will become first team to drop from FBS to FCS in 2018". CBSSports.com. Retrieved April 30, 2016.
- ↑ Cooper, Sam (April 28, 2016). "NCAA Division I board rescinds satellite camp ban". Dr. Saturday. Yahoo! Sports. Retrieved May 5, 2016.
- ↑ Cooper, Sam (April 10, 2016). "Satellite camp ban is bad for student-athletes, just ask them". Dr. Saturday. Yahoo! Sports. Retrieved May 5, 2016.
- ↑ http://articles.latimes.com/1985-12-08/sports/sp-15022_1_wyoming-victory
- ↑ "Merlin Olsen Field At Maverik Stadium". Utah State Aggies. Retrieved January 18, 2016.
- ↑ Shinn, John (January 12, 2016). "Owen Field renovation moving at scheduled pace". normantranscript.com. Retrieved February 11, 2016.
- ↑ Vardeman,Brady (January 12, 2016). "Oklahoma football: Stadium renovations proceeding on schedule". OU Daily. Retrieved February 11, 2016.
External links
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