The way Kyle Whittingham divulges injury information is about to change

SALT LAKE CITY — The way Kyle Whittingham chooses to divulge injury information is about to change.

The Big 12 on Wednesday afternoon announced its intention to begin releasing player availability reports, or injury reports, for conference games in football, as well as men's and women's basketball.

The 16-team conference moving to four times per week availability reports for football (starting three days before the game, plus 90 minutes before kickoff), means all Power Four conferences will now be disclosing injury information to the public.

Conformity, frankly, is all the University of Utah head coach ever wanted.

"I really have no strong opinion either way, as long as it's a level playing field and everyone's doing the same thing," Whittingham said on Dec. 31, 2022, the day before Utah played Penn State in the Rose Bowl, to a question regarding then-Pac-12 commissioner George Kliavkoff considering injury reports. "If the Pac-12 has that, but no other conferences do, then I'm against it. If the NCAA as a whole goes in that direction, operating like the NFL in that manner, then it's not a problem at all.

"Right now, our stance is, with no injury report requirement, why would you tip your hand at all with guys that are available, not available. If it's universal across the board, no problem at all with it, but if it's just the Pac-12, that wouldn't make sense. That would be a strategic disadvantage."

Previously, Whittingham would only discuss season-ending injuries, while balking at injuries that are not season-ending.

That stance on how to publicly discuss injuries, which is not exclusive to Whittingham and his program, came under a blinding light during the 2023 and 2024 seasons.

Quarterback Cam Rising and tight end Brant Kuithe opened the 2023 season by nursing respective knee injuries suffered the previous season. Instead of opting to address their respective statuses early in the season, Whittingham essentially held the line, offering little substance on either player.

Both were ruled out for the season on Oct. 21.

Last season was more of the same with Rising, who suffered a hand injury Sept. 7 against Baylor. He missed three games, returned Oct. 11 against Arizona State, suffered a knee injury, and was ruled out "indefinitely" three days later with a "lower leg injury."

Despite the "indefinitely" designation, it was clear Rising would be out for the season, whether or not Whittingham said it.

The Big 12 availability reports will look similar to those from the SEC, which began doing them last season. Injured players will be listed as "probable," "questionable," "doubtful," or "out."

For what it's worth, Whittingham will never have to field a question from the media as to why a certain player is listed on an availability report.

Whittingham holds his weekly press conference on Monday morning, and conducts his weekly coaches radio show on Tuesday evening, but for a game on Saturday, the availability report will not be released until Wednesday.

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