Coach's challenges, continuation rule are coming to college basketball in 2025-26

Some major changes are coming to men’s college basketball for the 2025-26 season.

On Tuesday, the NCAA Playing Rules Oversight Panel approved several rule changes that are designed to “help enhance the flow of the game in men’s basketball”. But two of those new modifications stand out above the rest.

1. Coach’s challenges at any point in the game (including overtimes)
2. Modifications to the rule on continuous motion on field goal attempts

These are significant changes to the rule book — both already being used in the NBA. Coach’s challenges were implemented in the NBA ahead of the 2019-20 season and, while not perfect, have been deemed a success. Now introduced at the college level, the NCAA says coach’s challenges can be used “to review out-of-bounds calls, basket interference/goaltending and whether a secondary defender was in the restricted-area arc.”

As is the case with the NBA, college coaches will have the opportunity to use two challenges per game. However, if the first challenge is unsuccessful, the coach will lose his second challenge. At least one team timeout is required to initiate a challenge. This does not impact how the officials can voluntarily use replay, though, which can be triggered for timing mistakes, scoring errors, shot clock violations, 2-point versus 3-point field goal attempts, flagrant fouls, etc.

But the more notable change has to do with the continuation rule. Under the old guidelines, a player was required to be in the act of shooting while being fouled for the basket to count as a shooting foul. That is no longer the case. Now, “an offensive player who ends his dribble going toward the basket and absorbs contact from the defense will be permitted to pivot or complete the step the player is on and finish the field goal attempt.”

This is pretty close to the current rule in the NBA. Essentially, if a player is fouled while going into a shooting motion, the basket will count as a shooting foul. That means a player can be fouled before the actual act of shooting and still be credited with a shot attempt. The only difference in this rule for college compared to the NBA is the language that a player must “complete the step the player is on” in order for it to count as a shooting foul, whereas the NBA utilizes continuation the moment a player begins to gather the ball for a shot attempt after being fouled.

Other changes from the NCAA’s release include the likelihood of switching from halves to quarters (which isn’t coming this season, but will eventually) and minor changes to flagrant foul calls, among others.

[Panel approves changes to enhance the flow of the game in men’s basketball]