2026 NFHS Basketball Rules Questionnaire ...

[BillyMac]

2026 NFHS Basketball Rules Questionnaire for Coaches and Officials

Part I – Are These Changes Made Last Year Satisfactory?

1.Clarifying and expanding the definition of basket interference to occurring when a player slaps or strikes the backboard, causing the backboard or basket to vibrate, while the ball is on or within the basket, touching the backboard, or within the cylinder.

2.Removing the offensive team from goaltending violations and simplifying enforcement for officials and reducing ambiguity over whether a ball was a shot or a pass.

3.Establishing that once the ball contacts the backboard, it is automatically considered to be on its downward flight.

4.Updating the definition of a player to clarify that a player is one of the five team members legally on the court at any given time, except during time-outs or intermissions.

5.Updating the procedure for determining the designated throw-in spot following a stoppage of play (not due to the ball going out of bounds) in the frontcourt or backcourt.

Part II – Observations – Have You Seen In Your Area?

1.Safety issues with untucked jerseys.

2.Players wearing concussion headbands.

3.Hand-checking fouls being called when the ball handler’s freedom of movement is not affected.

4.Offensive players initiating contact in an attempt to draw a foul.

5.Delays in administering free throws due to players occupying lane spaces when the official is prepared to put the ball in play.

6.Defensive players moving under an airborne jump shooter and restricting the shooter’s ability to land safely.

Part III – About Rules For 2026-27 – Would You Favor?

1.Requiring uniforms to be tucked regardless of manufacturer’s intent in design.

2.Eliminating the requirement to tuck in uniforms.

3.Making a dunk during pregame warmups a direct technical foul charged to the head coach.

4.Eliminating the “hand is part of the ball” principle and basing foul rulings on the effect of the contact on the ball handler.

5.Modifying the hand-checking rule so that a foul is only called when the ball handler’s freedom of movement is clearly impeded.

6.Clarifying that the backcourt exception during a throw-in ends only when player control with two feet on the floor exists.

7.Restricting a coach’s ability to request a time-out to only dead-ball periods.

8.Eliminating the coach’s seatbelt rule after a direct or indirect technical foul.

9.Simplifying the backcourt rule to only be in effect after a player has control of the ball inbounds, essentially extending the exception that exists for player control directly established on the throw-in or jump ball but not after the ball is tipped.

10.Should the five-second closely guarded count while a player is dribbling be eliminated in all games that use a shot clock, making this a permanent national rule rather than a state-adopted option?

11.Should the traveling rule be modified to permit additional spin-move and jump-stop techniques that are currently ruled as traveling, thereby expanding the range of legal footwork for ball handlers?

[ltllng]

4.Eliminating the “hand is part of the ball” principle and basing foul rulings on the effect of the contact on the ball handler.
- if college (or the rest of the world) does not change this, why even entertain an opinion?

5.Modifying the hand-checking rule so that a foul is only called when the ball handler’s freedom of movement is clearly impeded.
- We are opening up a subjective opinion of each official having a different interpretation of the freedom principal

11.Should the traveling rule be modified to permit additional spin-move and jump-stop techniques that are currently ruled as traveling, thereby expanding the range of legal footwork for ball handlers?
- again opening up subjective opinions between officials.

My point is administration has made rule changes and decisions that make our job more difficult to adjudicate the game.

The lack of consistency is very apparent when you have college level officials doing high school games.

We need the rule bodies (except NBA) to work together to have consistent, clear rules at all levels.

[JRutledge]

Originally Posted by ltllng

4.Eliminating the “hand is part of the ball” principle and basing foul rulings on the effect of the contact on the ball handler.
- if college (or the rest of the world) does not change this, why even entertain an opinion?

I do not see why this should be considered for a change. The current rule is already fine and would make it harder to call this based on the rule.

Originally Posted by ltllng

5.Modifying the hand-checking rule so that a foul is only called when the ball handler’s freedom of movement is clearly impeded.
- We are opening up a subjective opinion of each official having a different interpretation of the freedom principal

I would have no issue with something being stated that RSBQ should be influenced. Or if they stated that there is a better way to call a handchecking foul. It is only different because states and the NF do not put out videos to show what the rule is about. There is video everywher,e and they do not use it for any rules training. And local states do not do a good job either.

Originally Posted by ltllng

11.Should the traveling rule be modified to permit additional spin-move and jump-stop techniques that are currently ruled as traveling, thereby expanding the range of legal footwork for ball handlers?
- again opening up subjective opinions between officials.

My point is administration has made rule changes and decisions that make our job more difficult to adjudicate the game.

The lack of consistency is very apparent when you have college level officials doing high school games.

I do not know what college officials have to do with the consistency of high school officials. Most officials who are licensed are strictly high school officials. Many do not put much into the craft or just go out there to stay out of trouble. My experience guys who really work college basketball are usually much more consistent and understand the game because they are taught much more, being on a staff or video training, they are exposed to. I get all kinds of video and information from the NCAA, which, at least in Men's basketball, mirrors what the NF does much of the time.

Originally Posted by ltllng

We need the rule bodies (except NBA) to work together to have consistent, clear rules at all levels.

Well, the NCAA and the NF have been talking extensively, according to NCAA people. That is why they came up with the continuous motion interpretations this year.

Peace

[JRutledge]

I do think the traveling rule needs to be either changed or go to what the NCAA stated. Because any time we call a travel on a spin move, it always seems to bring a debate. Either change the wording or allow things like not nitpicking the rule be allowed.

Peace

[BillyMac]

Originally Posted by JRutledge

I would have no issue with something being stated that RSBQ should be influenced.

... like in the good ole days (just a few years ago).

I've actually come to like the new rule.

Other than a single hot stove touch, everything else is illegal.

No RSBQ. No advantage. No disadvantage.

Easy peasey lemon squeezy.

What was once subjective, became fairly objective.

[Rich]

Originally Posted by BillyMac

... like in the good ole days (just a few years ago).

I've actually come to like the new rule.

Other than a single hot stove touch, everything else is illegal.

No RSBQ. No advantage. No disadvantage.

Easy peasey lemon squeezy.

What was once subjective, became fairly objective.

In many areas, calling it like this in a varsity game would make you an outlier.

[BillyMac]

Originally Posted by Rich

In many areas, calling it like this in a varsity game would make you an outlier.

I can understand that.

In Connecticut, officials, coaches, players, parents, and fans seem to have accepted it, because we all call it consistently.

I was actually quite surprised how accepting everyone was when we started simplifying things several years ago.

One hot stove touch, legal.

Two hands, hand check.

One hand multiple times, hand check.

Extended arm bar, hand check.

We hear coaches yelling, all the time, to their kids on defense, "Hands off".

We never hear coaches of defensive players complaining to officials when we call it, in fact they will often yell at their defensive players instead of yelling at officials.

I will sometime hear parents, in the bleachers "coaching" their defensive kids by yelling, "Hands off Bobby".

That usually gets my attention, and I position adjust and often end up calling a hand check (Thanks Dad).

The only time coaches might complain is when the hand check involves defensive post players.

Coaches often still expect officials to use advantage disadvantage with post players (and some of us do).

[FlasherZ]

Originally Posted by Rich

In many areas, calling it like this in a varsity game would make you an outlier.

I concur, around here most varsity officials -- especially in postseason play -- are just allowing physicality almost to the point of getting players hurt. Full body checks, two hand pushes, it's all part of the game now.

[BillyMac]

Originally Posted by FlasherZ

... most varsity officials, especially in postseason play, are just allowing physicality almost to the point of getting players hurt. Full body checks, two hand pushes, it's all part of the game now.

Maybe where you officiate, but not here in Connecticut.

Consistently enforcing the newer hand check rules, and a new statewide emphasis on calling intentional fouls, and enforcing "king of the hill" loose ball situations, have helped to discourage rough play.

All Connecticut interscholastic basketball is 100% IAABO, so that helps with all officials in the same book and on the same page.

And with one IAABO Connecticut state interpreter (trainer), working very closely with the CIAC, and controlling exactly what the six local IAABO interpreters teach, it's like having "one voice".

With rare exceptions, basketball games at almost 400 different high schools, and just as many middle schools, pretty much are officiated the same way from night to night.