The NCAA announced Tuesday it’s bringing the coach’s challenge to men’s basketball.

Under the new rule, each coach will have one challenge to use at their discretion to review out-of-bounds calls, a defender’s position in or near the restricted area, and cases of goaltending or basket interference.

A coach will keep one challenge if their first was successful, and they must have at least one timeout remaining in order to initiate the video review.

Karl Hicks, chairman of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Rules Committee, said in May the group was examining ways to ensure missed calls are corrected without slowing down games too much.

“Coach’s challenges were deemed to be the most efficient way to accomplish this goal,” he said, per the Associated Press’ Eric Olson. “Data from the NCAA tournament and membership conferences showed a substantial number of reviews were on out-of-bounds plays. The committee looked at other basketball leagues around the world to see what the best solution would be for the NCAA, and the committee agreed with the NBA coach’s challenge system and its one plus one process.”

Beyond implementing the challenge system, an important facet of the new rule is that only coaches, not the referees themselves, can trigger a review for out-of-bounds rulings. That should help reduce the length of time a game is ultimately delayed.

The Athletic’s Joe Rexrode argued that men’s basketball was getting too bogged down by video reviews. For example, he cited how the last 77 seconds of Michigan’s 59-53 win over Wisconsin in the Big Ten title game actually took 15 minutes in real time to complete.

To that end, Rexrode lobbied for an NBA-style challenge system. Now, he’s getting his wish.

With this change, the NCAA may have struck a better balance between striving for accuracy without significantly disrupting the flow of a game.

As there is with college sports, there is an ever-changing landscape in all sports. College basketball is looking to expand the NCAA Tournament, a bad idea, but they are making some rule changes that will help with the pace of play in the sport.

The NCAA Playing Rules Oversight Panel approved rule changes to help the flow of college basketball games, and they are giving coaches some power. The biggest eye-opening rule change is a coach’s challenge, which can be used at any point throughout the game so long as the challenging team still has a timeout remaining. In all honesty, this is something that the sport has been needing for a while, and it’s good to see it finally inserted into the game. The rule will be like the rule in the NBA in terms of winning the challenge.

“If the instant replay review challenge is successful, teams will be allowed to have one additional video review challenge for the rest of the game, including overtime.”

“If the first video review challenge is unsuccessful, the team loses the ability to challenge the rest of the game.”

College basketball needed coaches challenges

Coaches can challenge out-of-bounds calls, basket interference, and whether a secondary defender was in the restricted area of the arc, which is always a difficult call in the pace of play. This is something that has been needed in college basketball, and following the NBA script is the way for them to go. It will be interesting to see how teams go about using this challenge, will some use it early, or will they save it for later in the game?

Virginia Tech coach Mike Young will be like other coaches and rely on his assistant coaches to help decide whether or not to challenge a call. This is something that should stick around even after the coaches’ feedback after next season. This is a solid move for the sport.

A football player who just finished eighth grade already rakes in name, image and likeness money and has an agent to help him navigate the sponsorship deals at just 14 years old.

Kaden Coleman Bennett has had a knack for finding the end zone on the football field since he first discovered the sport, and he says he’s just getting started.

“I found something that I love; I found something that I wanted to do,” he said. “And you know, since then I’ve always been playing football since I was 4.”

His athletic abilities as a running back have already earned him verbal college offers from Syracuse and Virginia Tech. He also was invited to Bill Belichick’s football camp at the University of North Carolina.

“It is kind of crazy but it’s not hard to see because of, you know, my work ethic and the work that I’ve been put in throughout the years of me with football and school,” said Kaden, who committed to DeMatha Catholic High School.

A strong village helps ensure he keeps up with his practice schedule, potential business deals and his 3.5 GPA, Kaden said. He gives his mother, Brittany Coleman, a lot of credit.

“I’m super proud of him,” she said. “He’s faced a lot of adversity, through youth sports and just different things and people coming at him and stuff like that.”

His dad and stepfather also keep him grounded.

“As a young boy, we always taught him — me and mom — always taught him how to be ready for this moment with these NIL deals,” said his father, Bernard Bennett.

“It is our responsibility to set him up and put him in the position to accomplish the goals that he wants to accomplish,” said his stepdad and trainer, Quinton Brown.

With interest from multiple sponsors and potential NIL deals already knocking on his door, Kaden says having a solid infrastructure is imperative. That’s a key reason he already signed with a sports agent, Terrence Jackson, who is helping facilitate Kaden’s first NIL deals.

“There’s a reason why I’m here, and it’s really just to be … a place of peace. Someone that knows the ins and outs,” Jackson said.

Kaden’s focus is on getting better in order to get to the next level academically, athletically and professionally.

“Eat, sleep, grind and dedication,” he said. “I just keep those four in my pocket every time.”

Kaden aspires to become a biological engineer once he finishes his football career.

It’s about goddamn time. I’ve said it before, it’s not NIL or transfer portal ruining the sport. It’s the fact that the last 2 minutes of a game takes about 45 minutes of real time because the refs go to the monitor for every single play, there are timeouts, then throw in the fouls and free throw shooting contests and it sucks. The sport is supposed to be free-flowing. It’s supposed to be get the ball and go, not the ball going out of bounds and everyone waiting 5 minutes as three refs huddle up to look at the monitor. Is it going to fix the sport completely? No, of course not. We’re not dumb here. But this is the massive step in the right direction. It got to the point refs wouldn’t even make a call at the end of the game knowing they can go to the monitor.

Now it’s basically the NBA rule and frankly it makes sense. It never made sense to check who the ball went off of in the last 2 minutes of the game. Points aren’t worth more, 2 points is worth the same on the first possession of the game as the last. What I can’t wait for is to see what coach fucks this up. I do think we need to add something for them to throw. I want to see a disgusted Mick Cronin reaching into his suit pocket and throwing a flag of some sort at a ref. 

It’s even more than this too. We had a nut shot problem this year. Accidental nut shots led to immediate ejections. That’s not the case anymore 

Also get ready for continuation 

Don’t have a problem with this. I do know that refs will be even more confused at the start of the year, but it makes sense to have it. If you pick up your dribble it shouldn’t be on the floor. It’s the absurd continuation that should not happen. All I know is the sport is finally taking a step in the smart direction. Replays and reviews are ruining sports, not just this one. We need less of it. We went years, decades even, without having reviews. It ruins the ending of the sport and that should at least be fixed now. 

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Where Lady Vols basketball targets sit in updated class of 2026 rankings

No. 2 – Kate Harping

No. 5 – Oliviyah Edwards

No. 8 – Brihanna Crittendon

No. 11 – Addison Bjorn

No. 12 – Jacy Abii

No. 13 – Trinity Jones

No. 14 – Bella Flemmings

No. 41 – Leelee Bell

No. 49 – Natalya Hodge