Conference USA says yes to XOS Replay for football

By Daniel Latzman

Conference USA (C-USA) recently selected XOS Replays, a chief provider of technology solutions for professional and collegiate athletics, as its official in-game instant replay source. C-USA joins the PAC-10, MAC, Sun Belt and Big 12 conferences as XOS Replay partners.

“Every single play is looked at by the review officials and is determined whether the call made is questionable,” said Dave Almstead, the Senior VP at XOS Replay. “Our new technology allows the review officials in the booth to instantaneously view the previous play before the next one begins, to always make sure that the call on the field was correct.”

XOS Replay has developed an innovative touch screen technology that makes it easy for replay officials to browse through various clips and angles to best review the play and determine the accuracy of the call made on the field. A remote control is also available if the official prefers that to the touch screen. This new technology allows the replay officials to examine each play before the next one begins, thus never stopping action unless a call was incorrect.

Almstead commented on the differences between the replay reviews in college as opposed to the pros, and pointed to regulation disparities as the primary distinction between the two. “The head official is the ultimate decision maker in the NFL, with the coaches having the ability to challenge a questionable call. In college, the officials on the field hold less power, with the replay officials in the booth in charge of reviewing each play and buzzing the head official on the field to stop the game if a call is seen as questionable.”

The College Commissioners Association formed a subcommittee this year that met and discussed the most crucial issues facing college football instant replay. They comprised a list of standards that all instant replay systems must meet, and XOS Replay was confirmed to be fully conforming.

One of the most important aspects of XOS Replay, as Almstead discussed, is the conferences ability to change direction or thoughts on their instant replay system without drastically changing technology or equipment. XOS Replay is able to modify the technology with capabilities that they already have to constantly keep up with the times and improve instant replay each year.