max number of timeouts

[Freddy]

Originally Posted by Chris Whitten

Had a game recently that went into multiple OTs. With each OT each team got an "additional" timeout, and one team eventually was back at 5 available. A senior official in our association who heard about our game said we need to be aware that 5 was the maximum allowable. I couldn't find anything in the book to back up his assertion. Anybody know where this can be found? Or was this a rule in days gone by?

Something in the fragmented recesses of my mind I recall that each team had 5 timeouts max back in the late 70's. I'll let our Toledo area friend confirm/deny and document that since he'd probably be able to cite exact date of change. In the meantime, 5-11-1 says, "Unused timeouts accumulate." No mention of max accumulation being five. Never saw a team use more than two in any single overtime anyway, as I recall. A team can, in actuality, request and be granted an infinite number of timeouts, but the repeated technical foul shots following each excessive timeout granted might make for a late night.