There won’t be any joint spring games in college football this year, but there might be next year.
The NCAA’s FBS Oversight Committee announced Friday that it had denied Colorado and Syracuse’s request to schedule joint practices and a scrimmage against each other this spring. The committee cited the timing of the request, which was just made last week even though spring practices are already underway across the country. The committee also raised concerns about competitive and recruiting advantages that those teams could gain if they were allowed to conduct joint practices while other teams were not, as well as the potential academic impact of Syracuse players missing classes to participate in those practices.
That said, the committee is leaving the door open to potentially allowing joint spring practices in future seasons. Per its announcement on Friday, the committee “agreed to discuss, during a future meeting, a concept that could permit joint spring practices in future seasons.”
NEWS: The FBS oversight committee has denied Colorado and Syracuse's request for spring practice together.
— Chris Vannini (@ChrisVannini) March 28, 2025
It's partly due to the late timing, and the topic will be discussed more in the future. pic.twitter.com/3Lx7HpHfUQ
The request by Colorado and Syracuse comes at a time when many college football teams are opting to cancel their spring games. While intrasquad spring games are starting to fall out of favor as coaches cite concerns about tampering, the option to schedule joint practices could potentially be more appealing as it would allow teams to practice against someone other than themselves during the spring.
Ohio State coach Ryan Day said Monday that Ohio State is planning to play a spring game this year. While the Buckeyes left the door open to not play a spring game by renaming their final practice of the spring at Ohio Stadium on April 12 as a “spring showcase,” Day said the Buckeyes will stick with their traditional spring game format as long as they avoid a significant number of injuries this spring.
