NCAA Approves Rule Changes To Combat Players Who Fake Injuries

To combat players faking injuries in critical moments, the NCAA has announced that its Playing Rules Oversight Panel has approved new changes to the injury timeout rules.

If medical personnel enter the field to evaluate a player after the ball has been spotted by officials, a timeout will be charged to that player’s team. If the team does not have any timeouts, a five-yard delay-of-game penalty will be assessed.

This has been a topic of discussion for a long time. Before the 2021 season, a new rule allowed schools or conferences to request a postgame video review regarding questionable actions regarding injuries.

Teams ask their players to fake injuries to slow the game’s momentum or as a placeholder for a timeout.

This rule change will hopefully end faking injuries mid-game. According to the NCAA’s release, these actions “negatively impact the perception of the game. “

This rule change was just one of multiple changes approved by the committee. The panel revealed other rule tweaks as well.

Referees will no longer say a call on the field is “confirmed” or “stands” after a replay. Calls will only be “upheld” and “overturned.”

Additionally, teams will no longer get a timeout for the start of every overtime period. Teams will have one timeout entering the third overtime. If a game passes the third overtime, a new timeout will not be assessed. Teams can either choose to use it in the third overtime or wait.