BREAKING NEWS: Major NCAA Basketball Rules Changes

The NCAA has used a 35-second shot clock since the 1993-94 season, however starting in the 2015-16 season, the the NCAA Rules Committee has voted to reduce the shot clock to 30 seconds to try to increase scoring. The NCAA tested out the 30-second shot clock in the 2014-15 NIT tournament, which will also host a new test this year. The tournament will experiment allowing players to pick up a 6th foul instead of 5, before being removed from play.

Among the other major changes that were made was the standard restricted arc, which prohibits charges in the area, will be extended from three to four feet, which is also the standard in the NBA.

The committee also will begin to ask officials to enforce rules against physical contact, and to give the same verticality protection to offensive players that is given to defenders.

Furthermore the following rules changes, though minor, were also proposed:

1. Eliminating the no-dunk prohibition in warm-ups
2. Review of flagrant fouls will also give the chance to review if the player was “flopping” which, if determined that the player was faking, will be a penalty
3. Minor technical fouls, such as hanging on the rim, will result in one free throw
4. Eliminating the 5-second closely guarded rule
5. Allowing the officials to review if the shot-clock was violated