NCAA men's basketball could assess technical fouls for 'flopping'

Acts of embellishment. Diving. Flopping. Whatever fans call it, leagues have taken steps to eliminate such antics from games and matches. The NHL, NBA, and Major League Soccer all threaten repeat offenders with warnings and even fines for blatant dives. While the NCAA can't take money away from amateur athletes for these crimes, that organization can punish players during games. 

According to Myron Medcalf of ESPN, the NCAA men's basketball rules committee is proposing hitting floppers with a Class B technical foul, which would give the opposing team one free throw attempt but wouldn't assess the guilty party with a personal foul. Currently, NCAA rules allow refs to issue a warning for a first flopping offense, but the new guidelines would permit a referee to assess a technical foul for a player "falling to the court despite not being contacted after field goal attempts, dribblers who bob their heads to simulate being contacted and players who act like they were the recipient of contact despite not being touched."

In a statement shared by Medcalf, Colorado head coach and rules committee chair Tad Boyle said warnings aren't enough. "We are trying to get flopping out of our game," Boyle explained. "We're asking the officials to call them when they happen."

Some players may retort that such judgment calls could make or break the final scores of close games. After all, not all flops and dives are equal or obvious. 

This and other potential changes could be approved by the NCAA playing rules oversight panel on June 3.