If you hate the way NCAA football players have pared their game pants to shorts length, this might be your year.
The NCAA is expecting to enforce the pants-length rule in college football for 2026 and beyond, according to a New York Times report. The governing body has decided it has become a two-prong problem: how it looks and safety risk.
The rule, as written, says all pants must be below the knee to ensure proper placement of thigh and knee pads. The NCAA is also looking to enforce jersey-length rules and eliminate multiple mouth guards, which began to emerge in 2024 and grew in popularity among players in 2025.
Also under consideration is a change to targeting enforcement: • Eliminating sitting out for the first half of the succeeding game, if ejected. • Two tiers of offense, e.g. flagrant 1 and flagrant 2 fouls in basketball. • Harsher punishment for repeat offenders. • Allowing ejected players to remain on the sidelines in a designated team area.
My take: The pants thing is long overdue, even the NFL is beginning to slip on this one a little. Today's stretch fabrics do not inhibit performance, so there's no reason not to wear them at the proper length. At worst, to the very top of the knee. As for targeting, I like the two-tier proposal. This mitigates punishment for players who make incidental contact with the head but are treated like Vontaze Burfict.
THE ASYLUM
NCAA targeting pants rule
If you hate the way NCAA football players have pared their game pants to shorts length, this might be your year.
The NCAA is expecting to enforce the pants-length rule in college football for 2026 and beyond, according to a New York Times report. The governing body has decided it has become a two-prong problem: how it looks and safety risk.
The rule, as written, says all pants must be below the knee to ensure proper placement of thigh and knee pads. The NCAA is also looking to enforce jersey-length rules and eliminate multiple mouth guards, which began to emerge in 2024 and grew in popularity among players in 2025.
Also under consideration is a change to targeting enforcement:
• Eliminating sitting out for the first half of the succeeding game, if ejected.
• Two tiers of offense, e.g. flagrant 1 and flagrant 2 fouls in basketball.
• Harsher punishment for repeat offenders.
• Allowing ejected players to remain on the sidelines in a designated team area.
My take: The pants thing is long overdue, even the NFL is beginning to slip on this one a little. Today's stretch fabrics do not inhibit performance, so there's no reason not to wear them at the proper length. At worst, to the very top of the knee. As for targeting, I like the two-tier proposal. This mitigates punishment for players who make incidental contact with the head but are treated like Vontaze Burfict.
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