Drones have some fascinating uses when it comes to aerial captures. But college football wants nothing to do with them.
For 2023, a rule was implemented to prohibit drones from flying over college football stadiums or team areas. The rule was violated in Week 0, when the game between UMass and New Mexico State in University Park, New Mexico was delayed because of a drone flying in the area of Aggie Memorial Stadium.
The delay lasted for just under 10 minutes before the drone exited and play was able to resume.
— no context college football (@nocontextcfb) August 27, 2023
A Seattle Seahawks game being played at Lumen Field in 2022 was delayed because of drones occupying the airspace, and the day before they affected a Huskies game being played at Husky Stadium. Officials in sports have been lobbying to gets laws passed to limit intrusive crafts, but the NCAA decided to take things into its own hands.
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Why at is the rule about drones at college sports games?
Per Football Foundation, the drone policy, found within Rule 1-4-11-d, states:
Drones are not allowed over the field or the team area when squad members are present within the playing enclosure. Outside the limit lines, game management (or conference policy) will govern drone activity. This governance includes all FAA, state, and local laws including campus policy where appropriate.
That made the matter of the delay extremely clear-cut. Don't expect this to be the only delay we see in the coming weeks.
Why are drones banned at college sports games?
Up until the 2022 season, there was legislation that kept drones away from college sports airspaces. From the Federal Aviation Administration:
Flying drones in and around stadiums that seat 30,000 people or more is prohibited by law beginning one hour before and ending one hour after the scheduled time of any of the following events:
- Major League Baseball Game
- National Football League Game
- NCAA Division One Football Game
- NASCAR Sprint Cup, Indy Car, and Champ Series Race
The ability for agencies to take drones down expired Oct. 5, leaving it to the NCAA to impose the ban.
Drones are UAVs, or unmanned aerial vehicles, and thus are perceived as a risk in many airspaces. From Bloomberg: "Potential threats can range from an accidental drone crash to a mass attack."
With that in mind, the laws and rules in place are meant to simply eliminate headaches wholesale, as drones are not necessary items.
With all of that in mind, there isn't a law in place people aren't willing to break. So while NMSU-UMass is the first game we've seen delayed under this particular rule, it's unlikely to be the last.