NCAA RECOMMENDS TRACK AND FIELD UNIFORM RULE

PARTICIPANTS WILL NOT BE ALLOWED TO RACE UNTIL THEY ARE COMPLIANT WITH THE RULE

INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA (June 20, 2018) – The NCAA Men’s and Women’s Track and Field Rules Committee has recommended all members of teams must wear the same uniforms, starting in the 2018-19 academic year.

The committee has proposed that the uniforms must be the same primary color and have the same school logo on any day of competition.

If single-color body suits are worn, it must be the primary color of the team and have the same school logo of the top garment as the rest of the team on any given day. If an athlete is found to be noncompliant with the rule, he or she will not be able to compete in an event until they meet the uniform policy.

Committee members believe it should be easy to distinguish which team everyone represents during track meets. Committee members also received similar feedback via a survey of track coaches from around the country.

The committee didn’t want to disqualify athletes who violate this proposed rule, but they also want to make it clear that competition will not be delayed for athletes who break the rule.

“If the event is set to go off at 1 o’clock, and you’re not compliant, then you aren’t competing in that event,” said Dan Rose, committee chair and associate athletics director at Coast Guard. “The success of this uniform rule will be shared governance between coaches and meet management.”

All track and field rules proposals must be approved by the NCAA Playing Rules Oversight Panel, which will discuss potential rules changes in track and field on Aug. 15.

Starting blocks

IAAF-approved start information systems were added to the rules book as an apparatus that can be used to detect illegal starts in sprint races.