NCAA approves several rules changes for the upcoming college basketball season

The NCAA has approved several rule changes for the 2023-24 men’s and women’s college basketball season.

On Thursday, the multiple rules changes were announced by the NCAA Playing Rules Oversight Panel, with the changes going into effect this season.

The change that will please the fans the most is the tweak to the block/charge call that has been so controversial in recent seasons.

According to the NCAA, “a defender will have to be in position to draw a charge at the time an offensive player plants a foot to go airborne to attempt a field goal. If the defender arrives after the offensive player plants a foot to launch toward the basket, officials will be instructed to call a block when contact occurs between the two players.”

The previous rules stated that a defender has to be in position before the player went airborne. Now, the defender will have to be set even earlier in the play.

Aside from the block/charge call tweak, the NCAA also approved some other rules changes for the upcoming season.

• Goaltending/basket interference calls can now be reviewed at the next media timeout as long as it was called on the floor.
• Players will now be able to wear jersey numbers 0-99.
• Teams will be charged with a timeout if the coach requests and out-of-bounds play to be reviewed under two minutes that does not get overturned.

There have also been some experimental rules changed for the upcoming season. The one that stands out the most, however, is the lane will be widened from 12 feet to 16 feet for the NIT, which is the lane width of NBA courts.

You can check out all the rules changes for the upcoming college basketball season here.