Big Ten expands live replay review audio broadcasts to all games starting September 12

The Big Ten announced on September 9 that it will expand enhanced replay review with live audio broadcasts to all conference games and home non-conference matchups officiated by Big Ten officials, effective September 12, per Awful Announcing reporting.

Beginning Saturday, September 12, all football broadcasts from Big Ten venues that include Big Ten replay and on-field officials will be able to feature live audio between the game referee and replay official during reviews, alongside video of the game footage being reviewed during the process and a live view inside the Big Ten Replay Center.

The expanded policy covers all conference games during the 2026 season as well as home non-conference matchups officiated by Big Ten crews. The conference had previously announced it would begin providing this access for Friday night games this season.

The expansion comes after the Michigan-Western Michigan game ended controversially when officials granted Michigan an extra second after the game clock struck zero, allowing the Wolverines to score on a Hail Mary touchdown pass. Officials cited a discrepancy between the clock they were using and the stadium and broadcast clocks as the reason for the phantom second. According to an internal NCAA memo cited by ESPN and reported by Awful Announcing, the official time for any game is the time displayed on the in-stadium game clock. However, when a replay review requires time to be restored, the replay official's decision must be based on the embedded game clock contained within the broadcast's program feed, or the game-clock graphic if no embedded clock is available.

The ACC completed its first full season providing networks with similar replay review insights in 2025. The Big 12 rolls out comparable access during this season.