COLORADO SPRINGS -- The Mountain West Conference will utilize instant replay for the upcoming 2005 football season, subject to formal approval by the NCAA on February 24.
"This is a positive step to ensure the best officiating possible in the Mountain West Conference," BYU head coach Bronco Mendenhall said. "I think this puts the MWC in the forefront of college football in terms of innovation and opportunity. I look forward to seeing the details of implementation and the exact format in which it will be used."
During its February 9 meeting, the NCAA Football Rules Committee recommended that all member conferences and institutions be allowed the experimental use of an instant replay system in 2005. That recommendation will be considered by the NCAA Playing Rules Oversight Panel (PROP) on February 24.
The MWC has been proactive in pursuing instant replay, taking several steps leading up to today's announcement. On January 11, the Conference sent a letter to the NCAA Football Rules Committee requesting authorization to establish an instant replay system. The MWC Board of Directors (BOD) voted in favor of the project during its January 28 meeting in Las Vegas. Input has been solicited from both the athletics directors and head football coaches, with a subcommittee to develop the MWC's structure finalized this week.
It is anticipated ample video footage of MWC football contests will be available to feed the instant replay system. Last season, 89 percent of the Conference's games were televised (only seven were not), and under the new College Sports Television (CSTV) agreement that begins in 2006 nearly every football game will be aired.
The charge of the subcommittee will be to fully outline the details of the Mountain West Conference instant replay plan, along with a projected budget. While the list of reviewable plays will be established by the NCAA, a number of logistical and infrastructure questions will be left to the discretion of the conferences. Those issues include whether the replay official will work from the field or the booth, whether or not coaches' challenges will be permitted, use of television and/or in stadium video, numbers of personnel, technical equipment, etc. The subcommittee will analyze available information from the NFL replay system and the experiment conducted by the Big Ten Conference last season.
The subcommittee's recommendation will be forwarded to the MWC directors of athletics, who will consider the proposed plan and develop a funding model for approval by the BOD. Conferences wishing to implement instant replay must have their plan submitted to the NCAA Football Rules Committee for approval by June 1.
"The Mountain West Conference has proven it competes at the highest level of Division I-A football," said Commissioner Craig Thompson. "This initiative, which we see as an opportunity to enhance our football operation, is another example of our commitment and something we have aggressively pursued."