The NAIA's National Administrative Council (NAC) adopted a sweeping number of flag football rule changes for the 2026 spring season. The changes were made in an attempt to reduce contact and focus on the individual skills of the players. The rule changes were adopted by the College Flag Football Rules Committee and will be in effect for the 2025-26 and 2026-27 academic years.

The NAC noted the major rule changes here, but there were also additional editorial changes made to the rulebook. The new rules listed points of emphasis for the next two years, which will include sideline control, screening action, and illegal contact before passes. The entire 2025-26 and 2026-27 College Flag Football Rule Book can be found here.

Points of Emphasis and Major Rule Changes

• The first point of emphasis is sideline control. When coaches and referees are debating an official's ruling, the coach is to remain in the Team Area. Coaches who do not remain in the Team Area will be called for an Unsportsmanlike Conduct foul.
  • The six-foot area outside the sideline is reserved for officials and breach of the space during a play can result in an Unsportsmanlike Conduct foul.
  • Any team personnel, coach, or player approaching an official with a table to review a play will be called for an Unsportsmanlike Conduct foul.
  • Coaches who receive two unsportsmanlike fouls in a single game will be ejected.
• The second point of emphasis is Screening Action, which the NAIA has defined as "legally obstructing an opponent without using any part of the body to initiate contact and while remaining within the frame of the body." The NAIA defines the frame of the body as being "at the shoulders or below other than the back. It does not include extended limbs."
  • Officials will be focused on calling illegal screening action consistently to cut down on contact. This will apply to both offense and defense.
• The final point of emphasis is on illegal contact before passes. Defensive players may not use their hands or arms to illegally obstruct an opponent during a running play, during a legal or illegal pass being thrown, or during a kick when the ball is in the air.
  • The NAIA has advised officials to refrain from watching the ball and focus on the players to properly enforce illegal contact.

Some of the major rule changes are outlined below and will overlap with the major points of emphasis discussed above.

• The requirement that eyewear must be tinted was removed.
• The play clock will be set at 30 seconds for the duration of the game.
• A two-minute timeout will be introduced in the second and fourth quarters.
  • The rule is similar to the NFL and college football, where the clock will stop at the two-minute mark, unless the ball is in play at the time. If the ball is in play, the end of the play will mark the two-minute timeout stoppage.
• Unsportsmanlike penalties will now be assessed for the following actions:
  • Inciting an opponent or spectators with actions that simulate firing a weapon, brandishing a weapon, or placing a hand to the ear to request recognition.
  • Illegally being on the field.
  • Taunting a player on the ground by punching one's own chest or crossing the arms in front of the chest
  • Intentionally kicking or spinning the ball at or toward an opponent.
  • Spiking the ball with force into the ground.
• Illegal use of the hands or arms and illegal contact will result in a five-yard penalty from the previous spot and an automatic first down in the following instances:
  • Illegal use of hands and arms by the defense:
    • Defensive players must go around the offensive player's screen block. Defensive players can use their hands or arms to break a fall or retain their balance, but cannot use them to displace an opponent.
  • Illegal contact by the defense:
    • Defensive players may not use their hands or arms to illegally obstruct an opponent during a running play, during a legal or illegal pass being thrown, or during a kick when the ball is in the air.

Editorial Changes

The latest rule book also provides editorial changes designed to clarify some of the wording and enforcement by officials. Below is a list of all the changes from the newest edition.

• Each team will present at least one ball to the game officials before the start of the contest. The ball must be:
  • New or nearly new.
  • Brown-colored and have 4 natural seams that are the result of stitching panels together to form a football.
  • Each ball should have 8 evenly spaced laces along one seam, but the laces should not exceed 5 inches in length.
  • Each of the two stitched panels adjacent to and connected by the laces should have 2 full or partial half stripes or stitch patterns that are 1 inch wide. Each of the 2 half stripes should be perpendicular to the football's long axis and fall within 2.5 to 4 inches from each end of the ball.
  • The ball should weigh between 12 and 14 ounces when inflated and 10 to 13 PSI.
  • The football used by women should have a long circumference of 26 to 27 inches and a short circumference of 19 to 20 inches. A diagram showing the required circumferences can be found here.
  • The football should be assembled or fully made in the USA and the Country of Origin should be marked on the outside of the ball.
  • The governing body's name and/or logo is now permitted to be shown on the ball.
  • The event name and/or logo is now permitted to be shown on the ball.
  • The sponsor name and/or logo is now permitted to be shown on the ball, but should not exceed a 2-inch circle.
• Eyewear is now included as part of a player's uniform and the color of the eyewear must match the same color as the rest of the uniform.
• For non-ball carriers, if a flag is removed or accidentally comes off, the player can reattach the flag before gaining possession and still participate throughout the down.
• The neutral zone is now defined as the one-yard from the forward-most point of the football.
• Neutral zone markers are optional, but will be used on the sidelines and not be in the field of play.
• With the new 30-second play clock, each team must have a visible play clock at each end of the grounds and it must default to 30 seconds after reset by the operator.
• The 30-second play clock will not start when the game clock is running with fewer than 30 seconds.
• During injury timeouts, the play clock will be set at 30 seconds regardless of which team has the injured player.
• There are no measurements in flag football and the officials will either determine if the line to gain was reached or not reached.
• If there is a neutral zone infraction during a kick, the penalty will result in a five-yard penalty.
• If there is a kick catch interference infraction, the penalty will be a five-yard penalty from the succeeding spot.
• A penalty of five yards will be enforced for a team that declares a fair catch, but then attempts to advance the ball.
• Illegal contact and pass interference that occurs within 10 yards of the previous spot will be an automatic first down at the spot of the foul. If the infraction happens beyond 10 yards from the previous spot, it will be an automatic first down and enforced 10 yards from the previous spot.
• When illegal contact or pass interference occurs inside the opposing team's 13-yard line, the ball will be placed at the 3-yard line and result in an automatic first down.
• A touchdown is now defined as the ball breaking the vertical plane of the opponent's goal line.
• One and two-point tries will be placed at the midway point between the hash marks.
• The no-hurdling rule was amended to state that hurdling is not allowed except when an opponent is off their feet (the opponent has another part of their body touching the ground beyond one or both feet).
• Unsportsmanlike conduct and a 10-yard penalty will result in an automatic first down.
• Any penalties committed by the offense or defense behind the original line of scrimmage are enforced from the previous spot. Infractions committed by the offense in their own end zone result in a safety.

The College Flag Football Rules Committee is made up of five members from the NAIA, NJCAA, and 3C2A. Those five members, their affiliation, and title are listed below.

• Justin Gragg, NAIA Director of Officiation Initiatives
• Brycen McKeehan, NJCAA Governance Associate
• Tyler Burroughs, NAIA, KCAC Women's Flag Football Officials
• K. Bruce Hawthorne, NAIA, Sun Conference Supervisor of Officials
• Keith Shackleford, 3C2A, Irvine Valley College Dean of Athletics