first preseason practice. "17.11.3.1 First Practice Date. An institution shall not commence official preseason football practice sessions, for the varsity, junior varsity or freshman team, before 31 days before its first scheduled intercollegiate game. Before its first scheduled intercollegiate game, an institution may not engage in more than 25 on-field practices. (Revised: 1/11/89, 4/14/03, 4/24/03 effective 5/1/03, 4/28/05, 1/18/18, 6/11/18, 5/18/22)" I doubt that rule would change even if bowl games were moved to the beginning of the season because of "safety" reasons. Remember where majority of the bowl games are played and the temperature/humidity of those locations in late July and August when factoring in that players may be wearing their full equipment for an outdoor practice. Even if teams are practicing on campus, they will likely be dealing with those same conditions whenever they practice outdoors. ** Edited by VTHokie2000 at 9/4/2025, 11:06:29 AM