The implementation of a shot clock in Indiana high school basketball will come up for vote at the Indiana High School Athletic Association board of directors meeting on May 4.
If voted through, a 35-second shot clock would go into effect for the 2028-29 basketball season for varsity games only. Will it happen?
IHSAA commissioner Paul Neidig said that the straw polls conducted by the IHSAA at four principals’ meetings last week at Fort Wayne Snider, Hobart, Logansport and Pendleton Heights, the vote was about 70% against a shot clock. That vote is almost exactly the opposite the vote from the Indiana Basketball Coaches Association, which is making the proposal.
Neidig said there are 66 schools that are already set up with a shot clock in their main gym, according to a survey conducted by the IHSAA. The biggest concerns include the additional bench personnel to run the clock, the cost (roughly $10,000 per school according to Neidig) and officials’ concerns over resetting the clock and coordinating with the scorer’s table.
“I think most of those things resolve themselves over time,” Neidig said. “It really comes down to whether it is good for the game of basketball.”
As of the 2025-26 season, there are 32 states that now use a shot clock at the high school level. Alabama voted just this week to add a 35-second shot clock for the 2026-27 season.
If the shot clock vote fails to pass, Neidig said he expects it will come up again in two years when the IBCA could again make a proposal.
“The coaches association has to respond to what their membership wants,” Neidig said. “If 75 percent of their coaches want it, they are going to keep asking for it.”
The National Federation of State High School Associations approved state adoption for a 35-second shot clock four years ago but does not mandate a shot clock.
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This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: IHSAA basketball: A 35-second shot clock will come before vote in May