INDIANAPOLIS -- The umpire working the Big Ten Championship Game on Saturday will wear a GoPro camera attached to his hat, which Fox will use to potentially provide different angles for replay calls on television.
It's part of a collaboration between Fox Sports Lab and GoPro to equip an official with point-of-view cameras from the field. Fox tested the concept last week during Wisconsin's win over Minnesota and will fully integrate GoPro into the Wisconsin-Penn State game for the Big Ten title.
While the concept is being led by television, it's not entirely clear how GoPro might help replay calls. The NCAA rulebook for years has allowed a camera (with no audio component) to be attached to the cap of the umpire -- but only the umpire, not other officials -- if he and the teams approve. The umpire stands near the linebackers on the defensive side of the ball.
National officiating coordinator Rogers Redding, who will be attending the Big Ten Championship Game, said he has never heard of the rule being applied by an umpire with a camera.
"I'm curious as much as anything else," Redding said. "It will be interesting to see what kind of pictures they produce of whether it's any use. If a guy's running around and the camera is bouncing around, I'm not sure what kind of looks you'll get. You don't know until you try. My only concern is if it's a distraction to the umpire that's working the game that he has to worry about from time to time."
Big Ten officiating coordinator Bill Carollo was not made available to comment.
According to the Big Ten, the footage from GoPro will be broadcast on a delay, only include whistle-to-whistle video for each play, and won't contain audio. All TV feeds are available for use by replay, including the GoPro feed and pylon cameras.
