College football leaders are considering the introduction of an earlier kickoff date to the season to what is now Week 0, according to a report from Yahoo Sports.
The effort comes as decision makers look to find a solution to what has become a longer football season after expanding the College Football Playoff to 12 teams.
After enlarging the playoff field in addition to the large number of bowl games, the college football season begins in late August and runs until the middle of January, when the national championship game is played.
Playing that longer season has also led some schools to reconsider or outright cancel their respective spring games. Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian cited the prolonged schedule as the reason why his team called off its spring exhibition this year.
Currently, schools that wish to play during the Week 0 period ahead of the traditional Week 1 timeline have to apply for, and be granted, a special waiver, according to NCAA Bylaw 17.11.
Now, leaders are embroiled in discussions around “eliminating waivers across all NCAA areas,” a move that, while it’s gaining momentum, still requires a serious bureaucratic fight with the powers that be.
FBS teams play a 12-game regular season schedule, and a lucky few get to play a 13th game if they compete for their respective conference championships.
Not all leaders are convinced yet of the move, however.
“My view is we should have a consistent start date,” SEC commissioner Greg Sankey told Yahoo Sports.
“The adage is, teams make their most substantial improvement between Games 1 and 2. I think we should have a consistent start date. Labor Day weekend has been a good start date for college football.”
He added: “The fact we are taking another look at it could be interesting. I’m not opposed to that. I want to make sure it’s a broad view of the issues and not something narrow.”
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