In the 1969 -- 70 season, women 's collegiate basketball (at the time sanctioned by the Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics for Women) used a 30 - second shot clock on an experimental basis, officially adopting it for the 1970 -- 71 season. Unlike the women 's side, there was initial resistance to the implementation of a shot clock for men 's NCAA basketball, due to fears that smaller colleges would be unable to compete with powerhouses in a running game. However, after extreme results like an 11 -- 6 Tennessee win over Temple in 1973, support for a men 's shot clock began to build. The NCAA introduced a 45 - second shot clock for the men 's game in the 1985 -- 86 season, reducing it to 35 seconds in the 1993 -- 94 season and 30 seconds in the 2015 -- 16 season. The NAIA also reduced the shot clock to 30 seconds for men 's basketball starting in 2015 -- 16.
when did the ncaa adopt the shot clock
in the 1985 -- 86 season