Got a beer riding on this one.

NCAA Rules. A1, standing in his back court, passes the ball which strikes an official standing in the front court. The ball bounces back to A1 in his back court. I say there is no back court violation because Team A never controlled the ball in its front court. Plus a Team A player was not the last player to touch the ball before it went in the back court. A fellow official disagrees and he is offering me a beer if I`m right.

Better ask him if he likes bottled or draft. You lose. There is no requirement that the ball be "possessed" in the frontcourt. If you read the rule carefully, it only says that the team in control can't be the first to touch the ball in the backcourt, etc. The oft-posted requirements for a backcourt call are:

1) Team A has team control
2) Ball attains frontcourt status
3) A member of Team A is the last player to touch the ball before it goes into the backcourt.
4) A member of Team A is the first player to touch the ball after it goes into the backcourt.

In your play, all 4 points are met. There was team control. The ball attained frontcourt status when it hit the official. A1 was the last player to touch the ball before it went into the backcourt, and then A1 was also the first to touch it after it went into the backcourt.

Violation!! Hope your buddy's not too thirsty. :)

You're buying.

This is the one that many people get confused about. It is not necessary to for Team A to have player control in the FC.

1- Team control by Team A.
2- Ball attains FC status.
3- Team A is the last to touch the ball before it goes into the BC.
4- Team A is the first to touch the ball after it goes into the BC.

Violation.

Darn we're good! :)

The only reason "we're" good on that topic is b/c you taught me well.

Group hug. :)

Thanks guys. Tony, do you still have that back court violation quiz? It might be time for me look at that again.

Probably soon.

Hmmmm, how sure are you?
 

He did say NCAA rules, did he not? It appears to me that the NCAA book reads a little differently:

Section 11. Ball in Back Court
Art. 1. A player shall not be the first to touch the ball in his or her back court when the ball came from the front court while the player’s team was in team control and the player or a teammate caused the ball to go into the back court.

Would you rule that A1 caused the ball to go into the back court?

Re: Hmmmm, how sure are you?
 

Who causes a ball to go OOB? The last player to touch it.

Who has team control? Team A.
Did the ball attain FC status? Yes.
Who was the last player to touch the ball before it went into the BC? A1.
Who was the first player to touch the ball after it went into the BC? A1.

BC violation under NFHS or NCAA rules.

Re: Hmmmm, how sure are you?
 

It's one of those situations where the people who wrote the books are using the words in a way that the normal person wouldn't. We have to be ab-normal and use "caused" to mean, "last to touch" regardless of who was the instrument of the physical action.

Rule 4 Sec 44 Art. 3, it is a Backcourt violation.

Take a look at A.R. 31 in the 2004-2005 NCAA rule book, it's the same play.