How long is the College Football halftime? Exploring the NCAA football rule book

Historically, a college football game is a bit longer than its NFL counterpart. In accordance, so is its halftime show. In recent seasons, rules have been changed in an effort to expedite the game and make it more engaging for the audience.

For example, this year, the clock won't stop after every first down like it used to. Now, the rule has been changed to an NFL style, with the clock only stopping after a first down in the last two minutes of the second and fourth quarters.

Another change was last year, when teams were required to attempt two-point conversions after the second OT period and not the third.

Something that hasn't changed is the duration of the college football time-out, which is 20 minutes long.

Florida State fans were encouraged by their marching band on Sunday's victory over LSU

How long is the college football halftime?

The college football halftime is almost 20 minutes. It is 8–5 minutes longer than the NFL, which only lasts about 12–15 minutes. One of the main reasons for it being so long is a tradition engrained in college football: the marching bands. This lengthy period allows for the bands of both schools to perform.

College football has seen some memorable halftime shows including the Viva Las Vegas by OSU, the Superhero Show by Northwestern, the Who by Iowa, the Outlaw Heroes show by Michigan State, and the Wizard of Oz by Purdue.

Cheerleaders also feature in halftime shows

Think of it like a mini version of the Super Bowl Halftime Show, if every NFL had one, they would be significantly longer. But there isn't much desire to change this college football tradition.

NCAA coordinator of officials Steve Shaw told The Athletic last year:

"I’ll have band directors coming to burn my house down, there’s a pageantry component in college football.”

In the past, they were even longer, with some games taking 24 minutes or more for their ceremonies. In 2017, the NCAA decided to make it 20 minutes tops for all the games. The halftime can be shortened if agreed by both schools, but that rarely happens.

Ironically enough compared to the popularity of the sport, college football is the longest sporting event on average in the USA. Much has been said about how baseball needs to be faster to capture the attention of the public, but college football seems to have no problem keeping people entertained for 3 hours and 22 minutes.

That's right, an average football game in the NCAA takes almost three hours and a half. That 3:22 mark is a four-minute increase from five years ago.