You won’t see a shot clock at Texas high schools as UIL denies latest proposals

The UIL athletics standing committee took no action on a proposal by the public for a shot clock in high school boys and girls basketball during the legislative council meeting on Tuesday in Austin.

It’s the not the first time the committee took no action on a shot clock.

Last season, the UIL took no action on a proposal that would have allowed shot clocks for Class 6A and 5A programs starting in the 2022-23 season. In May 2021, the National Federation announced that a 35-second shot clock will be permitted in high school basketball games by state associations beginning in the 2022-23 season.

Only nine states use a shot clock: California, Georgia, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, North Dakota, Rhode Island, South Dakota and Washington.

The athletics committee also took no action on a proposal that would have changed soccer from a spring sport to a fall sport. Another proposal by the public was to prohibit freshmen from playing in varsity competition.

Standing committee chairman Greg Poole addressed made it clear that the committee rejected the proposal.

“The standing committee on athletics denied, rejected or took no action on the following proposals ... actually I’ll clarify it. We actually rejected ... I want to make that clear, we rejected a proposal to prohibit freshmen athletes from participating in varsity competition,” Poole said.

Other items that were addressed and authorized by the committee to study include a proposal to adjust the process of a PAPF (previous athletic participation form) if the previous school is a private school, a proposal to allow sixth grade participation at the 1A level, a proposal to require a best-of-three series in all rounds of 5A/6A baseball postseason leading up to the state tournament, and a proposal to allow the head golf coach and assistant golf coach to actively coach during the course of play for all tournaments.

As it stands now, baseball playoff matchups are agreed upon by both coaches and school administrators. If both parties don’t agree, then a flip determines if it’s a one-game playoff or three-game series.

In golf, only head coaches are allowed to coach and walk the course with their players. Assistant coaches aren’t allowed and the slightest interaction with their player results in a penalty.

The standing committee also took no action on a proposal to adjust track and field scoring to include scoring through eighth place. Nine participants make the state meet in each event while scoring only occurs through sixth place.