The NCAA News - News & Features

Basketball rules committees make minor changes to game -- Other Highlights

Men's and Women's
Basketball Rules Committees
April 21-23/Destin, Florida

* Redefined a tap in terms of a try.

* Agreed to allow a one-half-inch solid border shading on numbers on uniform jerseys.

* Required that the sleeves of a player's undershirt be unaltered (for example, cut-off sleeves) and of the same length.

* Recommended that rim loads be transferred to the basket support system by a single strut boom behind the backboard or to the backboard frame.

* Heard presentations from Dick Schindler of the National Federation of State High School Associations; Jerry Krause, research chair for the National Association of Basketball Coaches; and Nar Zanolin of the Federation Internationale de Basketball (FIBA).

The Women's Basketball Rules Committee:

* Determined that by the 1999-2000 season, women will not be permitted to wear overshirts (jerseys that do not tuck into the game pants).

* Agreed to make sporting behavior, hand checking and traveling points of emphasis for the 1996-97 season.

The Men's Basketball Rules Committee:

* Agreed to make sporting behavior, traveling, rough post play and palming (illegal dribble) points of emphasis for the 1996-97 season.

* Voted to allow conferences to experiment with a rule that permits coaches to call timeouts. Currently, only a player on the court is allowed to request a timeout.