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Huge Changes Coming to NCAA Women’s Basketball for Upcoming Season

By Chris Brown

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The NCAA recently announced that there will be some significant changes coming to women’s college basketball for the upcoming 2015-2016 season. The rule changes were originally proposed by the NCAA Women’s Basketball Rules Committee, and approved by the NCAA Playing Rules Oversight Panel and the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association Board of Directors to be implemented.

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The biggest change is that women’s college basketball games will now be using four 10-minute quarters instead of two 20-minute halves. NCAA basketball is the only league that uses 2 halves for basketball while most high school (and below), international, and professional leagues use 4 quarters. Most of these changes were put in place to enhance the flow of women’s college basketball games, improve the overall experience for fans, and increase appeal and interest in the sport.

Other changes that will be put into place this season include:

  • Teams will now reach the bonus and shoot two free throws on the fifth team foul in each quarter.  Team fouls will reset to zero at the start of each regulation quarter but not for overtime periods. (Previously one-and-one bonus on the 7th team foul of each half and the double bonus (two shots) on the 10th team foul)
  • Teams can advance the ball to the frontcourt follwing a timeout immediately after a made basket, after securing the ball from a rebound, or a change in possession in the last 59.9 seconds of the fourth quarter and any overtime periods. In these scenarios, the ball will be inbounded at the 28-foot mark on the side of the court where the scorer’s table is located.
  • Defenders will be allowed to place a forearm or an open hand with a bend in the elbow on an offensive post player with the ball whose back is to the basket.
  • A team will not be subject to the 10-second backcourt count (added in the 2013-2014 season) when a throw-in results from the following:
    • The ball is deflected out of bounds by the defense.
    • There is a held ball, and the possession arrow favors the offensive team.
    • A technical foul is called on the offensive team while the ball is in its backcourt.
  • Pep bands or amplified music may be played during any dead-ball situation during a women’s basketball game. (Previously only allowed during timeouts and halftime)

Several other meetings are also in place to determine how the new rule changes will impact team and media timeouts for games that are televised nationally vs. non-televised games.

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Duke Women’s Basketball head coach Joanne P. McCallie is in favor of the new changes, saying, “It’s always exciting to see the game developing and changing to make it better for the student-athletes and also better for the fans. Continuing to develop a quality product is so important. It also is great to grow our game closely with the international rules as well. We welcome these changes as we look forward to another great season for women’s basketball”, also adding she would have liked to see a 24-second shot clock implemented.

There will be several rule changes to men’s college basketball for the upcoming season too, though they will not be as drastic as the modifications to the women’s game. Similar to McCallie, Mike Krzyzewski is also in favor of making college basketball more consistent with professional and FIBA international rules, with both having experience coaching USA Basketball.

Additionally, although not officially correlated, many expect that the rule changes in women’s college basketball will be used as a trial run to eventually add these changes to the men’s game. There will be major differences and most likely some growing pains during the season for returning collegiate players, but hopefully McCallie and the Blue Devils will be able to adjust quickly. Be sure to let us know what you think about the upcoming rule changes in the comments section below we’ll keep you updated on all news for Duke Women’s Basketball here on Ball Durham.

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