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)

(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(s) 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) Exhibition Against a Non-NCAA Division I Four-Year Collegiate Institution. An exhibition contest against a four-year collegiate institution (other than an NCAA Division I institution) played in the arena in which the member institution regularly plays its home contests. An institution may exempt two such contests during any year in which it does not use the exemption set forth in Bylaw 17.4.5.6-(h), or it may exempt one such contest and one practice scrimmage as defined in Bylaw 17.4.5.6-(h) each year; and

(h) Practice Scrimmage. An informal practice scrimmage with outside competition, provided it is conducted in privacy and without publicity or official scoring. Individuals other than athletics department staff members and those necessary to conduct a basketball practice scrimmage against outside competition may not be present during such a scrimmage. The institution shall ensure that the scrimmage is free from public view. No class time shall be missed by basketball student-athletes in conjunction with such a scrimmage, including all associated activities (e.g., travel, pregame and postgame activities). An institution may exempt two such practice scrimmages during any year in which it does not use the exemption set forth in Bylaw 17.4.5.6-(g), or it may exempt one such practice scrimmage and one exhibition contest against a non-NCAA Division I four-year collegiate institution each year.

(i) 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).