NCAA approves new Men's 3 pt line

[simpsontide]

I'd like to see some mock ups of what this "band" might look like mentioned here in Andy Katz's blog on espn.com

The 3-point line vote is coming down on Friday by the playing rules oversight panel. It is expected to pass, moving the line back a foot to 20-feet, 9 inches for 2008. The committee is made up of 12 members, including five from D-I (MAC commissioner Rick Chryst, Southland commissioner Thomas Burnett, America East commissioner Patrick Nero, Tennessee women's athletic director Joan Cronan and Big West associate commissioner Robert Halvaks). The interesting part of this is the actual lines that will be on the court for men and women (the women are keeping it at 19 feet, 9 inches). There will be two separate lines of contrasting colors. Rules committee chair Larry Keating, an associate athletic director at Kansas, is proposing to have a one-foot wide band instead of two separate lines. He wants to see the women play off the front of the band and the men off the back. The intent is to have a vote next year for either the two lines or a one-foot band.

[hecticbro]

Well, it's about time. Is that as far from the hoop as the NBA line?

[VitaminD]

Well, it's about time. Is that as far from the hoop as the NBA line?

Unless it's been changed, the NBA line is 23'9". Now that's a legitimate long-distance shot worth an extra point, as opposed to a jumper essentially from the top of the key, which any decent high school player ought to be able to make flat-footed.

[Brauny1280]

Here is my take on what the "band" would look like. The men would have to be behind the line and the women could step on but not cross over it.

Personally I would just have the two lines. It doesn't look that bad when they have the NBA line and the 19'9" line. I know the gap between the old and the new lines will be less, but it beats having a really wide line that looks out of place. Also I think that having two lines will make it easier on the refs.

[simpsontide]

Here is my take on what the "band" would look like. The men would have to be behind the line and the women could step on but not cross over it.

Personally I would just have the two lines. It doesn't look that bad when they have the NBA line and the 19'9" line. I know the gap between the old and the new lines will be less, but it beats having a really wide line that looks out of place. Also I think that having two lines will make it easier on the refs.

After seeing your mockups, the band might not look as bad as I thought.

[wesdog82]

Here is my take on what the "band" would look like. The men would have to be behind the line and the women could step on but not cross over it.

Personally I would just have the two lines. It doesn't look that bad when they have the NBA line and the 19'9" line. I know the gap between the old and the new lines will be less, but it beats having a really wide line that looks out of place. Also I think that having two lines will make it easier on the refs.

After seeing your mockups, the band might not look as bad as I thought.

The Canadian University 3 pt line is further back from where the NCAA line is. At the school I attended(Brock University) they have the band on the floor for the 2 lines. This is the best pic that I can find showing what it looks like. At first it's a bit distracting seeing this HUUUGE line!

http://www.brocku.ca/basketball/0304/stories/press430.htm

[Camden Crazy]

That'd make the court look cluttered. What's the problem with switching the floor in between men's and women's games so there's only one line there?

[STL FANATIC]

That'd make the court look cluttered. What's the problem with switching the floor in between men's and women's games so there's only one line there?

Money.

[ShinyHubCaps]

On a related note, does anyone know why for some NBA or college games in shared arenas both the college AND NBA lines are there? They change the logos on the baseline and at midcourt, as well as any other logos (next to the key) and color of the paint, but sometimes you see two sets of lines. Why is that?

Also, will that mean that triple-duty arenas will have three sets of lines?

[nugent4president]

My (now) alma mater, St. Bonaventure, is installing a new court for their floor this summer thanks to a gift from an alum. Our school is strapped for cash to begin with and I could see this being a real issue. The NCAA should pay for the changing of each court.

Also, in response to why you cannot have two courts, at Bonas, we have one arena for both men and women and it is a permanent gym floor. Many schools have this situation, even in the Big Six. Cincinnati is one that I can think of, and I am sure there are others as well.

[WJMorris3]

Though this begs the question, do Kentucky, North Carolina, and Georgetown, among others, have to then paint both sets of lines on the court, if only one gender will be using it?

[SteveR]

I'd think if you have 100% seperation of men's and women's venues, I don't see why not. Georgetown's men still play one game a year in ol' McDonough Gym.

I think i like the seperate lines more than the band. (OF course, I think the men's rules committee wimped out by not moving the line back far enough) You can probably get away with making each line a different color.

[apeman33]

That'd make the court look cluttered. What's the problem with switching the floor in between men's and women's games so there's only one line there?

If the men and women play in the same gym where the court isn't portable but rather a permanent part of the facility, you can't "switch floors." You could have sticky-tape lines that come up and switch them out for each game, but that would take a lot of time and probably a bit o'change that could be used elsewhere in the athletic department.

Most jucos, like the one I cover here in Fort Scott, will probably just paint a permanent second line. The three-point line that's already down is white. The new men's line could be maroon or black. It would work.

[-kj]

Ahh, the NCAA. Numbskulls.

Just move the men and women to the international line. What's so tough about that?

[sweeper13]

My (now) alma mater, St. Bonaventure, is installing a new court for their floor this summer thanks to a gift from an alum. Our school is strapped for cash to begin with and I could see this being a real issue. The NCAA should pay for the changing of each court.

Also, in response to why you cannot have two courts, at Bonas, we have one arena for both men and women and it is a permanent gym floor. Many schools have this situation, even in the Big Six. Cincinnati is one that I can think of, and I am sure there are others as well.

You went to Bonas? I worked there this past semester. Small world. Anyways yes a school like Bonas could definitely not afford multiple courts.

[VitaminD]

Though this begs the question, do Kentucky, North Carolina, and Georgetown, among others, have to then paint both sets of lines on the court, if only one gender will be using it?

The Carolina women's team is usually good for at least 1 game at the Dean Dome annually.

Switching gears - does everyone realize that the Allen Fieldhouse picture is depicting the (old) NCAA line and the NBA line? That's a game shot from a Bulls/Sonics preseason game (presumably for Hinrich and Collison). The gap between the 2 lines is 4 feet - and on many double-duty courts, that 4 foot gap still causes confusion among players who shoot from behind the wrong line. Now imagine that the two lines are placed to within 1 foot of each other (old and new NCAA). That's going to mess up a whole lot of people, not the least of whom will be the referees. In the middle of a fast-paced game, mistakes will be made because of this. The idea of the band is novel and could work, but changing the court markings on kids who've been playing on courts designed a certain way for years will have repercussions. Players sense their place on the court by using the markings as landmarks, and rarely do they look right at them. They know where they are through peripheral vision; this is going to screw with their heads, as their conditioned instincts will now be off.

Move the women's line back to the new uniform NCAA line, and be done with it.