College basketball coaches will be able to challenge officials’ calls next season for the first time, and the NCAA said there is “positive momentum” toward switching the men’s game from halves to quarters.

The NCAA announced several minor rule changes Tuesday that affect both men’s and women’s basketball.

Men’s coaches will be able to challenge out-of-bounds calls, basket interference or goaltending, and whether a secondary defender was in the restricted area. Coaches will get at least one challenge per game but must have a timeout to use one. A successful challenge means a coach gets another one; if the challenge is unsuccessful, the coach may not challenge another call.

On the women’s side, coaches will be able to challenge out-of-bounds calls, backcourt violations, whether the correct player was called for a foul and whether a change in possession occurred before the ruling of a foul that leads to free throws.

Women’s coaches won’t need a timeout to challenge a call, but an unsuccessful challenge would lead to a technical foul for the excessive timeout.

The women’s game already is played in quarters instead of halves, while the men’s game with its 20-minute halves remains an outlier in basketball. An NCAA rules committee “recommended NCAA Division I conferences create a joint working group to provide feedback on the potential change from halves to quarters.”

Eight female athletes filed an appeal Wednesday of a landmark NCAA antitrust settlement, arguing that women would not receive their fair share of $2.7 billion in back pay for athletes who were barred from making money off their name, image and likeness.

The athletes who appealed the settlement competed in soccer, volleyball and track. The House settlement figures to financially benefit football and basketball stars at the biggest schools, who are likely to receive a big chunk of the $20.5 million per year that colleges are permitted to share with athletes over the next year.

Ashlyn Hare, one of the attorneys representing the athletes, said in a statement that the settlement violates Title IX, the federal law that bans sex-based discrimination in education.

“This is a football and basketball damages settlement with no real benefit to female athletes,” Hare said. “We support a settlement of the case, but not an inaccurate one that violates federal law. The calculation of past damages is based on an error that ignores Title IX and deprives female athletes of $1.1 billion.”

Deion Sanders posted on social media Wednesday that “everything is OKAY” after not being able to attend football camps in Boulder, Colorado, so far this spring.

The Colorado coach’s health has come into question because of his extended absence. Sanders wrote on X that he was “truly blessed for the abundance of well wishes, for all the thoughts and all of the prayers. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!”

The school had no comment Wednesday or a reason for his absence. ESPN, citing a source it did not name, reported Tuesday that Sanders has been ill and out of the office recently.

The 57-year-old Sanders has dealt with issues surrounding his left foot since having two toes amputated in 2021 because of blood clot issues while at Jackson State.

PRo Basketball

Former NBA All-Star center DeMarcus Cousins was suspended for the rest of the season in Puerto Rico’s basketball league and his team terminated his contract after a brawl with fans during a game earlier this week.

The 34-year-old Cousins, who went to the NBA Finals with the Warriors in 2019 and played for six other teams during his NBA career, made an obscene gesture, exchanged words and grabbed the arm of a fan sitting courtside Monday night before being taken away by his teammates.

Cousins received a second technical foul for his actions and was ejected. In the tunnel heading to the locker room, he argued with another fan while people in the stands threw liquids toward him.

Cousins received a $4,250 fine and could face an additional one of $5,750, the Baloncesto Superior Nacional league announced late Tuesday.

It was Cousins’ second season playing in Puerto Rico. Since the end of his NBA career in 2022, he has also played in the Taiwan and Mongolia basketball leagues.

NHL

Cale Makar captured the Norris Trophy as the league’s top defenseman for a second time in four seasons, joining Bobby Orr (eight times), Denis Potvin (three), Paul Coffey, Rod Langway and Erik Karlsson as the only players to take home two or more before turning 27.

The Colorado Avalanche standout finished the regular season with 30 goals to become to first NHL blueliner to reach that mark since Mike Green scored 31 for Washington in 2008-09. Makar also led all defensemen this season with 62 assists and 92 points.

He received first-place votes on 176 of the 191 ballots cast by members of the Professional Hockey Writers Association. The 26-year-old from Calgary, Alberta, has been a Norris finalist in each of the last five seasons.

Track and field

A handful of local athletes competed at the first day of the NCAA track and field championships Wednesday in Eugene, Oregon, but none advanced out of their preliminary heats.

Stanford sophomore Leo Young caught a particularly tough break. His finish in the 1,500 (3:42.57) would have comfortably earned first place in the day’s other heat but was only good for eighth in his group. The top five from each heat advanced to the finals, plus the two next-best times, eliminating Young by less than two-tenths of a second.

Cal senior Garrett McQuiddy (3:53.49) also ran the 1,500, finishing 22nd of 24 competitors. Fellow Cal senior Johnny Goode didn’t fare any better in 400, finishing 21st of 24 (46.39).

Cameron Tarver, a San Jose State sophomore, finished fifth in his heat — 14th overall — with a time of 20.55 in the 200.

In the 10,000-meter finals, Stanford senior Cole Sprout started fast but had to settle for 12th place with a time of 29:18.13. New Mexico freshman Ishmael Kipkurui (29:07.70) won the event.

The women take center stage today, with Stanford, Cal and SJSU represented in women’s hammer throw (1:30 p.m.), 4x100 relay (4:05), 100-meter hurdle (5:08), long jump (5:40), 800 (5:58) and shot put (6:10).