(BLOOMINGTON) The Illinois High School Association (IHSA) Board of Directors met for its regularly scheduled meeting in Bloomington this past Monday where the Board finalized plans for the 35-second shot clock, which will be required for all varsity boys and girls basketball games beginning with the upcoming 2026-2027 IHSA season. Meanwhile, the shot clock is optional for all lower-level games, for junior varsity, fresh-soph, etc… With Illinois & Oklahoma both adopting the shot clock for the 2026-2027 season, that brings the total to 31 states that will be using the shot clock on the high school level. A statewide survey of high school coaches in Illinois back in 2020 revealed that 75% of the boys and 68% of the girls head coaches were in favor of the shot clock implementation. Also at Monday’s meeting, the IHSA Board took time to recognize Kurt Gibson, who officially retired from the IHSA staff on June 1st after serving as an IHSA Administrator from 2002 to 2024. For more details, visit the ihsa.org website online.
