ACC adds football replay-review center to aid game officials

AMELIA ISLAND, Fla. (AP) The Atlantic Coast Conference is expanding its replay review system for football to include a review center at the league office to work with on-site officials this fall.

In a news release Thursday at the conclusion of its annual spring meetings, the ACC says the ''collaborative'' system will be used for league games and nonconference home games for league teams. That includes Notre Dame, an ACC member in all league sports except football that plays an average of five ACC schools annually.

The ACC has allowed coaches and replay officials to challenge rulings for review at the venue. Now replay officials at the ACC's existing gameday operations center in Greensboro, North Carolina will participate in discussions with the on-site referee and replay official through the existing headset communication system.

Dennis Hennigan, ACC coordinator of football officiating, will oversee staffing for the review center. The league hired Ted Jackson in January as assistant coordinator for instant replay and says Jackson will be part of the review team in Greensboro each week. The same replays will be available to officials there and at the venues.

The NCAA football rules committee agreed in February to allow conferences to experiment with centralized replay review systems. The ACC says it plans to report its findings to the committee early next year.

''This is another step in enhancing the quality of instant replay within college football,'' ACC commissioner John Swofford said in a statement. ''Officiating remains one of the highest priorities for our league, and our coaches and schools value the opportunity to be state of the art in this area.''