NCAA in the context of "NCAA University Division"

A backboard is a piece of basketball equipment. It is a raised vertical board with an attached basket consisting of a net suspended from a hoop. It is made of a flat, rigid piece of, often Plexiglas or tempered glass which also has the properties of safety glass when accidentally shattered. It is usually rectangular as used in NBA, NCAA and international basketball. In recreational environments, a backboard may be oval or a fan-shape, particularly in non-professional games.

The top of the hoop is 10 feet (3.05 m) above the ground. Regulation backboards are 6 feet (1.83 m) wide by 3.5 feet (1.07 m) tall. All basketball rims (hoops) are 18 inches (46 cm) in diameter. The inner rectangle on the backboard is 24 inches (61 cm) wide by 18 inches (46 cm) tall, and helps a shooter determine the proper aim and banking for either a layup or distance shot.

In basketball, traveling is a violation of the rules of basketball in which a player takes more than a predefined number of steps while holding the ball. Taking more steps without dribbling than this limit will result in a turnover and possession of the ball for the other team.

In the NBA and FIBA, when a player has taken more than two steps without the ball being dribbled, a traveling violation is called. The NCAA and NFHS do not allow two steps. A travel can also be called via carrying or an unestablished pivot foot. If the pivot foot of a player changes or moves, it is considered traveling.

The Code of Points is a rulebook that defines the scoring system for each level of competition in gymnastics. There is not a universal international Code of Points, and every oversight organization — such as the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG), NCAA Gymnastics, and most national gymnastics federations — designs and employs its own different Code of Points.

Confetti is small pieces or streamers of paper, mylar or metallic material, usually thrown at celebrations, especially parades and weddings. The origins are from the Latin confectum, with confetti the plural of Italian confetto, small sweet. Modern paper confetti trace back to symbolic rituals of tossing grains and sweets during special occasions, traditional for numerous cultures throughout history as an ancient custom dating back to pagan times, but adapted from sweets and grains to paper through the centuries.

Confetti is manufactured in multiple colors, shapes and materials. A distinction is made between confetti and glitter; glitter is smaller than confetti (pieces usually no larger than 1 mm) and is universally shiny. Most table confetti is also shiny. While they are called metallic confetti they are actually metallized PVC. Most party supply stores carry paper and metallic confetti. Confetti is commonly used at social gatherings such as parties, weddings, and Bar Mitzvahs. The simplest confetti is simply shredded paper (see ticker-tape parade), and can be made with scissors or a paper shredder. Chads punched out of scrap paper are also common. A hole punch makes small round chads, and a ticket punch makes more elaborate chads. Most pieces of paper flats will flutter as tumblewings giving long flight times.

Lacrosse gloves are heavily padded, protective gloves worn by men's lacrosse players. The gloves are designed to protect players' hands, wrists, and forearms from checks, or legal defensive hitting common in the sport. Gloves consist of thick padding on the back of the hand and forearm covered in leather or canvas material, and a palm area made of synthetic and mesh material. A goaltender's gloves may have extra padding for the thumb to protect against injury from shots. While NCAA collegiate rules require that men's gloves have palms covered, other leagues, including post-collegiate club lacrosse, the National Lacrosse League, Major League Lacrosse, and international play, permit players to cut out the palm area for greater grip and control of the lacrosse stick.

Women's lacrosse rules do not require glove use, except for goalies since hitting is not permitted, but some players use smaller gloves for increased grip and minor protection from incidental contact.

The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference, among others) is a U.S. collegiate athletic conference. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representatives in 1896, it predates the founding of its regulating organization, the NCAA; it is the oldest NCAA Division I conference. It is based in Rosemont, Illinois. For many decades the conference consisted of ten prominent universities, which accounts for its name. On August 2, 2024, the conference expanded to 18 member institutions and two affiliate institutions. The conference competes in the NCAA Division I and its football teams compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), the highest level of NCAA competition in that sport.

Big Ten member institutions are major research universities with large financial endowments and strong academic reputations. A large student body is a hallmark of its universities, as 15 members enroll more than 30,000 students. They are all public universities except Northwestern University and the University of Southern California, both private universities. Collectively, Big Ten universities educate more than 520,000 total students and have 5.7 million living alumni. The members engage in $9.3 billion in funded research each year; 17 are members of the Association of American Universities (except Nebraska) and the Universities Research Association (except USC). All Big Ten universities are also members of the Big Ten Academic Alliance, formerly the Committee on Institutional Cooperation.

Goaltending is a violation of the rules in the sport of basketball. It consists of certain forms of player interference with the ball while it is on its way to the basket. It is goaltending if a player touches the ball when it is (a) in downward flight; or (b) above the basket rim and within an imaginary cylinder projecting above the rim; or (c) already touching the rim; or (varying at certain levels of the sport) after it has touched the backboard and has a chance of going in the hoop.

Goaltending in this context defines by exclusion what is considered a legal block of a field goal. In high school and NCAA basketball, goaltending is also called when a player interferes with a free throw at any time in its flight towards the basket.

A diving platform or diving tower is a type of structure used for competitive diving. It consists of a vertical rigid "tower" with one or more horizontal platforms extending out over a deep pool of water. In platform diving, the diver jumps from a high stationary surface. The height of the platforms – 10 metres (33 ft), 7.5 metres (25 ft) and 5 metres (16 ft) – gives the diver enough time to perform the acrobatic movements of a particular dive. There are additional platforms set at 3 metres (9.8 ft) and 1 metre (3.3 ft). Diving platforms for FINA sanctioned meets must be at least 6 metres (20 ft) long and 2 metres (6.6 ft) wide. Most platforms are covered by some sort of matting or non-slip surface to prevent athletes from slipping.

All three levels of the platform are used in the NCAA competition. Each level offers a distinct degree of difficulty (DD) and therefore can yield different scores for divers.

In competitive swimming, the term short course (abbreviated SC) is used to identify a swimming pool that is 25 metres (27.34 yd) in length. The term is also often included in meet names when conducted in a short course pool. "Short course" is the second type of pool configuration currently recognized by World Aquatics and other swimming bodies for pool competition; the other/primary pool length being "long course", where the pool is 50 meters in length. Swimming events at the Olympics and at the World Aquatics Championships are conducted in a long-course pool. The "World Aquatics Swimming Championships (25m)", colloquially the "short-course worlds", are held in alternate years from the long-course worlds. Short-course competitions may be held in a longer pool into which a temporary barrier has been placed 25 metres from one end as a turning point.

In the United States, the term "short course" is more commonly applied to 25 yards (22.86 m) competition, which is more common in that country. Short-course yards is generally abbreviated as "SCY" to differentiate it from short course meters (SCM). The US national federations, USA Swimming and U.S. Masters Swimming, both maintain SCY USA records; FINA does not currently recognize records set in SCY, but does recognize/keep SCM records. USA college (including NCAA competition) and high school swimming are traditionally swum in SCY.