2015 NCAA Division I FBS football season

The 2015 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 September 3, 2015, with the regular season ending December 12, 2015, and (not including all-star games) conclude on January 11, 2016 with the 2016 College Football Playoff National Championship. This is the second season of the four-team College Football Playoff tournament system.

Rule changes

The following rule changes have been made by the NCAA Football Rules Committee for the 2015 season:^[1]

• Making eight-man officiating crews (including the Center Judge) available to any FBS conference who wishes to use them. Various FBS conferences have experimented with eight-man crews in the 2013 and 2014 seasons.
• Unsportsmanlike conduct (15 yards) penalties will be called on players who pull or yank opponents off piles (ex. fumbles).
• A 10-second runoff and resetting of the play clock to 40 seconds will occur if a defensive player's helmet comes off within the final minute of either half. Previously the play clock was set to 25 seconds and no runoff occurred.
• The five-yard penalty for a first offense sideline warning has been deleted, modifying a 2008 rule change. The second offense will be penalized five yards, followed by 15 yards (unsportsmanlike conduct) starting with the third offense.
• Officials will require players with illegal equipment (such as, but not limited to, "crop-top" jerseys that expose the back pads (popularized by Ohio State running back Ezekiel Elliott) and writing on eye block) to leave the field for one play to correct it. A time-out may be taken to correct the equipment and avoid the player having to sit out the one play.
• Instant replay can be used to review if the kicking team blocked the receiving team before an onside kick has went 10 yards.
• Teams must have 22 minutes for pre-game warmups, which can be shortened by mutual agreement of both teams.
• The play clock will be reset to 40 seconds if the play clock reaches 25 seconds before the ball is ready for play. Previously it was reset if the play clock ran to 20 seconds before the ball was ready for play.
• Non-standard/overbuilt facemasks are prohibited.

A proposed rule to change the ineligible downfield rule from three yards to one yard past the line of scrimmage was tabled and not voted on, however it will be a "point of emphasis" for the season.

The use of advanced technology in games (such as wireless communication from one player on offense and defense to the bench, allow use of tablets by coaches for non-medical reasons, helmet cameras for players, etc.) is being studied by a committee for possible future implementation.

Conference realignment

Membership changes

Updated stadiums

No FBS programs are opening new stadiums for the 2015 season. However, one school is playing its first season in FBS, and some programs are expanding or renovating their stadiums:

• Charlotte, playing its first season in FBS, is playing at the on-campus Jerry Richardson Stadium. The stadium opened for the 49ers' first season in 2013 with a capacity of 15,314, but was designed for quick expansion to as much as 40,000.
• Kentucky will debut a major renovation to Commonwealth Stadium. A $110 million project is reducing the capacity from 67,530 to 61,000, adding a new recruiting plaza in the east end zone surrounded by a new student section, more than 20 new luxury boxes and 2,000 new club seats, new home-team facilities, a revamped exterior, and improved concourses.^[2]
• UCF is taking out about 2,000 seats from the east side of Bright House Networks Stadium, replacing them with a new club seating section with a capacity of about 1,000 that includes a beach area.^[3]
• Auburn will debut the largest video board in College Football in Jordan-Hare Stadium. The video board will measure 190 feet by 57. The project is expected to cost $13.9 million.

Conference standings

See also

• 2015 NCAA Division I FBS football rankings

References

External links

• Media related to 2015 NCAA Division I FBS football season at Wikimedia Commons