2019-20 NFHS Rules Changes

[SC Official]

http://www.nfhs.org/articles/several...edium=NFHS_Org

Five of the seven rules changes in high school basketball concern player equipment, including new uniform provisions that will be required in the 2024-25 season.

All seven rules revisions recommended by the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) Basketball Rules Committee at its April 23-25 meeting in Indianapolis were subsequently approved by the NFHS Board of Directors.

Effective with the 2024-25 season, the number on the jersey can no longer be the same color as the jersey itself. Currently, the number can be the same color as the jersey if it is bordered by a contrasting color. Despite the contrasting-color border, the committee said the number is still difficult to see in many cases. The other two options in Rule 3-4-3e regarding the color of the number remain in effect.

A five-year implementation date was approved to allow schools time to budget for purchasing new uniforms.

Four other changes were approved in Rule 3 – Players, Substitutes and Equipment. A new rule, 3-5-8, provides recommendations for use of a mouthguard. Though not required, the committee noted that state associations may deem a tooth and mouth protector required equipment.

A note was added to Rule 3-5-5 to permit folding or rolling the shorts at the natural waistband seam. The new language does state that the shorts have to be in compliance with Rule 3-4-5, which restricts uniform pants/skirts to one visible manufacturer’s logo/trademark/reference.

Theresia Wynns, NFHS director of sports and officials and liaison to the Basketball Rules Committee, said this addition to Rule 3-5-5 modernizes the rule and allows players to adjust the shorts in a manner that serves no harm to the game or its integrity.

The other equipment changes deal with headbands and hair-control devices in Rule 3-5-4. The maximum width of the headband was expanded from 2 inches to 3 inches to be consistent with the rules for volleyball and accommodate athletes who play both sports. In addition, in 3-5-4d, hair-control devices are not required to meet color restrictions. Wynns noted that a hair-control device goes around the hair only, while a headband goes around the entire head.

In another change, assistant coaches now will be able to go onto the court with the head coach in an effort to restore order when a fight breaks out among players.

“It can be difficult for officials to separate players involved in a fight on the court,” Wynns said. “This change will allow assistant coaches to enter the court with the head coach to assist officials in regaining control of the situation and restoring player safety.”

The final change approved by the Basketball Rules Committee is a change in the signal when a held ball occurs. Now, when a held ball occurs, the covering official(s) shall stop the clock using Signal #2 (straight arm, open palm extended) while simultaneously sounding the whistle.

“This change should help to alleviate conflicting calls by officials when a held ball occurs,” Wynns said. “We currently raise one arm to stop the clock for everything except the jump/held ball.”

According to the 2018-19 NFHS High School Athletics Participation Survey, basketball is the third-most popular sport for boys with 551,373 participants in 18,510 schools and the third-most popular sport for girls with 412,407 participants in 18,171 schools.

[crosscountry55]

I like the open hand on the held ball. Something I along with many other officials have already been doing. Get that hand up so everyone can see you have a call, move quickly to the scene of the scrum with better presence, and then you can signal the held ball secondarily once the dust settles. Good change.

On another note, despite the multitude of wild-eyed change ideas in the survey every year, it’s remarkable how static the rules have been in recent years (Rule 3 and signals stuff notwithstanding).


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[SC Official]

The change allowing assistants to break up a fight is a good one. Now as long as assistants aren't throwing haymakers, we will only have to figure out the penalties for the subs that come off the bench.

Open hand for held ball is fine. Some people are really anal about it one way or another (when I was starting I was implored to not show a hand and have stuck with it), but I really don't think it matters and I can adjust. We use an open hand or closed fist for everything else, no reason not to for held balls. Is NCAA requiring open hand now?

Glad to see rolling the waistband will be explicitly permitted. It was so inconsistently enforced here and the guidance from our state office was unclear, so it will make things easier and give us one less thing to worry about.

The contrasting numbers change is good. I think it's laughable that schools need five years to budget for new uniforms (then again, it's like pulling teeth to get a nominal pay raise for officials), but oh well.

The other fashion police stuff, par for the course. There are many changes that FED could implement to improve the game, but we all know they're slow. Don't even know why they bother sending out that questionnaire.

[BillyMac]

Originally Posted by SC Official

Effective with the 2024-25 season, the number on the jersey can no longer be the same color as the jersey itself. Currently, the number can be the same color as the jersey if it is bordered by a contrasting color. Despite the contrasting-color border, the committee said the number is still difficult to see in many cases.

Never thought this would be a problem until this past season. Had a team with white jerseys and white numbers surrounded by a thin, light gray border. Really stupid looking. I'm not saying that it was super difficult to read the numbers, but I will say that it wasn't super easy.

[BillyMac]

Originally Posted by SC Official

In addition, in 3-5-4d, hair-control devices are not required to meet color restrictions. Wynns noted that a hair-control device goes around the hair only, while a headband goes around the entire head.

Hasn't this been the rule for several years (maybe longer)?

3-5-4-D: Rubber, cloth or elastic bands may be used to control hair. Hard
items, including, but not limited to, beads, barrettes and bobby pins,
are prohibited.

Maybe they're stating something now that wasn't implicitly stated (but assumed) in the past?

Haven't we always said that if it's not illegal, it's legal?

[Rich]

It's a mechanics year. I wonder if there will be any changes other than the stop clock first for held ball (which we'd been doing for quite a while, anyway).

[Pantherdreams]

Originally Posted by BillyMac

Hasn't this been the rule for several years (maybe longer)?

3-5-4-D: Rubber, cloth or elastic bands may be used to control hair. Hard
items, including, but not limited to, beads, barrettes and bobby pins,
are prohibited.

Maybe they're stating something now that wasn't implicitly stated (but assumed) in the past?

Haven't we always said that if it's not illegal, it's legal?

Not sure what the intended difference is I do know that we had an unnecessarily long conversation at one meeting about whether pro wrap was hair control or head band since they were wrapping it around their head to hold their lose hairs in a bun up (25 minutes of my life i'll never get back).

I assume the clarification is that these items for hair control do not need to be in color compliance like head bands????

[BillyMac]

Originally Posted by Pantherdreams

... unnecessarily long conversation at one meeting about whether prewrap was hair control or head band since they were wrapping it around their head to hold their lose hairs in a bun up (25 minutes of my life I'll never get back).

The way we've been interpreting this (for more than just several years) is exactly as Ms. Wynns noted, that hair control devices go around the hair only, while headbands go around the entire head.

If it's prewrap around the entire head, it's a headband and is under color restrictions.

If it's prewrap only around some hair (pony tail holder), it's a hair control device, and is not under any color restrictions.

[Raymond]

Originally Posted by Rich

It's a mechanics year. I wonder if there will be any changes other than the stop clock first for held ball (which we'd been doing for quite a while, anyway).

I like this change. It will help with double whistles. I've always liked the NBA mechanic of not going directly to 2 thumbs up. I've been trying to make the change myself over the last couple of seasons.

[JRutledge]

Pretty uneventful year.

I am not in love with the mechanics change about the held ball. It still will cause people to suggest we had something different than a held ball.

I do not care at all about uniform stuff at all. Glad they made some things less important but that is it.

Peace

So now assistant coaches will be all about getting on the floor to break up a fight instead of keeping their bench players on the bench which they were already shitty at doing? Makes sense.

[JRutledge]

Originally Posted by AremRed

So now assistant coaches will be all about getting on the floor to break up a fight instead of keeping their bench players on the bench which they were already shitty at doing? Makes sense.

Well we do not have to penalize them now which is better than it used to be.

Peace

[BillyMac]

Originally Posted by JRutledge

It still will cause people to suggest we had something different than a held ball.

Do we stop the clock with an open hand and then follow it up with the old held ball signal, or is the held ball signal completely gone?

If it's gone, how will the table crew know that it's a held ball and be ready to change the arrow? In the past, with the held ball signal, some table crews have occasionally missed it.

[SC Official]

Originally Posted by AremRed

So now assistant coaches will be all about getting on the floor to break up a fight instead of keeping their bench players on the bench which they were already shitty at doing? Makes sense.

It's better than having to count how many assistants came off the bench for each team to figure out who's shooting FT's and ejecting them even though they were trying to restore the peace.

Originally Posted by BillyMac

Do we stop the clock with an open hand and then follow it up with the old held ball signal, or is the held ball signal completely gone?

If it's gone, how will the table crew know that it's a held ball and be ready to change the arrow? In the past, with the held ball signal, some table crews have occasionally missed it.

(facepalm)

[Kelvin green]

This is so blah....none of this improves the game or game administration.