Weather-related game suspensions during American college football matches drew widespread fan criticism in September 2026, but sports meteorologists say the protocols are grounded in documented evidence of harm. Research tracking football-related lightning incidents in the United States between 1970 and 2023 recorded 262 deaths and injuries, including 12 people struck near a stadium in Tampa, Florida, after an NFL game in 2014. Under NCAA (the governing body for US college athletics) rules in place since 1997, play must be suspended when lightning is detected within eight miles of a venue, and cannot resume until 30 minutes after the last strike — a precaution experts say is critical because most lightning casualties occur before rain begins or after it stops, when people mistakenly believe the danger has passed.