NCAA recommends earlier start to college football season

The 2027 college football season might be kicking off earlier than usual after the NCAA’s Football Oversight Committee recommended on Thursday that the regular season begin a week ahead of the current schedule.

Under the recommended schedule, the season would begin on the weekend before Labor Day Weekend, turning what is currently Week Zero into Week 1.

The season would still end on the Saturday after Thanksgiving and teams would have 14 weeks to play 12 games.

“To go through a season without two bye weeks is challenging to a roster,” Vanderbilt coach and Oversight Committee member Clark Lea told ESPN. “In a time where we’ve imposed roster limits, and in our league where we’re playing nine league games now, on the off years where we weren’t able to get that second bye, we believe there’s a negative impact mentally, physically, emotionally, to the players, coaches, everyone involved. So from our vantage point, it was something we’ve supported and feel strongly about.”

The new schedule is anything but concrete, however. It will still need to approved by the Division I Cabinet, which is set to discuss the proposal in June.

James Parker contributed to this story.