What was (is) the purpose of the division line?

[SamIAm]

Originally Posted by Ref Ump Welsch

Just looked it up (I'm an academian so the temptation hit me as soon as I posted a few minutes ago). Iowa started playing 6-on-6 girls basketball in 1919-20. It was the only game in the state for the girls until 1984-85, when they added a 5-player class. The 1992-93 season was the last for 6-on-6. The following season (93-94), they split into 4 classes for 5-player ball.

That would be pretty good evidence that the original purpose for the division line was for 6-on-6 basketball, because it predates the 1933 rule change creating the division line for the purpose of the 10-second count.

Semantics, but, I think you guys are comparing Granny Smith's with Washington Reds. If the boys games never played 6v6, the introduction of the division line had no effect on them regardless of it purpose for the girls game. (It was just another volleyball line in the court). Once the boys decided they needed to limit the space that the offense could work in, they decided that a line that was already marked on the court would work fine.

The line has two original purposes, one for boys and another for girls.