17.4.5.6 Annual Exemptions. The following basketball contests each year may be exempted from an institution's maximum number of contests: (Adopted: 1/10/90, Revised: 1/9/96 effective 8/1/96, 10/27/98 effective 8/1/99, 10/28/99 effective 8/1/00, 4/29/04 effective 8/1/04, 4/27/06 effective 8/1/06, 11/1/07 effective 8/1/08, 1/17/09 effective 8/1/09, 8/7/14, 10/4/17, 5/19/22 effective 8/1/22, 11/1/22, 1/15/25 for preseason exhibition contests and practice scrimmages occurring on or after 8/1/25. A contract signed before January 14, 2025, may be honored, 4/16/25)

(a) Conference Season-End Tournament. A regularly scheduled, season-end, single-elimination basketball championship tournament conducted by a conference (or the tournament used to determine the conference's automatic entry in the NCAA Division I Basketball Championship) among some or all of its members.

(b) Postseason Tournament. Contests in one postseason basketball tournament (e.g., NCAA championship, National Invitation Tournament, Women's National Invitation Tournament). A postseason tournament involves competition after the end of the regular season between teams that are not identified until the close of that regular season;

(c) Conference Playoff. Competition involving member institutions that tie for a conference basketball championship. Such teams may participate in a single-elimination playoff to determine the conference's automatic entry in an NCAA basketball championship without the game or games being counted as a postseason tournament;

(d) Automatic-Qualification Contests. Contests between conference champions that are provided by action of the Men's Basketball Oversight Committee in order to determine selection for automatic qualification into the Division I Men's Basketball Championship;

(e) NCAA Championship Play-In Competition. Competition in play-in contests conducted before NCAA championships;

(f) Regular-Season Contest Against Alaska/Hawaii Member. One regular-season game in Hawaii or Alaska versus a member institution located in that state;

(g) Preseason Practice Scrimmages/Exhibition Contests. Up to two preseason practice scrimmages or exhibition contests (or one of each) each year against four-year collegiate institutions.

(h) U.S. National Team -- Women's Basketball. One contest against any team as selected and designated by the appropriate national governing body in women's basketball as a U.S. national team (e.g., "Under-21" U.S. national team).