High school basketball prepares for shot clock change

High school basketball teams are preparing for a new shot clock rule for the coming season.

During Tuesday’s June 23 meeting in Stevens Point, the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association’s (WIAA) Board of Control passed two measures that will have sweeping impacts on the game across the state.

The first approved implementation during Tuesday’s meeting was a 35-second shot clock for varsity non-conference games only. This goes into effect starting the 2026-27 season and was approved by a 10-1 vote. Both teams must be in mutual agreement to play with the shot clock.

Playoff games, even if against two teams from different conferences, will not use the shot clock, according to Bound Wisconsin’s Travis Wilson.

The second approved implementation, also passing by a 10-1 vote, is the full implementation of a 35-second shot clock for all boys’ and girls’ varsity basketball games starting in the 2028-29 season.

How the rule will work

But that doesn’t mean it’s fully approved. Or at least just yet.

The full shot clock proposal will now head to a full membership vote at the 2027 Annual Meeting for final approval before mandatory implementation, according to WKOW’s Chad Thompson. According to a social media post by the WIAA, the reason for a full membership vote is “due to the cost imposed on member schools.”

Even if the full implementation votes fail for the 2028-29 shot clock, the varsity non-conference game option will remain in place. The only thing that can change that is an appeal from the board.

“I think it’s an exciting change for the game,” DeForest head boys’ basketball coach Eric Stewart said, who noted that DeForest is currently in the works to install shot clocks in the fieldhouse for this upcoming season. As of Friday, July 24, The timetable for when the shot clocks will be installed is TBD.

Proponents of the shot clock argue that with its implementation, it speeds up the pace of play while eliminating stalling, especially noteworthy in end-of-game scenarios.

Stewart agrees and feels the shot clock will yield a positive impact for his program. He said they plan to start utilizing the shot clock at the start of next season and even in a few non-conference games, too.

“Obviously, it’s going up the tempo and pace a little bit, which I think excites me, but also bodes well for our personnel and our the way that we want to play our game within our program, which adds a little bit of strategy throughout the game, not only on the offensive side of things, which is what most people think about when they think of a shot clock, but also defensively,” Stewart said.

Opponents of the shot clock argue that implementing it may prove costly for districts across the state. Zac Bellman, high school sports reporter for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, reported on March 5 that costs to implement a shot clock system are estimated to be between $3,000 and $5,000, with additional expenses expected.

The pro and anti-shot clock argument sparked a noteworthy outrage on social media during this year’s Division 4 state title game when Milwaukee Juneau dribbled out over two minutes of the clock against Cambridge. Milwaukee Juneau won the game 62-54.

“Go guard the ball,” one person said on social media.

“Teams should not be allowed to stand completely still at the top of the key for two-plus minutes,” another person said on social media.

According to the National Federation of State High School Coaches (NFHS), 32 states use the shot clock. Illinois will use one for the 2026-27 season, while neighboring states such as Minnesota and Iowa already have a shot clock. Michigan does not.

Recently, the Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) conducted a survey consisting of 919 coaches, athletic directors, superintendents and principals. In that survey, 57 percent of respondents approved of the shot clock. 30 percent did not approve, while 13 percent were undecided.

In addition, a 2022 WBCA survey broke the results down by division. DeForest basketball, both boys’ and girls’, currently compete in Division 2 in the state tournament.