NCAA tweaks wrestling’s rules on stalling and hands-to-the-face, will allow longer hair and loose shorts

College wrestling might look a bit different during the 2019-20 season.

An NCAA oversight panel announced small rule changes Wednesday regarding stalling and hands-to-the-face. Wrestlers will also be allowed to wear shorts designed for competition, and all language regarding the length of a wrestler’s hair has been eliminated from the official rulebook.

The changes will be in place for the upcoming season.

Stalling violations have been adjusted. The first call will be a warning. The second and third calls will be worth a single point. The fourth will be worth two points and the fifth will result in disqualification.

Previously, a warning was issued for the first stall call, followed by one point for the next three calls, then disqualification for the fifth.

Additionally, a hands-to-the-face call will be classified as an “illegal hold.” It was previously was an “unnecessary roughness” violation that resulted in one point being awarded.

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By changing it to an illegal hold — rules for illegal holds indicate that “whenever possible, illegal holds should be prevented rather than called” — referees will have more freedom to use verbal cues, issue warnings, and stop the action as “potentially dangerous” before calling an illegal hold.

Referees may still call hands-to-the-face as an illegal hold if necessary.

Wrestlers will also now have the option to wear a form-fitting shirt with looser shorts designed for wrestling. Previously, athletes could only wear skin-tight singlets. 

Furthermore, the rule that prohibited a wrestler’s hair from extending below the level of a shirt collar in the back and below the earlobes on the side has been eliminated. But athletes still will not be allowed to apply greasy substances or oil to their hair.

The NCAA rules committee also withdrew proposed recommendations regarding video review challenges, medical forfeits, and weigh-ins. Rules committee members expect to further evaluate weigh-in times with the NCAA Committee on Competitive Safeguards and Medical Aspects of Sports.

Follow Cody Goodwin on Twitter at @codygoodwin.

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