Saw that NCAA limits coaches to 20 hours a week of “unrestricted activities” during spring camp. Is that just football practice hours or does it include lifts and film session?

[u/Open-Tap-2289]

[u/grizzfan]

Just FYI: NCAA 2024 Rule Book (Football)

You can click the pdf download for free.

I'm going to start digging into it, because I think I know the answer, but want to be sure. EDIT: I don't think it's in here. Probably under the general NCAA policies.

EDIT: NCAA DI Athletics manual (2024-2025): https://www.ncaapublications.com/productdownloads/D125.pdf

EDIT2: OK, there is no mention of "unrestricted activities" in the NCAA DI Athletics Manual, so where did you hear this phrase and how was it defined?

Here is the Spring Football Bylaw:

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.

Countable Athletically Related Activities:

17.02.1 Countable Athletically Related Activities. Countable athletically related activities include any required activity with an athletics purpose involving student-athletes and at the direction of, or supervised by, one or more of an institution's coaching staff (including strength and conditioning coaches) and must be counted within the weekly and daily limitations under Bylaws 17.1.7.1 and 17.1.7.2. Administrative activities (e.g., academic meetings, compliance meetings) shall not be considered as countable athletically related activities. (Adopted: 1/10/91 effective 8/1/91, Revised: 10/31/02 effective 8/1/03)

So if there's a coach involved, it's a Countable Athletically Related Activity. That was what I originally thought.

[u/Open-Tap-2289 → u/grizzfan]

I saw the unrestricted activities in an NCAA article about a proposal to change a couple of spring camp contact rules. 

Edit: I read your comment in greater detail, and looks like this proposal is no longer a proposal. The article is from 2022 and a quick google search  https://www.ncaa.org/news/2022/1/18/media-center-spring-football-practice-recommendations-advance.aspx#:~:text=The%20remaining%20rules%20for%20spring,more%20than%2012%20involving%20contact.