Ivy League Will Move Kickoffs to 40-Yard Line in 2016 Season

The NCAA Playing Rules Oversight Panel approved the Ivy League's request to move kickoffs to the 40-yard line in league games only for the 2016 season on Wednesday, according to Greg Johnson of NCAA.com.

Touchbacks will also give teams the ball at the 20-yard line rather than at the 25-yard line. The new rules are a chance for the Ivy League to investigate whether the changes improve player safety or if the benefits are negligible. 

The Ivy League will be gathering data throughout the season, including the total number of kickoffs and touchbacks. Additionally, it will be monitoring the number of injuries during kickoffs; the number of concussions in general vs. the number of concussions on kickoffs specifically; and the number of concussions suffered on touchbacks vs. concussions suffered on kicks returned from inside the end zone and kicks returned from outside of the end zone.

The new rule comes at a time when the American Football Coaches Association's board of trustees and the NCAA Division I Football Oversight Committee are reportedly discussing the possibility of eliminating the kickoff altogether from the college game to improve player safety, according to Dennis Dodd of CBS Sports.

"I don't think there is any doubt it is the most dangerous play in the game," Big 12 Commissioner Bob Bowlsby told Dodd. "How much that's the case and how we can fix it is unknown."

Both the NFL and the NCAA moved kickoffs to the 35-yard line in 2011 and 2012, respectively, and the NFL is now moving touchbacks to the 25-yard line—at least for the 2016 season—to encourage fewer returns and more touchbacks.

In addition, Pop Warner youth football became the first organization to eliminate kickoffs altogether in May.

In other words, the kickoff is under intense scrutiny at every level of football, and both the NCAA and NFL seem to be taking steps toward eliminating the play in the foreseeable future. 

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