The NCAA is changing college football rules starting this fall to stop players from faking injuries and to improve the game’s fairness. Here’s is further breakdown of the incoming changes.
If medical staff checks a player after the next play is set, the player’s team will lose a timeout. If no timeouts are left, they get a 5-yard penalty. The aim here is to stop players from faking injuries to slow down opponents or save timeouts.
NEW: The NCAA has announced a new College Football rule change to combat faking injuries👏
— On3 (@On3sports) April 17, 2025
If medical personnel are forced to enter the field of play to evaluate an injured player after the ball is spotted by the officiating crew, the player’s team will be charged a timeout.… pic.twitter.com/189JdOKmGJ
Faking injuries has been a problem, and has hurt the game’s integrity. According to multiple sources the NCAA reviewed footages of the games which showed players pretending to be injured to gain an unfair advantage. This new rule that will be implemented in the next season, aims to discourage this by making it costly for the team.
Official Steve Shaw will still review game footage if asked, to check if teams and players are misusing injury timeouts. He will look for unfair advantages, and he added, “Sometimes players may do it on their own because if feels accepted, and that’s what we want to stop. I’m not sure there is a perfect solution, but I think this is a good first step.”
In the third overtime and beyond, each team gets only one timeout total, instead of one per overtime. This rule change will keep games moving faster when teams alternate two-point conversion attempts.
🚨 NCAA RULE CHANGES APPROVED FOR 2025
— D2 College Football Spotlight (@d2fbspotlight) April 17, 2025
The NCAA Playing Rules Oversight Panel met in April and approved several changes that will take effect next season. Applies to all divisions.
👇 Expand for full list
Here are the changes:
🔹 If medical personnel enter the field after the… pic.twitter.com/jTq5iZLYVI
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