Big Ten Announces Changes To Football Availability Reporting Process

ROSEMONT, Ill. — The Big Ten Conference on Friday announced updates to the Football Availability Reporting Process for the upcoming 2026 season. 

Beginning this year, schools will submit four availability reports per week, beginning three days before a contest and concluding with a gameday report. Institutions will submit reports by 8pm ET/7pm CT/5pm PT three days (e.g., on Wednesday for a Saturday game), two days, and one day before scheduled kickoff. A final gameday submission will be due two hours before kickoff. 

Midweek status designations will identify student-athletes as Probable, Questionable, Doubtful, Out or Out (1st Half). Gameday availability reports will include three categories: Game Time Decision, Out, and Out (1st Half) on gameday. Student-athletes not listed on a report are considered Available.

Due to travel party limitations, visiting teams will indicate the availability status of players who either a) were part of the travel squad, or b)were not part of the travel squad but are (or have been) included in the two-deep on offense, defense, or special teams or otherwise regularly participate in games.

This policy will apply to all competition against conference opponents only, with the first reports of the Big Ten season due in advance of the USC at Rutgers and Purdue at UCLA games on Sept. 19. All availability reports will be published on BigTen.org. 

The 2026 campaign gets underway this weekend when USC hosts San Jose State at 3pm ET/2pm CT/12pm PT on NBC. The Big Ten enters the season having won each of the last three College Football Playoff National Championships, with three schools ranked in the Top-6 of the preseason AP poll and eight teams ranked among the Top-22.