NCAA D1 FBS Oversight Committee approves changes to targeting penalty structure

The NCAA Division I FBS Oversight Committee has approved changes to the targeting penalty structure for the 2026 season, the group announced Thursday. As part of the approval, a player ejected for targeting for the first time in a season will be able to participate in the next game.

Under the new rule, a player ejected for a second targeting offense will have to miss the first half of the following game. A third targeting ejection then warrants a full one-game suspension. The NCAA said no player received three ejections for targeting during the 2025 season.

Additionally, a conference will have the option to initiate an appeals process after a player’s second targeting ejection, the NCAA said. The appeal can cover both the first and second ejections and go to the NCAA’s national coordinator of officials, who will facilitate a video review. If overturned, the player will be able to play without sitting out the first half of the next game.

In addition to the targeting rule changes, the NCAA announced offensive pass interference penalties will now be 10 yards. Previously, the rule called for a 15-yard penalty for OPI.

Teams will also get the option to attempt a kick after a completed or awarded fair catch. In that instance, the kick – with a holder instead of a tee, or a drop kick – will take place from the spot where the returner caught the ball, and the defense will be at least 10 yards away from the spot. If it goes through the uprights, the team will add three points.

However, the committee did not approve a proposal that would have required leg coverings. If passed, players would have had to wear coverings from the top of their shoes to the bottom of their pants.

More on the NCAA’s targeting rule change

The NCAA’s football rules committee recommended a change to the targeting rule in late February, and the FBS oversight committee needed to issue final approval. That came Thursday, and the new legislation will take effect for the 2026 season.

The NCAA’s Division I Football Rules Subcommittee recommended a one-year trial run of the targeting rule change. Following the FBS oversight committee’s ruling on Thursday, the FCS Oversight Committee is set to make a decision March 23.

“This continues the evolution of our targeting rule and balances the important safety impact with an appropriate penalty structure,” said A.J. Edds, rules subcommittee chair and vice president of football administration for the Big Ten Conference, in a Feb. 26 statement. “We will closely monitor this one-year adjustment, and the committee believes it is important to enhance the progressive penalty to ensure proper coaching and player education.”

The targeting rule came about in 2008, and the NCAA instituted the automatic ejection in 2013 and had to leave the sideline as a result. However, in 2020, the NCAA changed that part of the rule and allowed ejected players to stay on the sidelines.