A three-point field goal (also known as a "three-pointer" or "3-pointer") is a field goal in a basketball game, made from beyond the three-point line, a designated arc radiating from the basket. A successful attempt is worth three points, in contrast to the two points awarded for shots made inside the three-point line. The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) keeps records of the Division I 3-point field goal makes per game (3PG) average annual leaders. The statistic was first recognized in the 1986–87 season when 3-point field goals were officially instituted by the NCAA.[1] From the 1986–87 season through the 2007–08 season, the three-point perimeter was marked at 19 ft 9 in (6.02 m) for both men's and women's college basketball.[2] On May 3, 2007, the NCAA men's basketball rules committee passed a measure to extend the distance of the men's three-point line back to 20 ft 9 in (6.32 m), while the women's line would remain the same.[2] The women's line would be moved back to match the men's line effective with the 2011–12 season. On June 5, 2019, the NCAA men's rules committee voted to extend the men's three-point line to the FIBA distance of 6.75 meters (22 ft 2 in), effective in 2019–20 in Division I and 2020–21 in lower NCAA divisions. The women's line remained at 20 ft 9 in[3] until being moved to the FIBA distance in 2021–22.[4]
Darrin Fitzgerald of Butler owns the all-time NCAA single-season record of 3-pointers made per game (5.64) which he accomplished in 1986–87.[1] His 158 three-pointers made that season is also the second highest total in history behind Stephen Curry's 162 in 2007–08.[1][5] Some players—such as prolific scorers Darrell Floyd, Pete Maravich and Austin Carr—who competed prior to the 1986–87 season may have scored more baskets from what would have been 3-point territory if the rule had been in place during their college careers.[2] The player with the highest 3PG average over the span of his entire career (with a minimum of 200 made threes) is Mississippi Valley State's Timothy Pollard, who made 4.57 per game over four years.[1]
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3-point field goals per game
Except as specifically noted, all teams are listed under their current athletic brand names, which do not always match those in use during a specific season.
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1d/Oakland_vs_Michigan_08.jpg/175px-Oakland_vs_Michigan_08.jpg)
Footnotes
- ^ a b Texas–Pan American ceased to exist after the 2014–15 school year, when the 2013 merger of the University of Texas–Pan American (UTPA) and the University of Texas at Brownsville, creating the current University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV), took full effect. The UTPA athletic program, including its history, records, and memberships in Division I and the Western Athletic Conference, was fully inherited by UTRGV.
- ^ a b c Due to the COVID-19 pandemic's effect on teams' abilities to play full regular season schedules, the NCAA allowed for a lower games played requirement to be the season 3FGM leader.
References
- General
- "2022–23 NCAA Men's Basketball Records" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association. 2022. Retrieved December 4, 2022.
- Specific
- ^ a b c d "2010–11 NCAA Men's Basketball Records" (PDF). 2010–11 NCAA Men's Basketball Media Guide. National Collegiate Athletic Association. 2009. Retrieved November 20, 2010.
- ^ a b c Katz, Andy (May 3, 2007). "Committee extends men's 3-point line to 20-9". ESPN. Retrieved May 28, 2010.
- ^ "Men's basketball 3-point line extended to international distance" (Press release). NCAA. June 5, 2019. Retrieved June 7, 2019.
- ^ "International 3-point line distance approved in women's basketball" (Press release). NCAA. June 3, 2021. Retrieved August 24, 2021.
- ^ "Darrin Fitzgerald". Butler University Athletic Hall of Fame. Butler University. Archived from the original on October 29, 2010. Retrieved May 28, 2010.