17.11.7.5 Spring Practice. [FBS/FCS] Fifteen postseason practice sessions [including intrasquad scrimmages and the spring game permitted in Bylaw 17.11.6.2-(a)] are permissible. An institution is not required to count as one of its 15 designated days any day during which countable athletically related activities are limited solely to required conditioning activities, review of game film and/or walk-throughs (see Bylaw 17.02.20). Practice sessions must meet the following conditions: (Revised: 1/10/90, 1/10/91, 1/10/92, 1/11/94, 1/13/98, 6/21/01, 1/9/06 effective 8/1/06, 12/15/06, 4/26/17, 1/19/22, 2/9/22, 10/4/23)

(a) All practice sessions are conducted within a period of 34 consecutive calendar days, omitting vacation and examination days officially announced on the institution's calendar and days during which the institution is closed due to inclement weather.

(b) Any such practice sessions held during vacation days may not be of longer duration than those normally held when academic classes are in session.

(c) Only 12 of the practice sessions may involve contact, and such contact shall not occur prior to the third practice session.

(d) During noncontact practice sessions, protective equipment is restricted to helmets and spider pads.

(e) Of the 12 permissible contact sessions, eight sessions may involve tackling, and not more than three of the eight tackling sessions may be devoted primarily (greater than 50 percent of practice time) to 11-on-11 scrimmages.

(f) An institution shall not conduct full contact (tackling to the ground) practices on consecutive calendar days.

(g) An institution shall not conduct more than a total of 75 minutes of full contact (tackling to the ground) within any one on-field practice session other than the three tackling sessions devoted primarily to 11-on-11 scrimmages.

(h) Tackling shall be prohibited in four of the 12 contact sessions. An institution has the discretion to determine the practice activities (other than tackling) that may occur during the four contact nontackling sessions as well as the protective equipment to be worn by the student-athletes.

(i) If an institution conducts a "spring game" per Bylaw 17.11.6.2-(a), the game shall be counted as one of the three sessions that may be devoted primarily to 11-on-11 scrimmages.

(j) The amount of time that a student-athlete may be involved in such postseason countable athletically related activities shall be limited to a maximum of four hours per day and 20 hours per week.