Photo by ROMAN ODINTSOV on We’re not greedy. This isn’t a long list.
Granted they might be some big ticket items, but that’s why we’re keeping this list short.
Still, as much as we love high school sports, there’s always room for change.
Many of you will be headed out to the malls today. Some of you probably already have been and are headed home, shopping bags in hand. You might even be headed back out after lunch for Round Two.
But here are a fewal things we’d like to throw in the proverbial cart for 2026, and even the 2026-27 school year, in chronological order.
Shot Clock in Basketball…
The NJSIAA this fall made it official, instituting a running clock in high school basketball. A few leagues had already done it, with the Skyland Conference adopting it two seasons ago, and the Greater Middlesex Conference adopting it for this year, but now all that has been trumped by the state’s version.
Similar to what has been used for years in high school football, a running clock will automatically kick in during any game where the margin is 35 points or more in the second half, only to return to normal if the game goes to overtime.
The clock would only stop for time outs, technical fouls, injuries, or when requested by the officials, such as a scorebook discrepancy.
A shot clock at that point might seem counterintuitive, as it would encourage more shooting, and could lead to more scoring and even bigger blowouts.
But one of the complaints about the mercy rule clock is less time for development of players. We think a shot clock will at least help that by discouraging teams from standing around just to run the clock down. Rather, it would force the play to some degree, and encourage teams to run specific sets or plays.
And, it could keep the games entertaining for fans, who came out hoping to see a game, but might instead see the contest over so fast they might miss it if they blinked.
But it would be even more valuable in games that don’t have a running clock, which would be the majority of games.
No one likes watching a team up by ten kill time by holding onto the ball. Consider than even in football, when a team “eats the clock” by taking their time and keeping the ball on the ground, running it up the gut, there’s still a play clock. Imagine if there wasn’t?
According to the NFHS, which makes rules for high school sports – some of which are optional for states to adopt, like the basketball shot clock – 32 of 50 states use some form of a shot clock.
It’s time for New Jersey to become the 33rd.
Professional Baseball Championship Venues…
Very few high school sports have the ability to hold championships at professional stadiums. After all, there is no “professional” track and field in New Jersey, no bowling arena per se.
High school football, of course, has Rutgers (college) and MetLife (home of the NFL’s Jets and Giants), while basketball plays the state finals all at Rutgers now, ditching Toms River North (nice arena) in the name of equality for the boys and girls (we agree). And ice hockey’s state finals are at the Prudential Center in Newark, home of the NHL’s Devils.
Know what other sport Jersey has plenty of professional venues for? Baseball!
Mercer County’s Veterans Park and Bob DeMeo Field is a picturesque setting, we’ll grant you. But parking is limited. Internet – especially for media – is spotty. (Electronic parking ticket takers even had issue last season.)
What’s more, if it rains, the fields are often unplayable for at least 24 hours. A quick, half-hour deluge suspended the Non-Public A final two seasons ago and postponed the B final between St. Thomas Aquinas and Gloucester Catholic, which was decided just as the STA bus pulled into the lot, a wasted trip. Then there’s the issue of the late night curfew, which reared it’s head last season
Admittedly, the NJSIAA likely either gets to use the park for free (the association is headquartered in Mercer County, in nearby Robbinsville) or a reduced rate, and it’s convenient for staff either coming from their offices or who live close to work, but there are so many minor league parks in the state.
Imagine if they rotated each year: once at Yogi Berra Stadium in Montclair, the next year at TD Bank Park in Somerset, then at the Trenton Thunder ballpark on the waterfront. All three are beautiful, capable facilities – with full infield tarps, by the way – with plenty of parking, cell service, scoreboards with video, and food options for fans. There are locker rooms in which to get ready.
Sure, there’s the cost, but keep in mind many high school teams rent these facilities for individual games. TD Bank hosts dozens of high school games every year. If Manville and Montgomery can afford a single game at the home of the AA Yankee-affiliated Somerset Patriots can’t the NJSIAA afford a few?
And how cool would a team photo look with an NJSIAA trophy and Sparkee the mascot?
Scheduling could be tricky, but with three to choose from – not to mention the new Middlesex College facility being built in Edison, which will be a bit smaller but also have a full press box and be shared with Rutgers, allowing for Big Ten Network broadcasts – this could work out well.
Replay in Football…
Granted, this has been tried before, and it failed, as officials literally blew two replay calls in one playoff season before the NJSIAA ended it, but we think it’s time for a “review.”
The technology has gotten better. Nearly everyone has a video replay system. State finals will have multiple angles on the game broadcasts by NJ.com at both Rutgers and MetLife Stadiums this weekend. They even show plays on the video board in the stadiums.
So why can’t we get video replay right?
Study what went wrong, figure out how to fix it, and maybe even have someone in the booth there whose some job it is to conduct a review.
Times have changed. Everyone has a cell phone now, there’s a lot of media taking video, and when the common person can tell a call was wrong by calling it up on YouTube, but the officials have no recourse to overrule, we’re doing the game a disservice.
Remember the Camden-Manasquan basketball fiasco two years ago? Know what the NJSIAA did in response? They paid themselves to have backboard lights installed at each of the high school venues that host neutral site state tournament rounds, whether it’s the Non-Public sectional finals or the Public state semifinals. And, of course, Rutgers has those lights for the state finals.
A problem occurred, and the NJSIAA made the perfect call in doing something about it.
For football, let’s start with the state finals, and hopefully work out way back to other rounds, and maybe the regular season. That part may be the most difficult of the bunch, but at least for the finals, we owe that much to teams that are playing longer than anyone else, and for the biggest trophy the NJSIAA hands out.
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