Recently, when people talk about football it has been about concussions, safety regulations and how to avoid common injury. Well, the Ivy League football coaches are following suit. After coming together to make one of the biggest decisions in college football history, the decision is making quite the spike of debate in the college football world. By deciding to eliminate full-contact hitting during the regular season, these Ivy League coaches are hoping to combat the growing concerns about brain trauma and other injuries in the sport.

This change could influence how other football programs, from the youth level to the professionals, try to mitigate the physical toll of football, which has been played on Ivy League campuses since the 19th century.

The eight Ivy League coaches unanimously approved the measure last week. Their decision is expected to be adopted formally once it is affirmed by the league’s athletic directors, policy committee and university presidents. The new rule would be in addition to the Ivy League’s existing limits on the amount of full contact in practice during the spring and preseason, which are among the most stringent in college football.

Researchers have found that limiting the amount of full-contact hitting in practices can help reduce the number of concussions. The elimination of the full-contact in practice could be the first step in finding safer ways to play the game o football, benefitting not only players, but coaches, specialists and even an individual school.

With the health of older football players quickly regressing, it is important that coaches and specialists start taking a look into long-term health related issues. I believe this is a major step in starting that process.