This college football season has seen significant changes, including the introduction of direct communication from coaches to players.

While this development was welcomed as a positive adjustment, it has introduced at least one technological issue.

The communication system integrated into helmets, designed to enable a single player on the field to connect with coaches and receive play calls quickly, is reportedly operating on unencrypted frequencies, as indicated by several reports.

This situation raises concerns about whether the private conversations between coaches and players, which may include sensitive information affecting competitive fairness, could have been intercepted during the first two months of the 2024 season.

According to a report by The Athletic on Wednesday, the Big 12 has asked teams to return their helmet communication devices so that GSC, the provider for all 68 Power Four conference teams this season, can address these issues. The first glitch with the new technology was identified during a game on September 28 between Arkansas and Texas A&M at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

It has been reported that the Big 12 is not currently looking into any allegations of cheating associated with the helmet communication problems.

“We need to ensure that our game is not questioned in terms of integrity,” stated Texas Tech athletic director Kirby Hocutt in an interview with ESPN. “It’s our responsibility to the 120 young men on our football teams to guarantee fair competition and adherence to the same rules.”

In April, the NCAA football rules committee approved a rule that allows quarterbacks and one defensive player on the field to have a speaker in their helmets, permitting them to communicate with coaches on the sidelines or in the press box. This system is akin to the communication technology used in the NFL since 1994.

This change followed the high-profile sign-stealing scandal involving Michigan, where staff members allegedly attended future opponents’ games to film sidelines and capture team signals.

For years, college programs have primarily used hand signals, gestures, and large posters to convey play calls instead of leveraging helmet communication.