A basketball shot clock for the biggest schools in Nebraska came a step closer to reality on Monday after athletic directors from Class A school’s met in Lincoln.

A person with knowledge of a first-round vote taken during the Class A Caucus said 23 A.D.s voted in favor of a shot clock with two opposed. The deadline for the group to submit a proposal to the Nebraska Schools Activities Association’s Classification Review Committee is Oct. 1.

According to NSAA bylaw 1.5.4.3, the next step is for the proposal to go to the Classification Review Committee composed of two members from each of the four classifications representing Classes A, B, C, D. That committee’s next meeting is in October when it will review submitted proposals and vote on whether each meets criteria to be proposed to the NSAA board. The committee then would return the proposal to the group of Class A A.D.s with any adopted comments and recommendations.

Among the Classification Review Committee’s objectives would be to consider financial implications, effect on athletes’ eligibilities and if the proposal would affect another class.

For example, North Platte is a Class A school that plays numerous Class B schools — a possible sticking point for the committee.

The review committee meets again in February and likely will consider amendments to the initial proposal at that time. For the shot clock proposal to be approved by the committee, it needs a two-thirds affirmative vote.

Should the proposal be approved by the review committee, it would still need to again pass with a two-thirds majority from the Class A Caucus following the NSAA’s representative assembly meeting in April.

Then, the final stamp of approval would be up to the full NSAA board at its May meeting.

“The NSAA will work with its member schools in taking the next steps regarding a shot clock as this is a state association adoption and not a mandated rule,” Jon Dolliver, NSAA assistant director of basketball, said in May.

The shot clock was among topics discussed by the Basketball Rules Committee of the National Federation of State High School Associations at its annual meeting April 20-22. All recommendations were subsequently approved by the national group’s board of directors.

In May, the national group gave its blessing for state associations to adopt a 35-second shot clock for the 2022-23 season.

The national group’s rule 2-14 says that each state association may adopt a shot clock beginning in the 2022-23 season — according to guidelines outlined in the Basketball Rules Book — to encourage standardization among states. Guidelines include displaying two timepieces that are connected to a horn that is distinctive from the game-clock horn, and using an alternative timing device, such as a stopwatch at the scorer’s table, for a shot clock malfunction. The guidelines also allow for corrections to the shot clock only during the shot-clock period in which an error occurred and the officials have definite information relative to the mistake or malfunction.