NFHS Rules for Basketball

In most circles, the rules to the sport of basketball don't change much. In general, this includes the National Federation of State High School Associations. However, the NFHS has a few rules unique to the institutions that belong to it. Some rules are similar to those of the National Collegiate Athletic Association rules with slight differences.

  1. Blood or Contact Lens Issue

    • In NFHS basketball, any player with blood on his uniform must immediately leave the game unless there is a timeout called and the blood can be cleaned up before the end of the timeout. However, a player with a lost or irritated contact lens is allowed to remain in the game. In NCAA men's basketball, the rules are the same as the NFHS rules for these situations. In the NCAA women's game, however, the player only has 20 seconds to remedy an irritated or lost contact lens before they must come out of the game.

    Fighting

    • According the the NFHS, any player who fights will be immediately ejected from the game. The rule is less strict than in the NCAA, however, in which fighting players are ejected from the game and suspended for at least one game.

    Goaltending

    • In NFHS basketball, goaltending is called when a player touches the ball after a shot during its downward flight entirely above the basket rim level. The ball must have a chance of entering the net for goaltending to be called. The NCAA has a similar policy on goaltending, with the addition that the ball can not be touched after it hits the backboard.