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Q: College Basketball ( Answered,   0 Comments )
Question  
Subject: College Basketball
Category: Sports and Recreation > Games
Asked by: graysol-ga
List Price: $2.00
Posted: 17 Dec 2004 22:51 PST
Expires: 16 Jan 2005 22:51 PST
Question ID: 444206
What is the first year dunking was allowed in college basketball?
Answer  
Subject: Re: College Basketball
Answered By: juggler-ga on 17 Dec 2004 23:43 PST
 
Hello.

Dunking was officially banned in college basketball in 1967. The
dunking ban was lifted in 1976 and dunking has been allowed ever
since.

"Major NCAA basketball rule changes since 1960:
1967-68: Dunking is made illegal.
1976-77: Dunking is reinstated."
source: USA Today
http://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/mensbasketball/2003-01-13-court_x.htm

"Then in case you forgot, college ball outlawed the dunk in 1967-68,
during the Lew Alcindor reign at UCLA. The NCAA didn't legalize the
stuffer again until 1976-77."
source: KU Sports
http://6news.kusports.com/news/mensbball_archive/story/105812

"In Mount's day, dunking wasn't a threat; dunking wasn't even allowed.
 The NCAA banned it in 1967, in preparation for the Lew Alcindor era
at UCLA. The decision forced Alcindor - he now is known as Kareem
Abdul-Jabbar - to develop the sky hook, perhaps the deadliest shot
ever seen from a big man. Bill Walton, his successor at UCLA,
compensated for the no-dunk rule with a nifty bank shot.
 In the mid-1970s, though, the game took off in a new direction when
Julius Erving's soaring performance in a slam-dunk contest at the 1976
American Basketball Association All-Star Game in Denver galvanized the
next generation of hoops addicts. The NCAA overturned its dunking ban
in 1976-77, laying the groundwork for the modern game."
source:
Rocky Mountain News
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/nuggets/article/0,1299,DRMN_20_3357762,00.html

Interestingly, many articles and web sites indicate that the 1967 NCAA
dunking ban was intended to prevent Lew Alcindor (Kareem-Abdul Jabbar)
from dominating the game.  However, Alcindor's former coach John
Wooden denied this in an interview with the UCLA student newspaper.

'(Alcindor) didn't cause the change," Wooden said. "The NCAA Rules
Committee outlawed the dunk because of hanging on the rim, rims
bending back, boards breaking and glass down.'
source: Daily Bruin:
http://www.dailybruin.ucla.edu/db/issues/00/03.02/sports.wooden.html

-----------
search strategy:
ncaa "dunking ban"
ncaa "outlawed the dunk"

I hope this helps.

Request for Answer Clarification by graysol-ga on 18 Dec 2004 07:16 PST
Thanks for your answer but just to clarify; your response says dunking
was always legal prior to the 67-68 season. I thought dunking was not
allowed until it was first legalized in the 62-63 season, then banned
for the 67-68 season. Is my recollection incorrect?

Clarification of Answer by juggler-ga on 18 Dec 2004 10:51 PST
Hi,

Well, multiple sources indicates that there was no dunking ban until 1967-68. 

From HoopsZone.net:

"1967-68...
This was also the first season that the dunk shot was outlawed during
games and pregame warm-ups.
http://www.hoopszone.net/Natl%20Resources/1968/1968.htm


Your recollection that dunking was illegal until 1962-63 is
inconsistent with reports that Oklahoma A&M's Bob Kurland was dunking
in the 1940s.


From The Sporting News:
"Bob Kurland, a 7-foot center for Oklahoma A&M (now Oklahoma State)
from 1942 through 46 was the first player to regularly dunk in games.
Many players were capable of dunking in the 1960s, but they didn't
because it was considered boating."
http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1208/is_n7_v220/ai_17932941

From Sports Illustrated:
" The year 1945 was a historical marker, and not just because of the
end of World War II: The defensive goaltending rule, inspired by Bob
Kurland's knack for standing beneath the basket and knocking shots
away, was introduced to the college game. And that year the Oklahoma
A&M star threw down the first recorded dunk -- "a duffer shot," as a
Denver newspaper called it."
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/basketball/news/2003/01/13/10_kurland/


Also, I've searched the New York Times historical archive, and I've
located two articles from the 1950s that indicate that the dunk was
legal during that time.

From the New York Times, January 9, 1957:

"In a release prepared to advertise the talents of Elgin Baylor, its
6-foot 6-inch exponent of the driving dunk shot, Seattle University
has managed to muster an imposing collection of glowing adjectives and
quotes."
source:
The New York Times, January 9, 1957, "Notes on College Sports."
http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/nytimes/results.html?st=advanced&QryTxt=%22dunk+shot%22&x=10&y=8&By=&Title=&datetype=6&frommonth=01&fromday=09&fromyear=1957&tomonth=01&today=09&toyear=1957&restrict=articles&sortby=REVERSE_CHRON


Additionally, another article mentions the college basketball rules committee 
banning tip-ins but explicitly allowing dunks.

"In another penalty on tall players, the committee ruled that players
on offense cannot touch the ball while it was on the rim or directly
above the rim. The rule was so stated that it will not prevent players
from touching the ball on or about the rim if they carry the ball into
the area, such as on 'dunk' shots. It is designed to outlaw tip-ins."
The New York Times, March 26, 1957, "Basketball Rule on Fouls Changed."
http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/nytimes/results.html?st=advanced&QryTxt=%22dunk+shots%22&x=0&y=0&By=&Title=&datetype=6&frommonth=03&fromday=26&fromyear=1957&tomonth=03&today=26&toyear=1957&restrict=articles&sortby=REVERSE_CHRON

Clarification of Answer by juggler-ga on 18 Dec 2004 10:52 PST
Sorry for that typo in the first sentence:

"...multiple sources indicate..."
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