Ready or not, the shot clock is coming to Illinois high school basketball this winter.

The Illinois High School Association, for its part, is trying to make certain schools are more ready than not.

The IHSA’s board of directors met Monday, with the board finalizing expectations for the 35-second shot clock, which will be required for varsity boys and girls basketball contests beginning with the upcoming 2026-27 IHSA season.

“It is important that we provide clear-cut guidelines to our schools on the expectations for the shot clock as we move toward the 2026-27 season,” IHSA Executive Director Craig Anderson said. “We believe our board was forward-thinking in providing significant planning time for schools to prepare for the shot clock.

“It is imperative that all schools are afforded the same competitive experience and that every student-athlete competes under consistent conditions. By establishing these expectations, schools have had ample opportunity to budget, plan and install the necessary equipment, ensuring an equitable environment.”

The introduction of the shot clock this coming winter had some teeth added to it Monday, with the board accepting a recommendation of the IHSA Basketball Advisory Committee by adding State Association Adoption #4. It reads:

“A school may not host a varsity contest if a shot clock is not installed or is not properly mounted on the backboard in the primary gym in accordance with NFHS rules. The host school must secure an alternate facility or allow the opponent to host the contest. If the host school is unable to secure a gym with functioning shot clocks and the opposing school cannot host, the game shall be forfeited by the home team.”

For secondary gyms used in tournament or other settings that do not have permanent shot clocks attached to the backboard, Adoption #4 adds that “shot clocks must be mounted on the wall behind the basket, at or above the backboard, and must be clearly visible and unobstructed.”

The shot clock is optional for non-varsity contests.

The shot clock in Illinois high school basketball has been rolled out over multiple years, with optional use available in shootouts and regular-season tournaments beginning with the 2022-23 season. Area staples such as the Plano Christmas Classic, Jacobs’ Hinkle Holiday Classic and DeKalb’s Chuck Dayton Holiday Classic have experimented with a shot clock in recent years under that waiver.

In June of 2024, the IHSA voted to implement a 35-second shot clock for all varsity games beginning with the 2026-27 season. At the same meeting, the board made the shot clock an option for regular-season games in 2024-25 and 2025-26 when mutually agreed upon by the competing teams.

Entering the 2025-26 high school basketball season, 29 states required the use of the shot clock, while three others offered it as an option. Illinois and Oklahoma are both adopting the shot clock for the 2026-27 season, while New Jersey (2027-28) and Pennsylvania (2028-29) have announced plans to add the shot clock in coming seasons.

A statewide survey of high school coaches in Illinois conducted by the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association (IBCA) in 2020 revealed that 75% of the boys head coaches in the state supported the implementation of the shot clock, while 68% percent of the girls coaches who responded were in favor.