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Rules & Regulations

Master the Rules of the Game!

Rules & Case Book Plays

You Make the Call!

A1 sets a stationary screen with their feet wider than shoulder width. B1 makes contact in the middle of A1's torso.

Foul or No Foul 


It's a Game of Integrity, know the Rules!

No Violation!!

It is not a violation if a player is the last to touch the ball before his/her momentum takes them out of bounce and they then return to the court and are the first to touch the ball, providing they have regained inbounds status. Case Book. Rule 7 Page 55 & 56. 7.1.1 SITUATION:B,C,D. Exception: 7.1.1SITUATION D Ruling C.

Control!

Neither a team nor any player is ever in control during a dead ball, jump ball, or when the ball is on flight during a try or tap for a goal.

Goal!

A goal is made when a live ball enters the basket from above and remains in or passes through unless canceled by a throw-in violation or a player-control foul.

Dead Ball!

The jump ball, the throw-in and the free throw are the only methods of getting a dead ball live.

Doesn't Apply!

Neither the dribble nor travelling rule applies during a jump ball, throw-in or free throw

No Travel!

It is not possible for a player to travel during a dribble.

Live Ball!

While the ball remains live, a loose ball always remains in control of the team whose player last had control, unless it is a try or tap for goal.

2025-26 NFHS Basketball Points of Emphasis

#1. Contact on Ball Handler

#2. Bench Decorum, Communcation, and Player Altercations

#3. Coach on the Floor

#4. Coach Responsibility Before and During a Fight

#5. Faking Being Fouled

#6. In the Act of Shooting

#7. While on defense

NFHS 2025-26 Basketball Rule Changes

4-22-1 & 2:  This change removes the offensive team from goaltending violations, simplifying enforcement for officials and reducing ambiguity over whether a ball was a shot or a pass. It also encourages more scoring opportunities and minimizes confusion for players and coaches.


Rationale: The change eliminates the possibility of an offensive goaltending violation, which simplifies the rule for officials and players. It removes the need to judge whether a ball in flight is a try or a pass, resulting in clearer enforcement, greater consistency, and more opportunities for scoring plays near the basket. 


4-22-3 (NEW): This rule change establishes that once the ball contacts the backboard, it is automatically considered to be on its downward flight. Therefore, if a player touches the ball after it hits the backboard, and the ball has a possibility of entering the basket, it is ruled as goaltending. This clarification helps protect legitimate shot attempts, reduces rough rebounding situations, and addresses a common rules misconception among coaches and players. It provides officials with a clearer standard for enforcing goaltending in backboard-related plays. 


Rationale: This change enhances officiating clarity and protects legitimate shot attempts. It also addresses a common misconception among coaches and players by explicitly defining goaltending, leading to more consistent enforcement. 


 4-34-1: This rule change updates the definition of a player to clarify that a player is one of the five team members legally on the court at any given time, except during time-outs or intermissions. The change ensures consistency in rule enforcement by recognizing that it is difficult to distinguish between players, substitutes, and bench personnel during time-outs and intermissions. This clarification also supports the accountability of coaches for all team conduct during these periods and helps avoid misapplication of penalties such as technical fouls. 


Rationale: This change ensures consistent enforcement of penalties for unsporting conduct by bench personnel. It allows officials to issue technical fouls to bench personnel during time-outs, aligning with the current rules for intermissions. It eliminates confusion and potential misapplication of rules and ensures fair and consistent enforcement of penalties for unsporting behavior, regardless of the individual's role. 


 7-5-4: This rule change updates the procedure for determining the designated throw-in spot following a stoppage of play (not due to the ball going out of bounds) in the frontcourt. Instead of relying on an imaginary line, officials now use existing court markings, specifically the three-point line, to determine the location. This change improves accuracy, consistency, and clarity for officials by using visible floor markings rather than imaginary lines, which were often misjudged. 


Rationale: By using the visible three-point line as the line of demarcation, officials will have a clearer and more consistent method for determining throw-in locations. This improves accuracy and reduces confusion, resulting in more reliable throw-ins.  


9-2-12 & 9-3-4 (NEW): This rule change addresses situations where a thrower purposely and/or deceitfully delays returning inbounds after legally stepping out of bounds and then becomes the first player to touch the ball upon re-entering the court. Previously penalized as a technical foul, this action is now treated as a violation, aligning it with similar out-of-bounds scenarios. The change reduces the severity of the penalty to encourage more consistent enforcement by officials and prevents players from gaining an unfair advantage through deceptive re-entry tactics. 


Rationale: This change lessens the penalty for players who delay their return after being out of bounds, shifting the penalty from a technical foul to a less severe violation. This rule aligns with the penalty structure of similar violations, such as Rule 9-3-3 (where a player steps out of bounds on their own volition). The change is intended to make it easier for officials to recognize and penalize these actions consistently while reducing the severity of the penalty, encouraging more accurate enforcement.  


10-4-4b: This rule prohibits players from illegally contacting the backboard or ring in ways that create an unfair advantage or interfere with a scoring attempt. This rule is designed to maintain fair play and protect the integrity of scoring opportunities by penalizing actions affecting the outcome of a shot, with a technical foul.


 Rationale: The rule change aims to standardize and clarify the enforcement of basket interference, leading to fairer outcomes and more consistent officiating. The removal of subjective judgments around intent allows for clearer rulings and better alignment with current game dynamics.  


4-6-1a & b (NEW): This rule change clarifies and expands the definition of basket interference to include additional actions that unfairly affect the ball while it is in a scoring position. Basket interference now occurs when a player slaps or strikes the backboard, causing the backboard or basket to vibrate, while the ball is on or within the basket, touching the backboard, or within the cylinder. 


Rationale: This clarification helps officials consistently identify interference that affects scoring plays and ensures the integrity of the basket area during shot attempts.  


Let’s get in the Rule Book, Case Book, and Officials Manual to study up on understanding and applying the rules and situations that may happen.


Always expect the unexpected, don't be caught off guard and slow down, think, talk to your partners and make a decision that is by the rules this way you are covered. 


Less experienced officials….Listen, speak very little (like yes sir) and apply what has happened into your game. 


Experienced officials ... .Work hard to keep your officiating at its highest level and always give your knowledge to a less experienced official to help them improve. 


NFHS 2025-26 Rules

3-4-5:

Requires uniform bottoms on teammates to be liked-colored while allowing different styles of uniform bottoms among teammates.

 Rationale: Clarifies that teammates must all wear like-colored uniform bottoms but may wear multiple styles while aligning language with other NFHS rules codes.

3-5-6

Allows undershirts worn under visiting team jersey to be black or a single solid color similar to the torso of the jersey. All teammates wearing undershirts must wear the same solid color. 

Rational: Allows schools with hard-to-find colors to wear black under visiting team jerseys while continuing to require all team members to match.

4-8-1

Eliminates the one-and-one for common fouls beginning with the seventh team foul in the half and establishes the bonus as two free throws awarded for a common foul beginning with the teams fifth foul in each quarter and resets the fouls at the end of each quarter.

Rational: Improves flow by providing an opportunity for teams to adjust their play by not carrying over fouls from quarters 1 and 3 to quarters 2 and 4 while significantly reducing the opportunity for correctable errors to occur. Minimizes risk of injury by eliminating the one-and-one and reduce opportunities for rough play during rebounding opportunities. 

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NFHS 2025-26 Rules

7-5-2 thru 5:

Establishes four throw-in spots (the nearest 28-feet mark along each sideline or the nearest spot 3-feet outside the lane line on the end line) when the ball is in team control in the offensive team's frontcourt and the defensive team commits a violation, a common foul prior to the bonus, or the ball becomes dead. 

Rationale: Simplifies throw-in procedure when there is team control in the front court and the defense team commits a violation.

7-6-6:

Allows the official administering a throw-in to the wrong team to correct the mistake before the first dead ball after the ball becomes live unless there is a change of possession.

Rational: Allows for a correction of an official's mistake in a more reasonable timeframe.

9-3-3

Establishes that a player may step out of bounds without penalty unless they are the first player to touch the ball after returning to the court or if they left the court to avoid a violation.

Rationale: Allows a player to step out of bounds if they gain no advantage by leaving the court and returning to avoid a violation or to be the first to touch the ball.  

G. Substitutes Leaving Bench

For substitutes leaving the bench during an incident, the school will be fined a minimum of $250.00. The school will be required to submit a report and video tape if available.  In addition, other non-monetary disciplinary action may occur, including but not limited to probation and/or restive probation for the sport which the incident occurred. 

Section 9. Unsportsmanlike Conduct by Fans

A. For fans coming onto the floor during an incident, the school will be fined a minimum of $250.00. In addition, other non-monetary disciplinary action may occur, including but not limited to probation and/or restrictive probation for the entire athletic program. 


B. For fans ejected for unsportsmanlike conduct during a contest, the school will be fined a minimum of $250.00. In addition, other non-monetary disciplinary action may occur, including but not limited to probation and/or restrictive probation for the entire athletic program.

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