Mountain West Conference To Implement Player Availability Reports

A big change is coming to the Mountain West Conference this season, which will impact the UNLV Rebels football team. On Friday, the league announced that they will now be requiring "player availability reports", which are essentially the same thing as injury reports. This is the first time that the conference has ever required this information from their programs. The rule is specific to football as of now.

Under the new rules, teams will now have to list injured players as either questionable or out two days prior to any given game. Programs will also have to provide an availability update three hours before the kick off of each game. However, teams will not have to provide specific details about players' injuries under this new policy. It's unclear if any vague information will be given.

This new policy is being implemented to create transparency and promote integrity in changing times when these young players are facing more pressure to reveal proprietary information. The Mountain West Conference released a statement on this decision.

“This policy also addresses public confidence in fair play and the integrity risks associated with sports wagering,” the Mountain West said. “Required availability reporting will be woven into the Conference’s established sports wagering integrity and compliance partnership with IC360, thus adding to an already robust infrastructure to protect Mountain West competition.”

Mountain West Connection went into more detail about how the Mountain West is following the lead of other confer ences that have already implemented similar policies.

Mountain West Connection's Take

"Nothing like Friday news. The Mountain West announced they will require play availability reports starting this season. The conference is following the lead of others who have done the same, with the Big 12 being the most recent. Teams will have to list players who may be injured or otherwise not available to play in games two days prior to the game. Teams will have the option to list players as out or questionable, so expect a lot of “questionable” listings this fall."

This is, of course, a good thing for fans and followers. We will never complain about getting more information. The more we know, the more knowledgeable we can be, whether we are simply watching the game or maybe doing something where this information is more integral, like gambling or playing fantasy. Regardless, it's good news for everyone.