Kickoffs in college football could be eliminated. CBS Sports reports preliminary discussions have started between the American Football Coaches Association's board of trustees and the NCAA Division I Football Oversight Committee into possibility removing kickoffs.
Both groups are looking over injury data to gauge the impact of kickoffs. Sources told CBS Sports, preliminary indications are that injuries occur at a higher rate on kickoffs.
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"I don't think there is any doubt it is the most dangerous play in the game," Big 12 Commissioner Bob Bowlsby said in a CBS Sports report. Bowlsby is also chairman of the oversight committee. "How much that's the case and how we can fix it is unknown."
AFCA Executive Director Todd Berry said, "I'm excited we're starting to have this discussion. It looks like the data is skewed where we have more injuries on that play. If that's the case, we have to look at eliminating the play, modifying the play, change blocking schemes."
In May, ESPN reported Pop Warner would ban kickoffs in its three youngest age divisions.
CBS Sports reports, any changes to the rules probably won't come until after the 2017 season. Eliminating kickoffs has not yet been a discussion for the NCAA rules committee, according to its secretary-rules editor Rogers Redding.