The NCAA Playing Rules Oversight Panel has approved an experimental rule that will allow the Big Ten and Mid-American conferences to use instant replay on certain plays within the restricted area arc during the 2016-17 season.
The experimental rule, which will be in effect only during conference play, can be used when an official believes that an incorrect call was made on a restricted area ruling, or when a head coach makes an appeal for a review.
If a coach appeals and the instant-replay review determines the official’s call was correct, the appealing coach’s team will be charged a timeout. If the call is reversed on appeal, no timeout will be charged.
The experimental rule can be applied only during Big Ten and Mid-American conference games under the following conditions:
- Instant replay can be used only in the last two minutes of the second half or the last two minutes of any overtime period.
- Instant replay may be used only when an official has made a block/charge call in or around the restricted area arc, and the decision is based on whether the defensive player was in or outside the arc. Instant replay may not be used on no-calls.
- Any review, whether by the officials or a coach’s appeal, must be recognized and corrected before the ball next becomes live.
The NCAA Men’s Basketball Rules Committee discussed expanding the use of instant replay in the last two minutes of the second half and the last two minutes of any overtime period during its annual meeting in May. Restricted area calls were identified as plays that might warrant a review.
The committee believes allowing the two conferences to experiment with the rule during conference games will provide data that will be useful in helping the committee decide during its meeting next year whether making a permanent rules change is appropriate.