The Big 12 says no game is compromised by unreliable headset communications

The Big 12 determined Thursday that none of its games were compromised by unencrypted frequencies used with in-game coach-player communications this season.

Sources told ESPN on Wednesday that coach-player communications for all Power 4 college football games this season were on unencrypted frequencies, and Texas Tech has requested a report from the Big 12 regarding its recent games against TCU and Baylor — both losses. — to ensure that the integrity of the games has not been compromised.

Athletic director Kirby Hocutt said he raised the issue during a call with Big 12 athletic directors Tuesday after learning that anyone with a scanner and knowledge of how to locate frequencies had access to those in-game communications.

“Following industry-wide concerns about headset communication, the Big 12 has conducted a review of conference games and headset communication processes to address any concerns raised by member institutions regarding the issue,” said Big 12 in a statement issued Thursday. “The review showed that no Big 12 competition was compromised at any time.”

In addition, all Big 12 headset communication programs now have the update from GSC that provides encryption, and schools can use either CoachComm or GSC for coach-to-player communication at their discretion.

GSC is the headset communication provider for all 68 Power 4 teams this season.

“We have to have a game whose integrity is not in any way questionable on a Saturday afternoon,” Hocutt told ESPN on Wednesday. “We owe it to the 120 young men in our football team to make sure that happens, that it’s a fair competitive game and that the same set of rules apply.”

The revelation that college football teams did not use encrypted frequencies frustrated several Big 12 athletic directors, who believed the Power 4 schools had the same encrypted setup used in the NFL, sources said.

This is the first college football season in which the in-game use of coach-player headset and tablet communications has been allowed at the FBS level. The NCAA approved the rule change in April, six months after it launched an investigation into Michigan’s alleged signal-stealing scheme under former employee Connor Stallions.

The directors of football operations for the SEC, Big 12, Big Ten and ACC have worked with GSC in the four weeks since to investigate potential issues and move to a more encrypted and secure platform.

Texas Tech (5-3, 3-2) opted to move forward with another coach-player system with encrypted communication provided by CoachComm for its matchup against then-No. 11 from Iowa State on Saturday, sources said.

A source at a Big 12 school told ESPN that its staff purchased a scanner earlier this month after learning of the potential vulnerability and was able to locate its own coach-player communication frequency during a practice.

The frequency doesn’t carry all headset communications between coaches, which would be invaluable, but only what a coach says to a player on the field — usually an offensive lineman and a defensive lineman — and only when the coach holds down the button to talk to them before the communication is cut off 15 seconds before the blink.

“There’s no real advantage,” argued one Big 12 personnel chief. “One, you’re speaking a different language. Second, if you think you could put into practice in real time what they say and try to do it in the field, you are delusional. You are just your stereotype. You can’t get that paranoid football coach across to kids fast enough.”