NCAA Considers Major Change That Could Be Great News for College Football Fans

College football could be on the verge of another massive change that should prove a very welcome development for fans every season, and it involves just how long that season could be.

The annual college football season could potentially begin a week earlier than it usually does, and as soon as the 2027 kickoff next year, as key decision makers ponder the change, according to The Athletic.

The move has support in high places

Members of the NCAA football oversight committee, composed of administrators and coaches, have expressed serious support for moving the start of the season for all programs to the period in late August currently known as Week 0.

By doing so, the NCAA would move towards a scheduling model in which all teams would have at least two idle weekends to rest during the usual 12-game regular season.

The move is yet to be approved, but will be addressed by the committee when it meets at some point in either May or June, after its first upcoming meeting on April 16.

Still, there is some pressure on the NCAA to make a quick decision as schools look to create their 2027 schedules in the near future.

College football’s schedule is longer than ever

While any expanded college football schedule would potentially start sooner than ever, it would end at around the same time under the current proposed plan.

The regular season would still wrap things up by Thanksgiving weekend, the time when the most important rivalries and final matchups with playoff implications are played.

The interest in starting the season sooner comes as every Power Four conference now plays a nine-game league schedule and with the expanded College Football Playoff lasting until late January.

Not the first time a new schedule has been proposed

College football leaders reportedly broached the subject of moving the start of the yearly schedule up to the Week 0 period last June, as well.

The expansion of the College Football Playoff to 12 teams was cited as the most obvious reason why programs may be interested in starting their seasons earlier to create room for another idle week.

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 last 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.

But if the NCAA goes ahead with this new proposal, the need for a waiver naturally vanishes, giving the organization one less regulatory hurdle to have to deal with every season.

FCS schools have already embraced this change after approving a 12-game regular season that begins during the former Week 0 period starting this season.

Now, it appears a similar move is coming for major college football in the future, too.

(Athletic)