T he S ports L edger
JULY 2023
PAGE 9 www.TheSportsLedger.com
2023 rule changes for College Football As the 2023 college football season approaches, the National Football Foundation (NFF) & College Hall of Fame has partnered with the College Football Officiating (CFO) to highlight the key rule changes for fall 2023. "The mission of the Rules Committee is to develop and evaluate rules changes that will enhance the sport, protect the image of the game, and enhance the student athlete's health and safety," said CFO National Coordinator of Football Officials Steve Shaw." Enforcing all players’ health and safety rules continues to be the top point of emphasis from the NCAA Playing Rules Oversight Panel. The Targeting rule will remain the same in 2023 as the committee feels the rule continues to drive positive player behavior in terms of the use of the helmet. The committee also noted last year’s change to the blocking below the waist rule resulted in data showing fewer player injuries. The most significant 2023 football rules changes involve adjustments to the timing and clock rules. The rules committee made the changes to drive three strategic initiatives: (1) Keep the game moving in terms of pace of play; (2) Moderately reduce the number of plays per game (3) Ensure consistency in officiating mechanics managing the game clock. The new rules include: (1) Stopping and Starting the Clock – First Downs (Rule 3-3-2-e-1): When Team A (the offense) gains a first down, the clock will no longer be stopped to award a first down except with less than two minutes remaining in the 2nd and 4th quarters. This change is effective immediately for DI and DII and will be implemented in 2024 for DIII. (2) Consecutive Charged Team Timeouts (Rule 3-3- 4-a): Consecutive charged team timeouts will no longer be allowed by the same team in any individual dead ball period. Each team is entitled to three charged team timeouts during each half, with no more than one charged team timeout available per team, per individual dead ball period. (3) Extension of Periods (Rule 3-2-3-a) - A period shall be extended for an untimed down in the 2nd or 4th quarter only if a penalty is accepted for a live-ball foul, if there are offsetting fouls, or an inadvertent whistle. The 1st and 3rd quarters will not be extended, and any penalty enforcement will be carried over to the following quarter. (4) Drone Policy (Rule 1-4-11-d) - Drones are not allowed over the field or the team area when squad members are present within the playing enclosure. Outside the limit lines, game management (or conference policy) will govern drone activity. This governance includes all FAA, state, and local laws including campus policy where appropriate. (5) Halftime Intermission (Rule 3-2-1-c & 11-1-3) - The field will be available to squad members for halftime warm-up no later than three minutes prior to the second half kickoff. When any Squad Member enters the playing enclosure during the halftime intermission, a staff member from that team must be present on the field. If kickers or other squad members come onto the playing enclosure before the field is available, their activities must be confined to the team area. All team personnel will be respectful of scheduled halftime activities, and all kicks must be into the practice kicking nets until the field is available. (6) When the field is available to players, the field will be divided into an “L-shaped” with the thirty yard-lines forming the “L” in order to keep the teams separated. (7) Instant Replay without an Instant Replay Booth Official (New Rule 12-2-1-c) - The optional use of instant replay in games that do not have an instant replay booth official is now permissible and must be in full compliance with Rule 12 (the replay rule) with the following exceptions: (1) The Referee will be the sole decision maker on any review and may include one additional crew member to consult on the review; (2) The equipment used in the review must be located outside the limit lines on the sideline or end zone and must be completely outside the team area. The referee and additional crew member must be provided a separate, secure location away from fans and sideline personnel, with a tent or similar type shelter structure; (3) The Referee will stop the game to review all Targeting Fouls that are called on the field. The only other method to stop a game for a replay review is through a head coach challenge. When the head coach requests a timeout for replay review, the replay challenge flag must be dropped onto the field of play; (4) Other than for a Targeting review, the crew on the field may not initiate an instant replay review. (5) The head coach may initiate a Targeting review if the team has a timeout available and a coach’s challenge remaining.
Jax State Joins C-USA Jacksonville State Courtesy of JSU Athletics Jax State's
nine-school membership for the 2023-24 academic year. Kennesaw State will join as the conference's 10th team in 2024. C-USA is Jax State's third Division I conference home after spending 18 years in the Ohio Valley Conference and 10 total years in the ASUN, which was the Gamecocks' first Division I conference home from 1995-03 and again from 2021-23. Overall, JSU has had tremendous success in Division I, winning more than 80 total conference titles since making the move from Division II in 1993. The Gamecocks football program has seen a great deal of that success at the FCS level, winning 10 conference titles in the past 20 years, including the first ASUN Football Championship in 2022.
honored to become the first Head Softball Coach at Northeast Alabama Community College,” said Guthrie. “I want to thank Dr. David Campbell, Barbara Kilgore, and Chad Gorham for their exhaustive efforts to get the position and program going. It is our goal to make the softball program a national champion in one of the best softball areas in the country. I believe we have all the ingredients to make that goal a reality. We have some extremely special events coming soon. Please check out the groundbreaking for our facility next month. I can’t wait to begin working!” Northeast’s Dean of Instruction, Chad Gorham, has assisted in establishing the softball team. “Bringing softball to NACC has been a long time in the making,” said Gorham. “I can remember the exact conversation I had with Dr. Campbell about the possibility of starting a softball program. I was excited about the possibility then and am crawling with anxious excitement now!” move to FBS and C-USA has already paid off, with the league announcing a new multimedia rights deal with CBS Sports and ESPN that will begin with the 2023-24 academic year. The multi- year agreement positions CBS Sports Network with tier one selection status for C-USA football (18 games annually) and men's basketball (18 games annually) over the length of the partnership, while also televising the football championship, men's basketball semifinal and championship games, the women's basketball championship game, and baseball and softball championship games. The Gamecocks will play at least six football games on national television in 2023, with the possibility
Gorham is eager to see the Mustangs compete under Guthrie’s leadership. “Coach Guthrie is first and foremost a teacher who has academically advised his players. This is very important to us,” said Gorham. “We don’t want “just” a softball team at NACC, we want to have the best team in the ACCC and compete for NJCAA championships. I think Coach Guthrie is just the person to get us there.” An Alabama native, Guthrie graduated from Bevill State Community College where he played baseball for the Bears during the 1999-2000 season. Coach Guthrie earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Alabama and his master’s degree from Jacksonville State University. He is also a veteran and served in the United States Army where he was assigned to a one-year combat tour in Iraq and earned many awards. Guthrie is married to the former Courtnay Foster, former Northwestern All- American softball pitcher and 2006 Women’s College World Series participant. He has two children. of up to four more being picked up during the season. JSU kicks off the 2023 football season against UTEP on Saturday, August 26. Kickoff is set for 4:30 p.m. and the C-USA Game will be televised on the CBS Sports Network. C-USA will be able to stand alone in front of its national television audience in October, when all league games will be played on weeknights and on linear networks. JSU will begin competition as a member of C-USA this fall, when the Gamecock soccer team begins its season on August 17. Jax State Volleyball will open its campaign on Aug. 25. Football will play the first-ever C-USA game on Aug. 26, when the Gamecocks host UTEP to open the 2023 season.
Joe Guthrie has been hired as the head coach of the women's softball team that is being formed at Northeast Alabama Community College (NACC). "Mr. Guthrie is a very experienced coach with an outstanding winning percentage who develops his players both professionally and personally," Dr. David Campbell stated. "That is exactly what we want to work with the women who will make up our team." Guthrie comes to Northeast with an impressive coaching resume with nearly 20 years of experience. Most recently, he coached as an Assistant at Texas A&M University. Before that, he served as the Head Coach at the University of Alabama in Birmingham. He also was Head Coach at Marion Military Institute, which is a fellow member of the Alabama Community College Conference (ACCC) and the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) in which Northeast will play. Northeast is building a state-of-the-art women's softball stadium on campus, and the groundbreaking University is officially a member of Conference USA. JSU accepted C-USA's invitation to join the league in November of 2021 and immediately got to work on its application for the league and specifically Football's Bowl Subdivision. The Gamecocks saw that work come to fruition on Saturday, July 1, 2023 when the University joined eight other programs to make up the new-look conference that has been a force in Division I athletics since 1995. Joining Jax State as new members in C-USA are Liberty, New Mexico State and Sam Houston. They team up with FIU, Louisiana Tech, Middle Tennessee, UTEP and Western Kentucky to make up the
Guthrie to coach NACC softball program team competition beginning in the Fall 2024 season," added Kilgore. “I am humbled and
Coach Joe Guthrie
ceremony is scheduled for August 8, 2023. The stadium will be lit via LEDs, the grandstands will be covered by a roof, and artificial turf will cover the infield and outfield. Locker rooms and a training facility will also be included. McKee and Associates of Montgomery are the architects for the project and Sports Turf of Georgia is the construction company building the stadium. "We plan for the stadium to be completed by the Fall Semester of 2024," stated Mrs. Barbara Kilgore, Athletic Director at Northeast. "Coach Guthrie will be recruiting players, assisting with the stadium development, planning for camps, and preparing for
Photo by Brandon K. Pierce, The Sports Ledger
Members of the Geraldine junior varsity cheerleaders pose for a group photo during the Bulldogs recent football picture day. Find more football coverage in next month's print edition of The Sports Ledger.
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