The Big Ten has pledged to expand access to replay review following the controversial Western Michigan defeat last week.
During the matchup between Michigan and Western Michigan last week, the Wolverines scored a last-second win with a 47-yard Hail Mary “after one second was added to the game clock despite the NBC broadcast showing that the fourth quarter had expired on the previous play,” per the New York Post. The Michigan victory prompted significant backlash, leading the Big Ten to promise a rule change to replay access.
The enhanced replay access will include seven games involving Big Ten teams on Saturday, including No. 5 Indiana at home against Howard.
Several hours after last week’s controversial ending, the Big Ten released a video detailing the decision by the replay officials, even though such enhanced access was not immediately made available to NBC or its audience.
The Big Ten also announced on Wednesday that broadcasts of all their games and 20 non-conference games will “feature live audio between the game referee and replay official during reviews, alongside video of the game footage being viewed during the process and a view inside the state-of-the-art Big Ten Replay Center.”
Ron Snodgrass, the NCAA’s national coordinator of officials, sent a memo to both conferences outlining a “standard timing protocol to ensure consistency in how games are officiated.”
“When a replay review requires time to be restored or otherwise adjusted, the replay official’s decision will be based on the embedded game clock contained within the program feed,” the memo stated.
“If the broadcaster is unable to provide an embedded game clock, the replay official will use the game-clock graphic displayed as part of the broadcast feed.”