The Illinois High School Association (IHSA) is targeting the 2026-27 school year for full implementation of a 35-second shot clock for basketball in the state, according to the association’s associate executive director Kurt Gibson.
Gibson joined the WRMJ Sportsline program Saturday morning at the IHSA Boys Basketball State Finals in Champaign and said the IHSA is planning to continue moving forward with the shot clock’s use.
The IHSA has allowed regular season tournaments and shootouts to use a 35-second shot clock experimentally the past two seasons. Locally, the Macomb-Western Holiday Tournament adopted the shot clock for its field in December. Gibson reported early feedback on the shot clock in Illinois has been largely positive.
Fourteen states use a shot clock in high school basketball, including Iowa and Minnesota.
The National Federation of State High School Associations’ (NFHS) current shot clock guidelines say the shot clock resets to the full 35 seconds after offensive rebounds of shots off the rim and every foul. For the full NFHS shot clock guidelines, click here.