College football leaders support moving season start date up to Week 0 as soon as 2027

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7144341/2026/03/24/college-football-season-start-date-week-0/
The college football season could start a week earlier as soon as 2027, with a key NCAA committee moving toward making a recommendation in the next couple of months.

Sources told The Athletic that administrators and coaches on the committee strongly support moving the start of the season for all teams to the late-August weekend that is now typically called Week 0, as a way to ensure teams have at least two idle weeks within a 12-game slate.

The rule change also may not push every season to start in what is now Week 0. It would depend on the yearly calendar: The proposal would essentially take Thanksgiving, count 14 weeks back (including Thanksgiving) and start the season during that 14th week. So there would be some years when the season would still start on Labor Day weekend.

But in three of the next five years — including this year — there are only 13 weeks from Labor Day to Thanksgiving. The rule would make it so in those years, the season would start the week before Labor Day.

FBS administrators and coaches are engaged in a wide-ranging discussion over the football calendar. Moving the season to Week 0 was seen as low-hanging fruit because it has widespread support and does not have to wait for the future format of the CFP to be decided.

But the start of the season is connected to the offseason, which would be the next step for the oversight committee.

Ick.

Why do we need 2 weeks off in a 12 game schedule? I’d rather get postseason play started earlier too.

I already struggle juggling outdoor fun with the start of season. Not a fan.

YUCK. that could push the opener onto the first day of the State Fair, and then another day the following weekend there would be no fair parking at the U. as a family we go the first day of the fair, so would not want a game to conflict with that. Take the byes out and always start Labor Day weekend

And then get rid of conference championships.

MonikerSchmoniker45 said:

And then get rid of conference championships.

Click to expand...

Thought about that, but with only so many slots for the national championship series, how would you determine which Big 10 team is going to go? Overall Record? Toughest schedule?

#2Gopher said:

Thought about that, but with only so many slots for the national championship series, how would you determine which Big 10 team is going to go? Overall Record? Toughest schedule?

Click to expand...

The number of teams will certainly increase in the future, while having a guaranteed number of spots for each power conference. I imagine it will continue to be chosen by a committee.

If this happens, I would rather see the focus be the creation of space for playoff games starting around Thanksgiving instead of inserting a second bye week in a 12 game season for teams that have rosters numbering over 100 players. Two bye weeks for college football has always seemed excessive to me. Why is that such a focus? TV? I'm sure southern teams, if they have to travel north in the late fall, would also appreciate any playoff game being played as early as possible. The weather averages are really on the move, transitioning from fall to winter as we reach late November.

Not a fan of this, but it's going to happen.