NCAA Football Rules for Jersey Colors

The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) has specific rules regarding the jersey colors of college football teams. These rules are designed to prevent confusion as to which team is the home team and which is the visitor. The rules also help the officials determine which team is on offense and which is on defense during play.

  1. General Rules about Jersey Colors

    • NCAA rules state that all players on the same team must wear jerseys that are the same color and design. In general, those jerseys use the official school colors, as determined by the school handbook. Visiting teams are to wear jerseys of a contrasting color. In general, players from the visiting team must wear white jerseys with the numbers, team name and player name printed in a contrasting color. Jerseys also cannot be a similar color to the ball.

    Exceptions to the Rules

    • Players on the home team may wear white jerseys only if the teams have agreed to the arrangement prior to the season starting. This agreement must be in writing. If a visiting team wishes to wear a colored jersey during a game, both teams need to agree to the change before the game and the football conference must certify that the jersey is a contrasting color to that of the home team. In other words, both teams will not be allowed to wear navy blue jerseys, because that would lead to confusion.

    Rules about White Jerseys

    • White jerseys may have only the following printed on them in a contrasting color: the school name, player number, player name, NCAA logo and the insignia of the school, conference, mascot or game. Memorial insignias are also allowed, as are American flags. No insignia may be larger than 16 square inches. If a jersey is to be considered white, it must be primarily white but may have colored stripes on the sleeves, a stripe of less than four inches wide on the side seams and a colored band one inch wide or less on the sleeves and collar.

    Penalties for Jersey Color Violations

    • If a visiting team wears a colored jersey and does not meet the criteria mentioned previously, then it is considered unsportsmanlike conduct and the team will be assessed a 15-yard penalty from the succeeding spot after the kickoff. If the team returns the ball on the kickoff for a touchdown, the penalty will be assessed at the beginning of the next play. If the team's white jerseys violate any of the conditions of a white jersey, it will lose one timeout per half of the game.