The NCAA Playing Rules Oversight Panel approved a suite of new rules for men’s college basketball, including extending the 3-point line to the international basketball distance of 22 feet, 1-¾ inches.
In an announcement on its website, the NCAA said that the new 3-point line would take effect at the Division I level for the 2019-20 season, but Divisions II and III will have until the 2020-21 season to get new lines on courts.
The change comes after the Men’s Basketball Rules Committee got positive feedback testing the international 3-point line in last year’s National Invitation Tournament, which has become an experimental ground for testing rule tweaks in recent years.
Committee members suggested that extending the 3-point line would create circumstances on the court that would:
- Make the lane more available for dribble/drive plays.
- Make the 3-point shot slightly more challenging, slowing the trend of 3-pointers becoming too prevalent in the men’s game.
- Require defenses to cover more space on the court.
The panel also approved a rule tweak that will reset the shot clock to 20 seconds after an offensive rebound — down from the 30-second reset that had previously been the rule.
Finally, the panel approved proposals calling for technical fouls to be assessed to players for derogatory language about an opponent’s race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, gender, gender expression, gender identity, sexual orientation or disability; and an additional proposal allowing for coaches to call live-ball timeouts in the final two minutes of the second half or any overtime period.
