The NCAA has fully approved Gallaudet’s football team to use a special helmet designed for players who are deaf or hard of hearing for the rest of the season.
This helmet, created by Gallaudet University and AT&T, was first used last year, allowing the team to try it out in one game. The Bison won that game after starting the season with four losses, which led to a three-game winning streak.
The helmet features technology that lets a coach send play calls from a tablet on the sideline, which then appears visually on a small screen inside the quarterback’s helmet.
“We’re trying to improve the game and find ways to make things fairer for our players,” Gallaudet coach Chuck Goldstein told The Associated Press in a phone interview. “We’re still testing it. Having one game with it was just a small test, and now we’re discovering new issues and things we didn’t know about last year.”
Gallaudet has a history of using new technology. The latest is this helmet.
One issue is that Gallaudet won’t use the helmet in their home opener on Saturday because the top two quarterbacks were injured last week, and there wasn’t enough time to fit a replacement and practice with it. Goldstein hopes to have it ready for the next home game in Washington, D.C., on September 28.
“It’s great that the NCAA has approved it for the season so we can work out these issues,” Goldstein said. “We have time to improve, and we’re very excited about it. We’re glad to have this opportunity and to see what we need to fix.”
Gallaudet getting approval for the helmet in Division III comes just as audio communication helmets are being introduced at the Division I level.
“It’s only a matter of time before it comes to our level, which would put us at a disadvantage if we didn’t have this chance,” Goldstein said. “We’re thankful for this opportunity to continue learning and sharing our experience with the NCAA.”
