Football

ACC football to try centralized replay system in 2016

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The ACC will implement a centralized replay system for games in 2016. It will be on a trial basis this upcoming season.

Collaborative instant replay will be used for all home games of football teams in the Atlantic Coast Conference in 2016 — including Syracuse — on an experimental basis, the conference announced in a press release. The replay system will also extend to Notre Dame, a school in the ACC for all sports except football.

Replay officials stationed in the conference office in Greensboro, North Carolina will participate in every review with the on-site referee and replay official through headset communication, the conference announced after its spring meetings finished in Amelia Island, Florida. Officials in Greensboro will have access to real-time video feeds of the game and any feeds available to the in-stadium official.

“This is another step in enhancing the quality of instant replay within college football,” ACC Commissioner John Swofford said in the release. “Officiating remains one of the highest priorities for our league, and our coaches and schools value the opportunity to be state of the art in this area.”

The move comes after a year of controversy involving ACC officials, including the Miami-Duke game that ended in a 30-27 Hurricanes win. After the game, the conference suspended the on-field officiating crew, the replay official and the replay coordinator, detailing four mistakes made that affected the end of the game.

The ACC’s Coordinator of Football Officiating Dennis Hennigan will oversee staffing of the collaborative replay center. Ted Jackson, the conference’s assistant coordinator for instant replay, will be in the conference office each week.



The NCAA Football Rules Committee is allowing a trial of centralized replay for the 2016 season. The ACC will report its findings to the committee in February of 2017.





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