A proposal to revamp the 365-day college football calendar “calls for leaders to further examine moving up the start of the regular season as well as the bowl season,” according to Ross Dellenger of SI.com. The proposed calendar also would “create new dead periods, permit the off-campus recruitment of high school juniors, shift back the early signing date and provide more of a framework around the recruitment of transfers.” The “most significant item” is the notion that officials need to “further explore potentially making Week 0 fully permissive.” Under current rules, teams need a "waiver to play a game during what is termed 'Week 0,'" the weekend before the official start to the season. Eleven games involving FBS teams were played in Week 0 this year, including Northwestern’s win over Nebraska in Ireland. While “opening the door for teams to have an additional bye week," lifting the Week 0 waiver process could be the "first step in a move to eventually shift up a week the entire regular season.” The change would “expand a tight December window in which to play additional playoff games." Another proposed change would see bowl games “permitted to start the second Saturday in December -- a week earlier than normal." There are “plenty of hurdles left" before the calendar is finalized, “most notably a collaboration with officials on the NCAA Football Oversight Committee" (SI.com, 9/21).
