What is new coach's challenge rule in college basketball? Everything we know about NCAA's latest change
Effective with the 2025-26 season, college basketball will offer a coach's challenge option. The adoption of the rule was confirmed on Tuesday. The NCAA Men's Basketball Rules Committee has been considering adding the feature to games for the last few months.
The committee's new update is to ensure a proper flow throughout the games. It will also help teams have more control over their end-of-game scenarios, which can significantly impact a matchup's outcome.
What is college basketball's new coach's challenge rule?
The new coach's challenge adds another layer of officiation to ensure games are evaluated with more precision. It allows the coaches to have a call analyzed through a video challenge.
Both the men's and women's leagues have adopted the new rule change. However, their use and limitations differ on each side. Mark Pope, John Calipari, Dan Hurley and other MBB coaches will be able to benefit from the change for:
- Out-of-bounds calls
- Goaltending and basket interference
- Secondary defender in the restricted area
Teams will begin games with just one coach's challenge. If their instant replay requests are successful, they will have one more challenge throughout the game (including overtime). Teams will be unable to review if a video replay is unsuccessful.
For the men's side, teams are required to have a timeout available to call for a replay. The women's side's challenges will not be restricted by it.
The coaches won't be able to overrule the referee's calls through the coach's challenge
Unlike the NBA, the coaches cannot challenge a foul call by a referee. It is one of the biggest use cases of the coach's challenge and often comes up near the end of games.
However, fans will be able to witness it for a limited period. Dawn Staley, Cori Close, Geno Auriemma and other WBB coaches will have that option for the exhibition games this year.
More college basketball rules could be changed, added, or altered after the end of the 2025-26 season. The rules committee will take feedback from conferences and update near the upcoming rules-change year.