Spring Practice and Spring Game Start Times for Every Power 5 CFB Team
Spring won't officially spring until March 20, but college football isn't going to wait around for an equinox.
From the deserts of Arizona to the highest-profile high school football facility in America, spring practices have already begun all over the country, marking the unofficial start to the 2016 college football season.
Over the next few weeks, the rest of the Power Five conference members will join in with the start of their own spring practices.
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When April rolls around, the college football world's attention will turn to annual spring games and open scrimmages, which will give fans the first look at their favorite teams.
Here are the start times and notes for spring practices and spring games for every Power Five conference program in college football—and powerhouse independent Notre Dame. Keep track of all the important dates for spring football right here.
ACC and Notre Dame
| Boston College | March 3 | April 16 | TBA |
| Clemson | February 29 | April 9 | 2:30 p.m. ET |
| Duke | March 5 | April 9 | TBA |
| Florida State | March 16 | April 9 | 5 p.m. ET |
| Georgia Tech | March 28 | April 23 | Noon ET |
| Louisville | March 22 | April 16 | 1 p.m. ET |
| Miami | March 15 | April 16 | 2 p.m. ET |
| North Carolina | March 6 | April 16 | 3 p.m. ET |
| NC State | March 1 | April 9 | TBA |
| Notre Dame | March 16 | April 16 | 12:30 p.m. ET |
| Pittsburgh | March 15 | April 16 | TBA |
| Syracuse | February 23 | April 2 | TBA |
| Virginia | March 22 | April 23 | TBA |
| Virginia Tech | March 22 | April 23 | TBA |
| Wake Forest | March 1 | April 9 | TBA |
- Florida State will hold its annual spring football game at the Citrus Bowl Stadium in Orlando this year. The Seminoles' home of Doak Campbell Stadium is undergoing offseason renovations, and they will play their 2016 spring game at the same site of their season opener against Ole Miss.
- Miami will be at Lockhart Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, for its spring game, as Sun Life Stadium is undergoing a renovation of its own. According to Matt Porter of the Palm Beach Post, Miami will also hold a scrimmage that is open to the public on April 9 at Oxbridge Academy in West Palm Beach, Florida.
- Notre Dame is back at famous Notre Dame Stadium for this year's spring game. The Fighting Irish had to hold their annual scrimmage at their practice complex last season due to construction.
- Pittsburgh will make its spring game return to Heinz Field this year in its second season under head coach Pat Narduzzi. Sam Werner of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette noted this will be the Panthers' first spring game at the stadium since 2011—the program's only year under Todd Graham.
- New Virginia head coach Bronco Mendenhall has a new philosophy for the Cavaliers when they start spring practices this year. The Cavaliers are scheduled to have a spring game on April 23, but they must first earn the right to have the game in practices, per Michael Phillips of the Richmond Times-Dispatch.
Big Ten
| Illinois | March 11 | April 16 | 2 p.m. ET |
| Indiana | March 5 | April 15 | TBA |
| Iowa | March 23 | April 23 | TBA |
| Maryland | March 7 | April 16 | TBA |
| Michigan | February 27 | April 1 | TBA |
| Michigan State | March 22 | April 23 | 3 p.m. ET |
| Minnesota | March 1 | April 9 | TBA |
| Nebraska | March 5 | April 16 | TBA |
| Northwestern | February 23 | April 2* | TBA |
| Ohio State | March 8 | April 16 | TBA |
| Penn State | March 18 | April 16 | 2 p.m. ET |
| Purdue | March 8 | April 16 | 1 p.m. ET |
| Rutgers | March 24 | April 23 | 7 p.m. ET |
| Wisconsin | March 12 | April 23 | TBA |
- Michigan will make plenty of national headlines during spring football, as the Wolverines will camp at key recruiting battleground IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida, for four practice sessions. The trip, which will take a break during Michigan's spring camp, lasts from February 29 to March 4 and has already drawn the ire of coaches in the SEC.
After camping at IMG, which has 10 of the 247Sports Top 200 prospects in the 2017 class, Michigan will return to Ann Arbor. The Wolverines' spring game on April 1 will be the first night spring game in program history, and it will also be televised on the Big Ten Network.
- Michigan State won't camp anywhere outside of its home in East Lansing this year, but Michigan's trip down to IMG Academy for spring break has Mark Dantonio thinking. According to Mike Wilson of 247Sports, the MSU head coach said he was open to looking into doing something similar in the future and named Florida and Texas as possible destinations.
- Iowa is hitting the road for part of its spring practice schedule once again in 2016. According to the program's Twitter account, the Hawkeyes will hold a practice that's open to the public in Des Moines on April 8 and play its annual spring game back home in Iowa City on April 23. This will mark the fourth year in a row Iowa has had an open spring practice in Des Moines.
- Northwestern doesn't stick to the traditional spring practice routine under head coach Pat Fitzgerald, and that's the case again this year. According to Brian Bennett of ESPN.com, the Wildcats will have an open practice on April 2 and a televised practice on April 9 on the Big Ten Network instead of a typical spring game.
Big 12
| Baylor | February 25 | March 18 | TBA |
| Iowa State | March 8 | April 16 | 2 p.m. ET |
| Kansas | March 7 | April 9 | 2 p.m. ET |
| Kansas State | March 30 | April 23 | TBA |
| Oklahoma | March 5 | April 9 | 3 p.m. ET |
| Oklahoma State | March 7 | April 16 | TBA |
| TCU | February 26 | April 1 | TBA |
| Texas | March 7 | April 16 | TBA |
| Texas Tech | March 5 | April 16 | 1 p.m. ET |
| West Virginia | March 13 | April 23 | TBA |
- Oklahoma will hold its annual Red-White game on April 9 at Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium despite renovations to the facility, according to Jason Kersey of the Oklahoman.
- Even though its spring camp won't end until April 5, Baylor will hold its "Friday Night Lights" scrimmage during the middle of its practice schedule on March 18. The Bears had the inaugural edition of the event around the same time last year—their first spring game at McLane Stadium.
- For the fourth straight year, Texas Tech will travel over a hundred miles away for a special spring practice in the Permian Basin region of the state. According to Justin Lee of the Odessa American, Texas Tech will return to Midland, Texas, for a free intrasquad scrimmage on April 2.
Pac-12
| Arizona | February 12 | ||
| Arizona State | March 14 | ||
| California | March 7 | April 16 | 2 p.m. ET |
| Colorado | March 4 | April 9 | TBA |
| Oregon | March 29 | April 30 | 2 p.m. ET |
| Oregon State | March 28 | April 16 | 4 p.m. ET |
| Stanford | February 23 | April 9 | TBA |
| UCLA | TBA | TBA | TBA |
| USC | March 8 | April 16 | TBA |
| Utah | March 22 | April 23 | 2 p.m. ET |
| Washington | March 28 | April 23 | 3:30 p.m. ET |
| Washington State | March 24 | April 23 | TBA |
- Defending Pac-12 champion Stanford will give its fans several opportunities to see the team practice this spring. According to the program's website, the Cardinal had an open practice on February 27 and will have two more on March 5 and April 2 before the annual Cardinal and White spring game on April 9.
- Arizona had the earliest start to the 2016 college football season of any Power Five team, opting to kick off spring practices in early February. But the ultra-early start isn't the only major difference this spring for Arizona. According to Stewart Mandel of Fox Sports, head coach Rich Rodriguez overhauled the Wildcats' spring camp with "only one formal scrimmage, no spring game and relatively few 11-on-11 periods."
- Rival Arizona State is also skipping its spring game this season, but for a much different reason. Jeff Metcalf of the Arizona Republic reported the Sun Devils will skip spring games in both 2016 and 2017 as the school continues to undergo extensive renovations at Sun Devil Stadium.
- Oregon State is another team taking its spring practice show on the road, as the Beavers will be in Hillsboro, Oregon, on April 9 for a free, open-to-the-public scrimmage. According to the program's website, this will be Oregon State's first spring practice visit to the Portland metro area since 2005.
SEC
| Alabama | March 11 | April 16 | 3 p.m. ET |
| Arkansas | March 29 | April 23 | 1 p.m. ET |
| Auburn | March 1 | April 9 | TBA |
| Florida | March 9 | April 8 | 7 p.m. ET |
| Georgia | March 15 | April 16 | 2 p.m. ET |
| Kentucky | March 8 | April 16 | TBA |
| LSU | March 7 | April 16 | 4 p.m. ET |
| Mississippi State | March 9 | April 16 | Noon ET |
| Missouri | March 8 | April 16 | TBA |
| Ole Miss | March 2 | ||
| South Carolina | March 15 | April 9 | TBA |
| Tennessee | March 7 | April 16 | 2 p.m. ET |
| Texas A&M | February 29 | April 9 | 6 p.m. ET |
| Vanderbilt | February 22 | March 25 | 7 p.m. ET |
- Defending national champion Alabama recently moved back the kickoff time for its annual A-Day game from 2 p.m. ET to 3 p.m. ET. According to Bleacher Report's own Christopher Walsh, the time change was for television purposes, but network coverage hasn't been announced yet.
- Missouri will have a students-only open practice sometime during the Tigers' weeks of spring camp, according to David Morrison of the Columbia Daily Tribune. New Missouri head coach Barry Odom sent an email to all Missouri students at the beginning of the spring semester with the news.
- Ole Miss will not have a spring game this year due to construction at its home of Vaught-Hemingway Stadium, per Davis Potter of the Oxford Eagle. Unfortunately for Rebels fans, none of Ole Miss' spring practices will be open to the public.
- Texas A&M will resume its annual Maroon and White spring game on April 9. Last year, the Aggies missed the game while Kyle Field was undergoing renovations, but Kevin Sumlin and his team will get to take the field in front of their fans this spring.
Justin Ferguson is a college football writer at Bleacher Report. You can follow him on Twitter @JFergusonBR.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
