BATON ROUGE – LSU and all other Division 1 football teams will no longer be able to have two-a-days leading up to the season opener the NCAA decided Friday.

The NCAA said the rule was adopted to support the health and safety of student-athletes.

“The Council’s action  reinforces our commitment to the health and safety of our student-athletes,” said Council chair Jim Phillips, athletics director at Northwestern. “We continue to be guided by the recommendations from medical professionals, coaches and administrators and the strong support for discontinuing two contact practices in the same day.”

LSU has not released a comment related to the rule change. Check back for updates.

The rule allows for 29 preseason practices but forbids multiple contact practices in the same day.  Instead, the NCAA said a single day may include a single, three-hour, on-field practice session and a walk-through.

During walk-throughs, protective equipment such as helmets and pads can’t be worn, and contact is prohibited. Walk-throughs also can’t include conditioning activities and, in the Football Championship Subdivision, are limited to two hours in length. Three continuous hours of recovery are required between on-field practice and a walk-through. Activities such as meetings, film review, medical treatment and meals are allowed during recovery time.

In revealing the rule change Friday, the NCAA wrote “research says that practices with tackling are more likely to cause a concussion than practices that don’t include tackling. Additionally, the decision allows for appropriate recovery time to prevent both heat illness and overuse injuries.”

WBRZ Sports 2 director, Michael Cauble, points out LSU has moved away from multiple contact practices in the same day.  In fact, under new head coach Ed Orgeron, practices have been shortened to 30-45 minutes.  

The Tigers host a spring game on April 22nd.  The season starts Saturday, September 2, against BYU at NRG Stadium in Houston. 

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