College football spring games are starting to become a thing of the past. For now, many programs around the nation will still hold a traditional showcase to wrap their spring practice slates, but there is a growing list of prominent schools that have decided to do away with the game day format in favor of different plans — or, so far, nothing at all.
Nebraska coach Matt Rhule got the ball rolling when he announced his team would not play its spring game, which routinely attracts 60,000-plus fans.
“I think it’s really, fundamentally — I hate to say it like this — it’s really because last year we were one of the more televised spring games, and I dealt with a lot of people offering our players a lot of opportunities after that,” Rhule said in February. “To go out and bring in a bunch of new players and showcase them for all the other schools to watch, that doesn’t make a lot of sense to me.”
Since then, schools like Ohio State and Texas have announced they will do away with a spring game format that has existed for years now. While Nebraska’s concerns centered around the transfer portal and tampering, each school has cited its own reason for eliminating spring games.
While some schools have chosen not to play spring games in the past, the adjusted college football calendar has undoubtedly played a role in the increasing cancellations. With a majority fo spring practices set to commence in March, here’s a running list of schools that are either canceling their spring games or overhauling the format.
Nebraska
Though Rhule said that Nebraska won’t have a spring game in a tradition sense, it does seem like the Huskers plan on doing something for fans to wrap up spring practice. Athletic director Troy Dannen said in January on his radio show that Nebraska would hold an event for fans on April 26. Though he didn’t go into specifics, he did say that it likely would not look like a typical game. Rhule also indicated that he wants to “show off” his players to fans.
Ohio State
Ohio State is condensing its spring schedule and starting practice on March 17 due to a national championship-winning 2024 season that stretched all the way to Jan. 20. The Buckeyes’ spring slate culminates in a “Spring Showcase” on April 12. Ohio State will also hold a fan event ahead of the event. The university was mum on details, though it did not that more information will be released at a later date.
Texas
Texas coach Steve Sarkisian revealed on the “Up & Adams Show” that his team will not host a spring game. Instead, the Longhorns will test an NFL-style spring with organized team activities leading up to scrimmages and position-on-position work. He cited Texas’ increased on-field workload — the Longhorns played 30 games over the past two years, including 16 in 2024 — and better opportunities to develop young talent as reasons behind the cancellation. There’s no indication if Texas will host some other sort of event instead.
It seems USC will go through a relatively routine spring practice slate, but there will not be a spring game at the end. The Trojans called it off due to the risk of injuries and the existence of more important uses for finances, according to ESPN. As with other programs on this list, USC has yet to announce any alternative plans to engage fans.
Florida State is not hosting a spring game due to ongoing renovations to Doak Campbell Stadium. Even though Florida State’s spring game wasn’t impacted by external concerns, Seminoles coach Mike Norvell seems to think modern college football is trending away from spring games.
“As much as anything, teams can change so much,” Norvell told ESPN. “I would assume that you’re going to see less and less spring games just because of that part of it. You go play a spring game and put whatever information you want out there, and that’s going to help somebody that you’re playing against. Even if it’s just seeing the look of personnel. You can only get 15 days, I don’t want to spend a day that’s not as productive.”
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