NCAA Women’s Basketball: Coach’s Challenge Proposed
- Indianapolis – A notable change coudl be coming to NCAA women's basketball.
- Meeting in Indianapolis this week, the committee recommended the change for the 2025-26 season.
- The proposed rule would allow coaches to challenge out-of-bounds calls, backcourt violations, possession changes before a foul resulting in free throws, and incorrect foul assessments.
NCAA women’s basketball could see a significant shift with the proposed coach’s challenge rule, allowing coaches to initiate video reviews.This key update, recommended by the rules committee, aims to improve game pace and address concerns about lengthy reviews, especially in final minutes.the proposal targets pivotal calls: out-of-bounds, backcourt violations, posession changes before fouls, and incorrect foul assessments—a big change from the current limited review system. Teams can challenge without a timeout, but a failed challenge leads to a technical foul, adding strategic weight to the decision. The rules oversight panel will discuss the changes. For more news, see news Directory 3. Discover what’s next for the 2025-26 season and beyond.
NCAA Women’s Basketball Considers Coach’s Challenge Rule for Video Reviews
Updated May 27, 2025
Indianapolis – A notable change coudl be coming to NCAA women’s basketball. The rules committee has proposed implementing a coach’s challenge to initiate video reviews on specific plays.
Meeting in Indianapolis this week, the committee recommended the change for the 2025-26 season. The proposal now awaits approval from the NCAA playing rules oversight panel, scheduled to convene June 10.
The proposed rule would allow coaches to challenge out-of-bounds calls, backcourt violations, possession changes before a foul resulting in free throws, and incorrect foul assessments. currently, officials can only initiate reviews to correct which player was assessed a foul.
Notably, teams won’t need a timeout for a video review challenge. Though, an unsuccessful challenge results in an administrative technical foul for excessive timeouts, adding a strategic element to the decision.
Nicki Collen, rules committee chair and Baylor coach, emphasized the focus on improving game flow. “The committee was concerned with pace of play and the number of reviews occurring at the end of games,” Collen said. “By removing the option for officials to review called out-of-bounds violations and allowing coaches to challenge the call,you increase flow at the end of games while still allowing for the opportunity to get the call right.”
Additional proposals include setting the shot clock to 20 seconds after a dead ball awards the offense possession in the front court, eliminating the tucked-in jersey rule, and issuing a team technical foul for excessive timeouts or playing with six players. The committee also proposed suspending a player and head coach for one game if a player participates while under suspension.
What’s next
The NCAA playing rules oversight panel will meet June 10 to discuss and potentially approve the proposed changes for the 2025-26 season of NCAA women’s basketball.