Why is men’s college basketball two halves instead of four quarters? Half length, reasons, explained

When basketball was first invented, the sport was played in two 15-minute halves with a five-minute break in between. Soon after, it evolved into two 20-minute halves. The longer halves meant less stoppages during a game, a steady pace, and closer games.

Although most leagues have evolved into a four-quarter system to provide better rhythm and pacing, men's college basketball continues to use two 20-minute halves.

Let's explore why when every other basketball league, including women's college hoops, uses quarters, that men's college basketball still plays two halves.

Why is men's college basketball played in two halves?

In March of 1954, members of the National Association of Basketball Coaches gathered in a Kansas City ballroom to discuss rule amendments. The goal was to find better ways to manage a faster-paced game.

College basketball had implemented four 10-minute quarters three years prior, but the lack of a shot clock created a tendency for teams to stall. Teams wanted to take the last shot at the end of each quarter, and they often held the ball for several minutes to do so. Yale coach Howard Hobson lobbied for a 30-second shot clock, but his proposal was rejected. Instead, the coaches elected to return the sport to 20-minute halves, reducing the number of opportunities a team had to hold the ball.

The introduction of a shot clock during the 1985-86 season removed the need for two halves instead of four quarters, but tradition has kept the format intact. Men's college basketball is still played in two 20-minute periods, long after the reasoning has outlived its purpose.

Basketball, like every other major sport, has attempted to streamline the action into a more free-flowing and aesthetically pleasing product. As a result, there has been a push to change basketball back to a four-quarter game.

The NCAA changed women's basketball to four quarters prior to the 2015-16 season. In the NBA, games were adjusted to four quarters of 12 minutes, which helped make games longer. FIBA also uses the four-quarter system, leaving only men's college basketball with two halves.

Potential issues with changing to college basketball to four quarters

Changing the game back to four 10-minute quarters wouldn't be as simple as it sounds. The move to a four-quarter game would require changing the way team fouls are counted. As it stands, a team reaches the one-and-one bonus when their opponent commits a seventh foul in the half. When the opposing team commits 10 fouls, the team is allowed to shoot two free throws for each foul. In a four-quarter game, a team receives two free throws after the opposing team accrues five team fouls, but that bonus resets to zero at the end of each quarter.

More importantly, perhaps, is the number of media timeouts. There are currently four timeouts in each half. There would only be three in a four-quarter system, which networks likely wouldn't be very happy about. When women'ns college basketball switched to quarters, they put in an additional media timeout in the second half, but the overall loss of ad revenue could compile throughout a season. Critics may argue that creating additional media timeouts would ultimately defeat the purpose of switching to four quarters in the first place, as that would disrupt the flow of the game.