Pac-12 Will Test Shorter Halftime, Reduced TV Timeouts

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Pac-12 will shorten halftime and reduce the number of commercial breaks during its non-conference schedule this season as part of a trial program to reduce the length of its football games.

Halftime will be 15 minutes long, cut down from the usual 20-minute break. The number of commercial breaks will be reduced and they will be shorter in length, Pac-12 Commissioner Larry Scott said Wednesday.

Scott announced the initiative as the Pac-12 kicked off its media days in Hollywood. The experiment is intended to reduce ballooning game times in an era of up-tempo offenses running more plays and the increased scoring that comes with it.

Scott did not completely dismiss potential rule changes in the future to address the length of games.