CIAC Alters High School Football Score Management Policy

The Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference (CIAC) has implemented a policy change which pertains to the amount of points by which a high school football team can win a game.

A controversial score management policy was created in 2006 which mandated an automatic one-game suspension for any head coach whose team won by 50 or more points. Coaches had the right to appeal the suspension, and a number of them had their suspensions overturned, on occasion due to favorable reports from the losing coach.

An alternate option in recent seasons involved use of a running clock, but coaches from both teams had to agree to its implementation during a game.

Effective with the 2016 fall season for a one-year trial, a new score management policy which mandates a running clock will replace the old rule. According to the amended CIAC football handbook:

1. When one team leads by 42 or more points in the third quarter or leads by 35 or more points in the fourth quarter, the officials shall use a running clock to time the game.
2. If the score differential is reduced to less than 42 points in the third quarter or less than 35 points in the fourth quarter, the officials shall revert to regular timing until the point differential again reaches 42 (third quarter) or 35 (fourth quarter) points.

Running Clock Operations Rules

1. The clock will run continuously when:

• First down is awarded to either team, including following a change of possession;
• Ball or runner with the ball goes out-of-bounds;
• Legal or illegal forward pass is incomplete;
• Penalty enforcement.

2. The clock shall be stopped for:

• End of a period;
• Scores (touchdown, field goal, safety);
• Try plays following a touchdown;
• Charged team timeout;
• Official’s timeout;
• Injury timeout.

Rationale: The CIAC rules that limit the number of levels a student may appear in football games during a week and limit the number of quarters a student may participate during a week may make it difficult for coaches to follow appropriate score management protocols AND ensure that the team has enough players eligible to play all games at all levels.

Current CIAC rules do allow for a running clock but only by mutual consent of both coaches. Making the running clock mandatory eliminates potential conflicts that can arise when a game is out of hand and one or both coaches refuse the use of a running clock.

The running clock rules will apply to all CIAC-sanctioned football games played in the state of Connecticut, including varsity, junior varsity, sub-varsity, and freshman games. These rules would apply to playoff games, but would not be applied to state championship game(s).

Photo credit: Tim Jensen