Football Manual Regular Season

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Regular Season

Football Regulations

Number of Contests allowed 

• 10 Games

Football Practice Limits Football practice limits can be found on our website here

Scrimmage Attire – Scrimmages will be treated like a game from a uniform standpoint.  No shorts will be allowed, and jersey numbers must be legal position numbers.  

Player Ejection.  Any player ejected from a contest is subject to an automatic penalty. The automatic penalty for such an ejection is as follows:

(A) Football. Ejected player misses the rest of the game in which they were ejected plus the first half of the following game.

(Exception: Disqualification/ejection as a result of a targeting foul does not require the player to miss the first half of the following game.)

Coach Ejection – In addition to the penalty imposed by the local school district on a coach who is ejected from a game, the Automatic Minimum Penalty is discussed in  Section 1208: Athletic Regulations of the Constitution & Contest Rules

• The automatic penalty for a coach who is ejected from a contest who is not current on their UIL Coaches Certification Program is suspension in the next contest.

UIL Texas Scoreboard. The UIL Texas Scoreboard will be a multimedia tool available only on uiltexas.org. Leader boards, regular season game results, stats, and team information will be available on the UIL Texas Scoreboard. The data presented via the UIL Texas Scoreboard will be dependent upon information submitted by coaches and schools to MaxPreps.

Registration. A school which does not participate in football after registering may be suspended in this activity for a period of one year, unless sufficient justification is shown for not entering a team.

Officials

Please refer to the UIL Constitution and Contest Rules, Section 1204 on the UIL website, for the latest information regarding officials (fee schedule, tournament fees, travel reimbursement, mileage calculator, scrimmage fees, other allowable expenses, scratch form, evaluation form, FAQs, etc.)

Assignment of Officials Out of The UIL Office

• Member schools shall use registered officials in all varsity contests.
• Neutral Officials. In all contests, schools should always attempt to secure neutral officials who have no affiliation with either school. 

• The two schools have the right to “scratch” any chapters or officials they wish. However, the UIL office urges the use of discretion in scratching entire chapters or areas. 
 NOTIFICATION: When names of officials are received by the visiting school, the visiting school shall immediately notify the host school if officials are not satisfactory. Failure of the visiting school to solicit names of officials from the home school within four days of the contest constitutes agreement.
• To request officials from the UIL office, go to https://www.uiltexas.org/form/officials-request/football.php and complete the Football Officials Assignment Request Form.  This form will go directly to the UIL office, and all correspondence will be via email. 

• After the schools have indicated officials and/or chapters they do not want, the UIL office then contacts a chapter not scratched and requests officials. Schools are not permitted to talk with representatives of the chapter once they have agreed for the League to assign officials. 

• Once the officials have been assigned out of the UIL office, the schools may not request a change in the assignment and must pay the assigned officials if they are not used, unless:

  • a. The UIL office makes a mistake by contacting a chapter which the schools have indicated they do not want.
  • b. Communication problems between the school which contacted the UIL and the opponent results in officials being assigned from a chapter which one school had scratched. 

• The UIL recommends that officials or chapters not acceptable be written down at the meeting, reviewed by each school to see if the list is complete and accurate, and signed by school authorities from both schools. This should be a part of the contract procedure and a copy retained by each school. 

• Once a game has begun there shall be no protest based on the selection of game officials. Beginning a contest constitutes agreement. 

• Payment of officials (for all games other than tournament games) shall be according to Section 1204 in the UIL Constitution and Contest Rules. 
 https://www.uiltexas.org/athletics/officials-fee-schedule

Pregame Activities and Regulations

Pregame Activities.
Schools select their pregame activities. Pre-game activities must be completed and the field cleared of all non-team personnel no later than 6 minutes prior to the scheduled starting time. This includes the national anthem, the school songs, etc. In addition, the team personnel need to be fully aware of the timing of pregame events, and have their captains and teams ready to go, without delay, at the appropriate times. This will permit the unhindered administration of the coin toss, and, thus, the prompt starting of the game.
NOTE: When squad members are present within the playing enclosure subsequent to the officials' jurisdiction, they must be wearing their jerseys or have their numerals readily visible. Any player without their numeral readily visible must leave the playing enclosure. Game Jerseys do not have to be worn, but players must be identifiable in the case there is an incident during pre-game activity.

Coin Toss Time. The coin toss should be executed at three minutes before game time in all UIL football contests. 

Game Balls and Ball Persons. The home team should provide a minimum of three legal game balls, and the visiting team, if it desires to use its own game balls, should also provide a minimum of three legal game balls. The home team shall provide a minimum of two ball persons (preferably age 12 or older); one ball person should be positioned on the home sideline, and the other should be positioned on the visiting sideline. In this case, each ball person should assist the officials with the game balls for both teams. The visiting team shall have the option of providing two additional ball persons (preferably age 12 or older) to assist the officials with their own game balls, if desired. Note: If the visiting team chooses to use its own ball persons, they must provide two persons; one to be positioned on the visiting sideline, and one on the home sideline. In this case, the ball persons from each team would handle only the game balls for their respective teams.

Ball Boys. With the addition of the 40/25 clock to UIL games, it will be extremely important to get the ball on the ground and ready for play as soon as possible. To that end, it will be highly recommended that game balls for both teams be on both sidelines. This means that both teams will either have to count on the opposing team’s ball boys to administer their game balls, or that each team will have to place ball boys on both sidelines. Additionally, it is recommended for each team to provide a ‘ball retriever’ to assist the ball boys. In the ideal situation there would be two ball boys (one for each team) and one ball retriever on each sideline. It is recommended that ball boys be at least seventh grade students or above (Freshman or JV players would be optimal). Ball retrievers (those who will ‘chase’ balls that are downfield or that end up on the opposite sideline) could be younger students working in conjunction with the ball boys.

Chain Crew. With the addition of the 40/25 clock to UIL games, it will be extremely important to get the chains set and ready for the next play. The chain crew, but most importantly, the down box/marker must hustle (and sometimes run!) to the succeeding spot. If the school is able, it would also be recommended that there be an ‘alternate’ down box on the opposite side of the field that can hold the previous spot in case it is necessary to return to that spot for some reason. In that scenario, the ‘alternate’ down box would remain at the previous line of scrimmage until the ball was marked ready for play’ at the succeeding spot and then move to that spot for the ensuing snap.

Video Replay Boards. In stadiums where video replay boards are utilized replays of game action may only be shown once. Slow motion replays may not be shown.

Half-Time Regulations. The NCAA Football Rules specify a penalty be assessed to the home team at the beginning of the second half if the half- time exceeds allowable limits. Texas high schools play by NCAA rules, therefore the half-time length regulations will be enforced by football officials.

• Maximum half-time length for UIL varsity games is 28 minutes. Please note that half-time is not required to be this long. Many districts have adopted a shorter period of time, for example 24 minutes. Note: Junior high and sub-varsity half-time should not be longer than 20 minutes. 

• Timing for the half-time should begin when all players and personnel have cleared the field at the end of the first half of play. 

• Bands should be ready at that time to come onto the field for their half-time show. Undue delay by the visiting team band could result in a penalty being assessed to the home school. Many schools are placing a time limit on each band, insuring that the first part of the half-time intermission will not cause the entire half-time to exceed the allotted time limit. 

• Football teams should have at least 3-4 minutes to warm up after the half-time intermission prior to the second-half kickoff. 

• When homecoming activities and/or other half-time activities necessitate an extra long half-time, it may be advisable for the visiting band to give its show prior to the game. 

• Both schools should cooperate to ensure proper half-time procedures. 


Video Taping/Filming/Technology

All Athletic Contests
Videotaping/Filming/Recording by Schools

• A non-competing school shall not film, videotape or otherwise make a visual recording of an athletic contest without the prior written consent of the schools competing in the contest. 

• A school does not have to obtain permission to film or tape, or otherwise make a visual recording of an athletic contest in which it is competing. However, the film or videotape or other visual recording may only be reviewed or otherwise utilized during the contest in accordance with applicable contest rules.
• Films, videotapes and all other kinds of visual recording of all athletic contests in compliance with league rules are the property of the school that made them unless their ownership, use or distribution is governed by district rule or, if there is no agreement between the schools competing in the contest. 


Videotaping/Filming/Recording by Individuals and Organizations. Except for persons or organizations acting under subsections (1) (A) (i) and (ii) above, no person or organization shall film, videotape or otherwise make a visual recording of any athletic event or activity without prior written consent of the schools that are competing in the event. Any filming videotaping or other recording of an athletic contest 
may not obstruct the view of other spectators of the contest.


Commercial Uses. Use of films, videotapes or other visual recordings of regular season athletic contests for commercial purposes shall be approved in writing by all schools competing in the contest. Any agreements between the competing schools regarding the filming, videotaping or other visual recording of regular season athletic contests, including without limitation any commercial uses, shall be consistent with the League’s Constitution and Contest Rules and any contracts made thereunder.

Technology during Contests

• Teams are allowed to use video & data technology (computers, tablets, iPads, smartphones, etc) during the game and half-time intermission in approved areas only. The use of the technology is limited to the coaching booth and locker room areas only – NO sideline or team area (field) use is allowed during the game.

Policy on Rain/Flood Games

Games scheduled for Friday night canceled by rain or inclement weather:

Options:

• Find another site and play the game on Friday night as scheduled: a) Option to go to visiting school, if mutually agreeable; b) Option to find a neutral field.
• Play Saturday at original site, visiting site, or neutral field: a) Mutual agreement or b) district executive committee action.
• If conditions which do not permit any of the above persist: The district executive committee may reschedule district games for Monday night. Then the game scheduled for the following Friday must be rescheduled for Saturday, to meet the five-day interval requirement of the Football Plan of the Constitution and Contest Rules.
• Note: It may be necessary to have the district executive committee reschedule a number of games.
• For non-district games - agreement between two schools involved. 


Live Regular Season Telecast

Webcasts for football, streamed over the internet and in accordance with UIL Broadcast Guidelines will be allowed by mutual agreement. Other live telecasts including over-the-air television broadcasts will still be prohibited.

Forms and Reports

Eligibility Form. Schools must submit a comprehensive eligibility form through the UIL Portal.

District Certification Form. Link to form found here.

UIL Playoff Reporting - Teams Advancing. Coaches are required to submit playoff results immediately following their contest. The winning school should submit playoff game results and next round information via MaxPreps through the assigned coach/admin account. The score reported by a coach on a team’s page will automatically fill in the bracket.

The completeness of the data presented on the UIL Texas Scoreboard will be dependent upon the participation of schools and coaches. For more information, please see http://www.uiltexas.org/athletics/uil-maxpreps

Injury Report Form. The UIL Legislative Council passed a proposal requiring all 6A schools to participate in the ConTex concussion reporting program for ALL SPORTS, not just football.   Instructions for the ConTex Program can be found on the Rules and Guidelines Page.  All conferences may participate in the reporting, but 6A is the only conference required to participate.  NOTE:  There is no other injury reporting required.