Men's Hoops Adopts 3-Pointer

Dallas--The NCAA men's basketball rules committee yesterday joined the NBA in adopting a three-point field goal and agreed to use instant replays to check scoring and timing errors, Rules Committee Director Dr. Edward S. Steitz said.

All NCAA institutions will begin using a 19-ft., 9-in. range for their three-point plays beginning with the 1986-87 season, the 12-member committee decided.

"We believe that the adoption of the three-point field goal will do much to open up the rough inside play in our game," Steitz said. "Teams will have to play more away from the basket.

"People will say, 'You are putting the little man back in the game' and that is good," he added.

Steitz said the decision came after a five-year research period in which 20 conferences experimented with the three-point shot. He said research showed coaches approved the three-point goal by a two-to-one margin.

The committee also approved the use of television replays for timers' and scorers' mistakes and malfunctions of the clocks. Steitz emphasized that replays would not be used for any other officiating questions.

The committee also said technical fouls would not be charged against a coach for pointing out scoring and timing errors to the scorers' table.

Steitz said several conferences experimented with different distances for the three-point play, but a questionnaire of participating coaches showed the most favored range was 19 feet, nine inches.

The committee was meeting in conjunction with the NCAA Final Four tournament that concluded here Monday night.