College football weather guide
College football stops for lightning, not rain or snow. Under NCAA rules, a strike detected within 8 miles of the stadium suspends play for at least 30 minutes — and every new strike restarts the clock. Because non-conference games are almost never rescheduled, a long storm can cancel a game entirely.
Lightning detected within 8 miles of the stadium, or severe weather that endangers the crowd.
Rain, snow, cold or wind on their own. College football plays through all of them.
At least 30 minutes after the last nearby strike, plus a mandatory 10-minute re-warmup.
The referee, with both schools' athletic directors and game management — not a central league office.
NCAA Rule 3-3-3, together with the NCAA Sports Medicine Handbook, sets the protocol every college game follows. When cloud-to-ground lightning is detected within 8 miles of the venue, play is suspended immediately and everyone is moved off the field and out of exposed seating.
The game cannot resume until 30 minutes pass with no further strikes inside that radius — and each new strike resets the clock to zero. Once the all-clear is given, teams get a mandatory 10-minute warm-up on the field before play restarts, to reduce injury risk after players have cooled down.
Unlike the NFL, there is no central league office making the call. The decision sits with the referee, working with both schools' athletic directors, conference representatives and local emergency management — which is why two games in the same storm can be handled differently.
| Rule | College (NCAA) | NFL |
|---|---|---|
| Lightning radius | 8 miles (NCAA Sports Medicine Handbook) | Varies by stadium protocol, often 6–8 miles |
| Restart clock | 30 minutes, resets with every new strike | 30 minutes, resets with every new strike |
| Re-warmup | Mandatory minimum 10 minutes on the field | Short warm-up, length set by game officials |
| Who calls it | Referee plus both athletic directors and local emergency management | Game officials with the league office and stadium operations |
| If it can't finish | Can be cancelled, ruled no-contest, or declared final — non-conference games are rarely replayed | League can postpone, move or resume later; almost always completed |
Memorial Stadium, Lincoln
Lightning stopped play right after the opening kickoff, and after a long wait the game was cancelled. It was never made up, so Scott Frost's Nebraska debut was pushed back a week.
Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, Gainesville
Storms delayed the start, the teams got through only the opening kickoff, then more lightning arrived and the game was called off. It counted as a no-contest.
Michigan Stadium, Ann Arbor
Played through driving rain and wind. Michigan turned the ball over five times in the wet conditions.
Doak Campbell Stadium, Tallahassee
Hurricane Irma forced the rivalry game to be moved back three weeks, one of several Florida games postponed or relocated that week.
This is where college football differs most from the pros. NFL games are almost always completed, even if it means coming back another day. College games — especially non-conference matchups with no open weekend left — can simply be cancelled. Under NCAA rules, a game can end as a cancellation, a no-contest, or be declared final if enough of it has been played and both schools agree.
For bets, a delay changes nothing — the game resumes where it stopped. A suspended or cancelled game falls to each sportsbook's house rules; many US books require around 55 minutes of play for full-game bets to stand. Check your own book's rules.
See the forecast for every FBS stadium, including storm risk around kickoff, on the college football weather page. For the pro version of these rules, see NFL weather delays.
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There is no fixed length. Under NCAA rules, play stays suspended until 30 minutes pass with no lightning detected within 8 miles of the stadium, and every new strike restarts that clock. Teams then get a mandatory warm-up of at least 10 minutes before play resumes. Most delays run 45 minutes to two hours; some have gone past three hours.
NCAA Rule 3-3-3 and the NCAA Sports Medicine Handbook require play to stop when cloud-to-ground lightning is detected within 8 miles of the venue. The 30-minute countdown restarts with every new strike inside that radius. The NFL uses a similar approach but works off a smaller radius in many stadium protocols.
Yes, and it happens more often than in the NFL. Non-conference games are rarely rescheduled, so a long storm can end in a cancellation or a no-contest. In 2018, Nebraska's season opener against Akron was cancelled after only the opening kickoff, and in 2014 Florida–Idaho was called off after the opening kickoff.
No. Rain, snow, cold and wind do not stop a college game on their own. Play is halted for lightning and for severe weather that puts people in the stadium at risk, such as hurricanes or tornado warnings.
A delay on its own does not void a bet; the game resumes. If a game is suspended or cancelled, each sportsbook's house rules decide what stands — many books require a minimum amount of play (often 55 minutes) for full-game bets to count. Rules differ between books, so check yours.