Coach to Helmet Communication Under Scrutiny

Coach-to-player helmet communication under scrutiny due to vendor's failure to provide encrypted frequencies

Questions about the integrity of coach-to-player helmet communication in college football have arisen after the Power Four vendor's failure to provide encrypted frequencies. One Big 12 athletic director has asked for an investigation.

Until this week, the first year of coach-to-player helmet communication in college football has been considered an almost universal success.

But serious questions have been raised about the integrity of those communications after it was revealed the vendor to the Power Four conferences has been using unencrypted frequencies that could be hacked by anyone knowledgable about the use of scan technology, multiple sources told 247Sports on Wednesday.

As a result, the Big 12, Big Ten, ACC and SEC have informed their member schools that GSC, the Wahoo, Neb.-based company providing helmet communication to the Power Four, has a software update that should ensure encryption protecting the privacy of play calls being delivered from coach to player, sources said.

Texas Tech has asked the Big 12 to investigate the possibility of its coach-to-player communication being compromised in its last two games against Baylor and TCU, league sources told 247Sports.

In those games, Baylor beat Texas Tech 59-35 in Lubbock, and TCU came back from a 31-14 third-quarter deficit to beat the On Wednesday, Texas Tech purchased $70,000 worth of encrypted coach-to-player communication equipment from CoachComm, a competitor of GSC, for the Red Raiders' game at No. 11 Iowa State on Saturday.

Repeated messages left by 247Sports with GSC seeking comment weren't immediately returned. GSC also provides coach-to-player communication to the NFL.

According to multiple sources in the Big 12 and SEC, a frequency operator at AT&T Stadium preparing for the Texas A&M-Arkansas game on Sept. 28 notified the SEC that coach-to-player communication was occurring on unencrypted frequencies vulnerable to scan technologies. Raiders 35-34 in Fort Worth. The Big 12 is honoring the request, a source said.

WHY IS WESTSIDE FOOTBALL SO STRONG?

Wendy’s is closing 140 restaurants in the coming months, the fast food chain announced this week. But the company said it would open an equal number of new locations in areas it believes can generate better business for Wendy’s.

The restaurants targeted to close are “outdated and located in underperforming” areas, Wendy’s CEO Kirk Tanner said on an earnings call Thursday, adding that their financial

performance are “well below the system average.”

Wendy’s “conducted a robust review of individual restaurants to ensure they meet our expectations for sales, have the profitability to fuel growth, and deliver the Wendy’s brand experience for customers,” he said. “Overall, Wendy’s system is incredibly healthy.”

This round of closures are in addition to 100 closings that Wendy’s announced in May.

Despite the rounds of closures, the overall number of Wendy’s, which stands at about 6,000 in the US, isn’t shrinking. The chain is building about 250 to 300 new locations, which are based of the technologically enhanced design revealed in 2022 that have new pick-up windows, updated kitchen appliances and a spruced up interior.

Other chains recently announced closures of underperforming locations, including Denny’s and Shake Shack.

Wendy’s (WEN) earnings was mixed, with same-store sales coming in below analysts’ expectations at 0.2%.

The company remained upbeat about this quarter’s performance because its SpongeBob SquarePants-themed meal is “resonating with consumers, generating a powerful response that is driving significant sales growth,” Tanner said.