Official word is not expected until Tuesday, but relied sources have indicated that both the IHSAA and IGHSAU will institute the use of a 35-second shot clock at the varsity basketball level beginning with the 2022-2023 seasons.
A study completed a few years ago estimated the expense of installing such clocks as at least $2,000 and perhaps as much as $5,000 per school, with neither governing body apparently intending to help defray any such costs.
Iowa had followed the lead of the National Federation of High Schools is choosing the option of not installing such clocks, and will now follow the NFHS guidance of permitting such.
Doing so will mean training officials to the addition of the clock, as well as requiring each school to have someone at the scorer’s table operating the clock. What measures would be taken in the event of equipment failure during a game has not been publicly released.
While not the first state to use a shot clock, Iowa does have a history of setting national trends. Iowa became the first state to officially use the 3-point shot, doing so in the 1982-1983 season, with the NFHS mandating the rule only in 1978-1988.
