INDIANAPOLIS — The NCAA Football Rules Committee has recommended that instant replay be used on an experimental basis during Big Ten conference games in 2004.
The proposal must still be approved by the NCAA championships/competition cabinet for Division I. A date for the cabinet to consider the matter has not been set, the NCAA said in a release Wednesday.
The Big Ten proposed the use of instant replay to the rules committee. The conference collected data on conference officiating during the 2003 season and presented it to league coaches, who unanimously endorsed the experiment last month, Lister said.
Under the proposal, all games between Big Ten schools will be played with the experimental rule.
Nonconference opponents who play televised games in Big Ten stadiums would have the option to play with replay.
The experimental system would use only those replays provided by the league's broadcast partners. Not all Big Ten games are televised.
A technical adviser assigned to each game by the conference's officiating department would be the only person able to request a replay and render a judgment. However, they will be prohibited from requesting replays of specific plays or shots from specific camera angles.
If approved, other proposed committee rules could be recommended for implementation nationwide in 2005.
Those changes include having referees announce player fouls and stopping play immediately if the offensive team prevents the defense from making timely substitutions.