“Proper sporting behavior is paramount in interscholastic sports,” Struckhoff said. “The NFHS membership and the high school community are generally happy with where the game is. The sport of basketball is in good shape, so the committee focused on sportsmanship issues first.”

A change to Rule 3-5-3a adjusted the acceptable colors of headbands and wristbands for players. The change now allows players to wear any single, solid school color, not just the predominant color of the jersey. Players will be permitted to wear black, white, beige or a solid school color, provided all participants are wearing the same color.

“The desire is for the team to look uniform in its appearance,” Struckhoff said. “But, the committee wanted a team wearing its home white uniforms to have an option to wear one of the school’s colors.”

Following are other changes made by the NFHS Basketball Rules Committee:

·         A significant rules change that will affect all sports requires that any athlete who exhibits signs, symptoms or behaviors consistent with a concussion, including but not limited to loss of consciousness, headache, dizziness, confusion or balance problems, must be removed from the contest immediately and shall not return to play before being cleared by an appropriate health-care professional.

·         A note added to Rule 3-3-1a which also affects Rule 4-32-2 states that when a substitute is not properly reported, the players in the game at the conclusion of the quarter or after the time-out was granted shall begin play for the new quarter or after the time-out has ended. Additionally, it notes that all team members are bench personnel for the purpose of penalizing unsporting behavior.

·         A change to Rule 3-4-2d clarifies where a school logo or mascot may be located. It is permissible if the logo is at the apex or opening of the neckline, in the corresponding area on the back of the jersey and/or in either side insert.

·         More specifications were made under Rule 3-5-2 regarding the requirements for guards, casts and braces. With this, it notes protective face masks must be worn molded to the face.

·         Rule 4-4-7d was modified to clarify when a ball is at the disposal of a player after a goal is scored.

·         Additionally, a clarification to Rule 7-6-6 states that when the ball is awarded to the wrong team, the mistake must be rectified before the throw-in ends.

A complete listing of all rules changes approved by the committee is available on the NFHS Web site at www.nfhs.org. Click on “Athletics & Fine Arts Activities” on the home page, and select “Basketball.”

Basketball is the second-most popular sport for girls and third-most popular for boys at the high school level, according to the 2008-09 High School Athletics Participation Survey conducted by the NFHS, with 444,809 girls and 545,145 boys participating nationwide. The sport ranks first in school sponsorship of girls and boys teams with 17,582 schools sponsoring the sport for girls and 17,869 sponsoring the sport for boys.

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This press release was written by Emily Newell, a spring intern in the NFHS Publications/Communications Department and a sophomore at Butler (Indiana) University.

About the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS)

The NFHS, based in Indianapolis, Indiana, is the national leadership organization for high school sports and fine arts activities. Since 1920, the NFHS has led the development of education-based interscholastic sports and fine arts activities that help students succeed in their lives. The NFHS sets direction for the future by building awareness and support, improving the participation experience, establishing consistent standards and Rules for competition, and helping those who oversee high school sports and activities. The NFHS writes playing Rules for 17 sports for boys and girls at the high school level. Through its 50 member state associations and the District of Columbia, the NFHS reaches more than 19,000 high schools and 11 million participants in high school activity programs, including more than 7.5 million in high school sports. As the recognized national authority on interscholastic activity programs, the NFHS conducts national meetings; sanctions interstate events; produces publications for high school coaches, officials and athletic directors; sponsors professional organizations for high school coaches, officials, spirit coaches, speech and debate coaches and music adjudicators; serves as the national source for interscholastic coach training; and serves as a national information resource of interscholastic athletics and activities. For more information, visit the NFHS Web site at www.nfhs.org.

MEDIA CONTACTS:     Bruce Howard or John Gillis, 317-972-6900

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