IHSA approves ‘experimental use’ of shot clocks for regular season basketball tournaments

The IHSA announced Tuesday night the approval of “experimental use” of the shot clock at regular-season boys and girls basketball tournaments and shootouts for the 2022-23 season.

Tournaments seeking to use the shot clock must seek approval from the IHSA. Further information on that process is expected to be released next month.

The use of shot clocks in high school basketball games has gained steam in recent years, and the National Federation of State High School Associations approved them last year. However, the IHSA currently does not use shot clocks in contests.

“The IHSA’s survey of administrators and coaches last year made it very clear that our membership wasn’t ready to implement the shot clock in basketball at this juncture,” executive director Craig Anderson said via the release. “Our priority now shifts to gathering feedback and data on the impact that the shot clock creates on game play, game management and school finances. We look forward to working with our schools to pilot usage of the shot clock in some tournaments and shootouts this winter. We will release information to our schools on how to apply to use the shot clock in their tournament or shootout in mid-September.”

In other news, the 3-point shooting contest during the state series for boys and girls basketball has been discontinued.

“The Three-Point Showdown enjoyed a great run, but the changes in the state series dates and format last year created challenges conducting it at multiple levels of the state series,” Anderson said. “As a result, we recommended discontinuing it for the time being so we can focus on how we make these pivotal postseason contests the best experience possible for the student-athletes, coaches and fans.”