Arizona High School Basketball Can Add Shot Clock In 2022

ARIZONA — A 35-second shot clock may be coming to Arizona's high school boys and girls basketball games for the first time in 2022.

That's because the National Federation of State High School Associations approved the use of shot clocks for individual state associations in late April.

The NFHS Board of Directors did not approve mandating the institution of a shot clock, however, though the Arizona Interscholastic Association is on the verge of adding one nonetheless.

“We provided the committee with a lot of information regarding the shot clock, including responses to a 46-question survey sent to states currently using a shot clock,” said Theresia Wynns, NFHS director of sports and officials and liaison to the Basketball Rules Committee in a statement.

Support for a shot clock in Arizona appears strong, with the AIA receiving overwhelming support for the measure from member schools' coaches and athletic directors in a survey the association sent in March.

Of those that responded to the association's survey, 74 percent of coaches were in favor of adding a shot clock, while 70 percent of officials and 54 percent of athletic directors supported the move, the association said.

“It’s an exciting change. Many folks really wanted this, “AIA State Commissioner of Officials Brian Gessner said in a release. “We’re going to have a lot of work ahead of us for final approval. There will be a lot of shot clock rules that we would have to define. That’s going to be one of the biggest challenges we would have to face.”

Final approval for the shot clock in Arizona will come down to each of the AIA's six member conferences, with a decision on the matter coming soon thereafter, the association said.