When Ole Miss\u2019 offense trotted onto the field for its opening drive against Arkansas two weeks ago, Austin Simmons, who had started the Rebels\u2019 first two games, wasn\u2019t with them.<\/p>\n
Instead, Ferris State transfer Trinidad Chambliss led coach Lane Kiffin\u2019s offense. Simmons had suffered an ankle injury a week earlier in a win over Kentucky. He had been listed as probable on the Rebels\u2019 initial availability report but was available on reports later in the week.<\/p>\n
The SEC has clear penalties for teams that violate the availability reporting policy, beginning with a $25,000 fine.<\/p>\n
But Kiffin and the Rebels weren\u2019t fined. Why? Because they didn\u2019t violate the policy.<\/p>\n
Simmons limped around for four snaps on his gimpy ankle and threw a touchdown pass during the game.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s why we left him off,\u201d Kiffin said Wednesday when asked by The Athletic about omitting Simmons. \u201cBecause he was available. It\u2019s an availability report. It\u2019s not a specific injury report.\u201d<\/p>\n
Availability report. Not an injury report. It\u2019s a key difference, and two specific instances in two weeks have sparked conversation about what teams report and the gray area when it comes to the line for disclosing a player\u2019s status.<\/p>\n
Both Ole Miss and Utah omitted their injured starting quarterbacks from the report in successive weeks. Neither broke the written rule, as both players appeared in the game, but there\u2019s a question about whether the spirit of the rule was violated \u2014 and if the rules should shift as college football tries to bring information about injuries into the light more than ever to protect players from people who may try to seek information for gambling reasons.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe all know everybody\u2019s banged up a little bit. If we put everybody who was nursing something here and there, we\u2019d have 20 guys on there,\u201d LSU coach Brian Kelly said. \u201cBut truly, guys that are hobbled or not able to participate in a full practice, they should be listed on those reports.\u201d<\/p>\n
In 2023, the Big Ten became the first conference to institute league-wide availability reports for conference games. Last year, the SEC instituted league-wide availability reports in four sports. This season, the Big 12 and ACC followed suit.<\/p>\n
SEC associate commissioner Garth Glissman, who handles the availability reports for the conference, said the reports were necessary because of the widespread legalization of sports betting.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe only way you combat the demand for inside information is with transparency,\u201d he said. \u201cYou take away the value of inside information by systematically making it available to the public.\u201d<\/p>\n
Schools enter their information into a database, which is then publicly distributed three days before a game and daily after that. The SEC\u2019s policy<\/a> considers someone probable to have a 75 percent chance of playing, a questionable player at 50 percent, doubtful at 25 percent, and out at 0 percent. It says schools have a duty to act \u201cin good faith,\u201d and \u201cacts of gamesmanship\u201d are prohibited.<\/p>\n Thus far, no SEC schools have been penalized for violating the rules of the availability report. And honesty has been a hallmark early on. The SEC\u2019s research has yet to reveal any school listing a player as out on the injury report and participating in a game later that week.<\/p>\n Glissman said schools \u2014 who must release a list of game-time decisions 90 minutes before kickoff \u2014 averaged just 0.5 game-time decisions per team per game last season. That number is down to 0.33 this season, which may ramp up as injuries follow suit in games.<\/p>\n But of those players, exactly 50 percent have participated in games for which they were listed as game-time decisions, Glissman said.<\/p>\n Football fans are used to clear, simple information when they make bets or fill out their fantasy football lineups for NFL games. But the college availability report \u2014 though it looks markedly similar \u2014 is different. In professional sports, a player\u2019s right to medical privacy is waived as part of a collective bargaining agreement. College sports have no such agreement, creating that gap and making a well-intentioned policy imperfect at best.<\/p>\n Ole Miss QB Austin Simmons is not listed on the SEC availability report (again). pic.twitter.com\/Aq65t556u6<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Chris Vannini (@ChrisVannini) September 25, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n It\u2019s not built to sort through a situation like Ole Miss, where the backup at 100 percent might be better than the starter at 70 or 80 percent. Chambliss thrived in the win over Arkansas and hasn\u2019t given the starting job back to Simmons since.<\/p>\n It reminded Glissman \u2014 who came to the SEC after nearly a decade working with injury reports in the NBA as senior director of basketball operations and eventually vice president \u2014 of LeBron James\u2019 mysterious broken hand in the 2018 finals.<\/p>\n \u201cI pretty much played the last three games with a broken hand,\u201d James said after his Cleveland Cavaliers were swept by the Golden State Warriors, explaining that the injury happened after he punched a board in the locker room following a frustrating Game 1 loss.<\/p>\n At the time, NBA teams were only required to list players\u2019 availability in the playoffs. Reporters \u2014 and the public by proxy \u2014 had no idea about the injury to the biggest star in sports on basketball\u2019s biggest stage. Neither did the Warriors.<\/p>\n The rule has since changed.<\/p>\n \u201cThe first thing I thought of was, this is college football\u2019s first LeBron-like case,\u201d Glissman said of the Simmons injury.<\/p>\n A similar case emerged out of Saturday\u2019s Utah-Texas Tech game.<\/p>\n On Monday, Utah coach Kyle Whittingham noted that starting quarterback Devon Dampier missed practice last Tuesday and Wednesday and was limited in Thursday\u2019s practice ahead of Saturday\u2019s crucial 34-10 home loss to fellow Big 12 contender Texas Tech.<\/p>\n \u201cHe was doing the best he could,\u201d said Whittingham, consistently one of college football\u2019s most tight-lipped coaches in regard to injuries. \u201cI\u2019m going to tell you that it definitely impacted Devon.\u201d<\/p>\n Dampier was never listed on Utah\u2019s availability report entering the matchup of ranked teams.<\/p>\n Just like Ole Miss and Simmons, Utah was certain Dampier would play in the game. So it didn\u2019t disclose his injury or practice status.<\/p>\n As a result of Whittingham\u2019s comments, the Big 12 invited Utah onto a call, reminding them of the rules and processes surrounding the conference\u2019s weekly reports, a person familiar with the discussions said. Utah was told to publicly address the discrepancy, or the Big 12 would do so, but there was no punishment discussed or threatened.<\/p>\n Monday evening, the program released a statement explaining that Dampier\u2019s status for the game was never in doubt.<\/p>\n