Ohio University

Then and Now: A look into the changes in men’s basketball

Jan 20, 2011
Alyse Lamparyk

Length of shorts, socks and hair are obvious differences when comparing an OHIO men’s college basketball game of the 1970s and those now. Others take some more detective work to discover.

Several rule changes have taken place in college basketball over the last 45 years, said Drew Wiseman, assistant sports information director. Here are the major ones:

• The shot clock has a history of being shortened. NCAA men’s basketball brought in a 35-second shot clock eight years after introducing the 55-second shot clock. The women’s teams, on the other hand, officially used a 30-second shot clock during games during the 1970-1971 season, one year after an experimental run.
  
  
• College basketball players who wanted to show off their dunking skills were banned from doing from 1967 until 1976. Wondering who to blame? Many point fingers at Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, then known as Lew Alcindor, who entered the NCAA just before the crowd-pleasing move was banned.
  
  
• Three-point shots became official in 1980. The Southern Conference of the NCAA began using a 22-foot line that year, and Western Carolina University was the first to score from it. Until the NCAA nationally implemented the 19-foot, 9-inch line in 1986, three-point lines varied in length across the conferences. When the 2008-2009 season began, the three-point line was extended to 20 feet 9 inches.
  

The 1976-1977 men’s basketball season at Ohio University was described as “disappointing” in the yearbook. A record of 9-17 for the season was a record number of losses for OHIO at the time.

This season the men’s basketball team currently holds a record of 10-9, and the season is still far from over. The Bobcats are hoping to hold onto their MAC Championship title.

Click here to view more Ohio University yearbooks.