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Pac-12 To Regulate Eye Black, UCLA Football To Blame?

By Mike Regalado

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The Pac-12 Conference will strongly enforce eye black next season. Is this due to the awesomeness and creativity of the UCLA Football team?

The Pac-12 Conference is going to be a lot more strict with eye black next season. This is actually a rule that has been in the books for a few seasons, but will now get a lot more attention this coming fall.

RELATED: UCLA Football Highly-Ranked in ESPN’s 2016 Football Power Index

The reason, most likely, is because the UCLA Football team has been very creative and liberal with the use of eye black in recent years. Call it, innovative.

Because of that, the Pac-12 is shutting down the excessive use of the eye black.

The use of eye black in football and other sports is to help reduce glare from lights with ‘grease’ placed under the eyes, though in recent years, the Bruins have been using it more like ‘war paint’. That has gotten the attention of the Pac-12 Conference and will apparently be regulated a lot more in 2016.

As far as the improvement on officiating, well, we are still waiting to hear about that from the Pac-12.

Sep 14, 2013; Lincoln, NE, USA; UCLA Bruins quarterback Brett Hundley (17) leaves the field after defeating the Nebraska Cornhuskers at Memorial Stadium. UCLA won 41-21. Mandatory Credit: Bruce Thorson-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 14, 2013; Lincoln, NE, USA; UCLA Bruins quarterback Brett Hundley (17) leaves the field after defeating the Nebraska Cornhuskers at Memorial Stadium. UCLA won 41-21. Mandatory Credit: Bruce Thorson-USA TODAY Sports /

Anyway, according to Campus Insiders, “players will only be allowed eye black strips or a small amount of eye black paint on cheeks and it will be strongly enforced in the Pac-12 this season.”

In addition to this, writing on gear, tape, towels and wrist bands will no longer be allowed.

Because there are no other important things to worry about in the Pac-12, players will have to fall in line with the new enforcements, though as CI stated, it is not sure how the rule will be regulated.

We can see the reason for this, but in all seriousness, it seems like the Pac-12 might be trying to put the squeeze on UCLA Football. That’s fine if they want to do that, but it will not stop the Bruin Revolution.

To quote the great Chamillionaire, “They see me rollin’/They hatin’/Patrolling they tryin’ to catch me ridin’ dirty/Tryin’ to catch me ridin’ dirty”.

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Lastly, there is one thing I would like to correct Campus Insiders on… they claimed it was because of Eddie Vanderdoes and Zach Hernandez who put on too much eye black. In reality, it was not Hernandez they used a picture of, it was punter Matt Mengel. You’re welcome.