A view into the ACC video replay booth

Chris Baird, Triangle Sports Network

DURHAM, N.C. – With the memorable ending to the 22-ranked Duke Blue Devils’ 30-27 loss to the Miami Hurricanes that took place at Wallace Wade Stadium on Saturday, it seemed fitting to share a glimpse of what those in the video replay booth see during a game.

The final play of that game ignited debate about the process and application of video review in college football that could continue for days and even weeks as the season approaches its peak.

Thus, before adding fuel to the fire and deciding whether correct/incorrect calls were made by on-field officials, there’s no time like the present to share what those in the booth actually do.

Earlier in the season, during halftime of the Duke-Northwestern game at Wallace Wade Stadium, the Triangle Sports Network was offered a view into the video replay booth.

It was an informative and educational overview of the personnel, equipment, and process involved in the use of video replay during every game in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) and the rest of NCAA Division I football.

Personnel

There are three people in the booth who officially work during a game – a replay software technician, a communicator, and a replay official.

They all sit in that order, left to right, and out of those three, the replay official, who is a current official and possesses on-field officiating experience, is the only one of the crew who can and makes any and all decisions regarding plays in question.

Equipment

The ACC uses instant replay technology from DVSport Software, a company based out of Pittsburgh, Pa., that has four video feeds continually inputting content that gets pulled up on monitors in the booth throughout the game.

The four feed sources include the standard program feed that television network viewers see; high and low end zone cameras; and a rolling cart camera from the sidelines.

The technician’s job is to ensure the software and video feeds are functioning properly and to catalog accurate data and provide access to video when the replay official needs to see it.

Process – In-game

As play on the field progresses, the technician is constantly tagging replays (A, B, C, D, E, etc.) that the television truck sends in order to access quickly at any time throughout the game.

The process is to follow what happens on every play on the field and to determine whether there is any question to what happens on the field, and if it will potentially need to be reviewed.

The data recorded in the system for each play also notes ball location (i.e. hash mark), the snap, what type of play – whether it was a run, pass, incomplete pass, punt, field goal, etc.

It is all referenced to be used to review at any point.

As play on the field continues, the review process on every movement and play is constantly going through review, and many times there is no need to stop the game for an official video review.

During instances when there’s a question of the ruling on the field that has some form of competitive impact (turnover, scoring, etc), a pager system is then initiated to notify each on-field official, plus the ‘red hat’ and the sideline official that the game will be stopped for a review.

The technician contacts the TV truck by phone in order find all the video of the play in question and works with the producer to quickly draw up all footage from the game’s broadcast for guidance on which camera angle will be the best to view.

While the television production crew is primarily concerned with providing viewers the best footage of the game, the symbiotic working relationship with the video replay crew, and ultimately the on-field officials, is an important one.

Process – Post-game

Once a game is completed, all of the data (video replays) compiled throughout, will be used by the league Supervisor of Officials to help on-field officiating crews with the review of their performance during the week to reinforce, correct, and educate officials on their play calling.

Both competing teams also have video replay of the game, usually by using a coaching-oriented video software, one exactly or similar to DVSports’ coaching option, that catalogs plays in a similar fashion.

With such available resources, coaches will send the conference office a compilation of plays that they liked and didn’t like in order to request further clarification on specific rulings made on the field.

Note that such a process is not intended to, nor is capable of reversing any decisions made during the game.

It is meant to provide a postgame outlet for discussion, and for the head coach to get further clarification on rulings made during the game, if such was not provided adequately, in the opinion of the coach, at the time.

Bottom Line

The video replay team is an extension of the on-field officiating crew and has the sole objective of getting rules calls ‘right’ while working within specific parameters to do so.

Their objective is not to re-officiate the game, but to work within the specific rules set out for them to help the on-field crew to do so.

As 99 percent of the video reviewed during each game ultimately will not have a direct and specific impact on the outcome of a game, the crew’s work goes without much criticism.

However, in the rare instances when it does – like in the Duke-Miami game – then the entire process and the individuals involved with it is questioned.

That’s what happens when one team wins and the other loses.