Wisconsin high school boys and girls basketball teams have taken a step forward on the path toward implementing a shot clock.
The WIAA Board of Control advanced on Tuesday a pilot program for a 35-second shot clock in select games for the upcoming season.
The proposal will next go to a full membership vote next spring for full implementation for the 2028-29 season.
The pilot program will be for nonconference games only, and both participating teams will have to agree to use it.
“It’s something that has felt like it’s been coming for a long time,” Luther girls coach Ryan Svendsen said. “I think its takes us in the right direction, and I’m excited to see what it will do for the game.”
The push for a shot clock in Wisconsin has been a nine-year process. Many coaches have become vocal about the cause after interpreting it as a success in other states.
A shot clock was used — either as a requirement or option — in more than 30 states last season. Minnesota and Iowa are two of those states, so some teams in the Coulee Regin have had the chance to play games with one in use.
With the process being such a long one, area coaches have had time to prep for the rule change.
“I’ve been telling my assistant coaches that I’m already preparing and have been tinkering with things,” Onalaska girls coach Tom Cowley said. “We tinkered with pressing last year and are going to do some different zone stuff this year. Anything you can do defensively to disrupt is good.”
The defensive side of the ball seems to be the initial focus, but that will eventually bleed into offensive adjustments that will have to be made. Setting up an attack and trying to put opponents in the position of making an uncomfortable play is the goal.
“I’m looking forward to knowing how long we have to defend,” Aquinas girls coach Dave Donarski said. “Thirty-five seconds. The first 15 or 18, I don’t really care besides no layups or wide-open looks. Then pressure and see what happens as it gets closer to zero.”
Holmen boys coach Ryan Meyer expects it to take some time before teams comfortable in regular situations they currently only encounter at the end of a half or end of a game.
“When you watch Minnesota teams or other teams that have a shot clock, they are better at making decisions than Wisconsin teams (in those situations),” he said. “The kids won’t be able to rely on just one player or two players. Everyone will have to be skilled and ready.”
Some of the resistance to this point — and it could arise again when it comes time to vote next spring — is cost. Schools will have to find money in their budgets for shot clocks, find people to run them and be paid to do it.
Central boys coach Todd Fergot said the clocks are easy to run, and every coach interviewed for this story said there have been discussions about having officials from junior varsity games might be good candidates to operate them.
While that plan was passed by a 10-1 vote, another presentation to expand the state tournaments failed by a 9-2 margin.
That proposal includes an increase from four to eight team qualifiers for each of the five divisions.
One catching point centers around the use of three venues instead of one. The girls tournament in Green Bay would use the Resch Center, Kress Center and St. Norbert University, while the boys tournament would get split between the Kohl Center, the Alliant Energy Center and the UW Field House.
The expansion also extends the tournament from three days to four. Presenting coaches believe the foundation of their plan brings Wisconsin more in line with the participation numbers of surrounding states.
But for now, they can be happy with moving one step closer in making the shot clock a reality.
“We’re excited, and the kids are excited,” Fergot said. “When I got back here after the vote, we had a contact day, and I got to share it with the kids. They were real happy to hear the news.”
