Big 12 says no games will be impacted by unsecured helmet communications

The Big 12 determined Thursday that none of its games this season were compromised by unencrypted frequencies used for in-game communications between coaches and players.

Sources told ESPN on Wednesday that coach-to-player communications for all Power 4 college football games this season were on unencrypted frequencies, and Texas Tech requested a report from the Big 12 on recent games against TCU and Baylor — both losses — to ensure the integrity of the games is not compromised.

Athletic director Kirby Hocutt said he raised the issue during a call with Big 12 athletic directors Tuesday after learning that anyone with a scanner and knowledge of how to locate the frequencies could access those in-game communications had.

“Due to industry-wide concerns regarding helmet communications, the Big 12 conducted a review of conference games and helmet communications processes to resolve any issues raised by member institutions regarding this matter,” the Big 12 said in a statement released Thursday. “The review found that at no time was any Big 12 competition impacted.”

Texas Tech said in a statement Thursday that it “accepts the conclusion of the Big 12 review” and would have no further comment on the matter.

Additionally, all Big 12 helmet communications programs now have GSC's update, which provides encryption, and schools can use either CoachComm or GSC for coach-player communications at their discretion.

GSC is the provider of helmet communications devices for all 68 teams in the Power 4 conferences this season.

“We have to have a game whose integrity is in no way questionable on a Saturday afternoon,” Hocutt told ESPN on Wednesday. “We owe it to the 120 young men on our football team to ensure that this happens, that it is a fairly competitive game and that the same rules are enforced.”

The revelation that college football teams did not use encrypted frequencies frustrated several Big 12 athletic directors who believed the Power 4 schools had the same encrypted setup used in the NFL, sources said.

This is the first college football season to allow in-game use of helmet communications and tablets between coach and player at the FBS level. The NCAA approved the rule change in April, six months after it opened an investigation into Michigan's alleged signal-stealing scheme under former employee Connor Stalions.

Football operations executives from the SEC, Big 12, Big Ten and ACC have worked with GSC in the four weeks since to investigate potential concerns and move to a more encrypted and secure platform.

According to sources, Texas Tech (5-3, 3-2) has opted to move forward with a different coach-to-player system using encrypted communications that CoachComm provided for its game against No. 11 Iowa State on Saturday.

A source at a Big 12 school told ESPN that its staff purchased a scanner earlier this month when they learned of the potential security breach and that it managed to increase the frequency of communication between coaches and players during a practice to determine.

The frequency does not carry all headset communication between coaches, which would be invaluable, but rather just what a coach says to a player on the field – typically a quarterback on offense and a linebacker on defense – and only then, when the coach has the ball in their hands press the button to talk to them before communication stops 15 seconds before the snap.

“There is no real advantage,” argued a Big 12 chief of staff. “First, you speak a different language. Second, if you think you can implement what they say in real time and try it on the field, then you're kidding yourself. You're just following your stereotype.” “You can't get it across to kids fast enough.”