The BYU Cougars' 2025 NCAA Tournament run will be remembered by fans for quite some time. A program revival under Kevin Young. The national emergence of Richie Saunders. An upset over the Big 10 runners-up, Wisconsin.
But what if I told you that a BYU basketball player changed the rulebook thanks to a second half scrum in the round of 32?
Do you remember when BYU lost a handle of their double-digit lead over Wisconsin? The pendulum finally began to swing the other direction, and Bucky was hot on the tail of a the BYU meteor cooling down after escaping the pull of the Earth's gravity. The infrastructure fell and the bucket-building factory was collapsing, much to the joy of the surging Badgers.
It came to a climax when BYU guard, Dawson Baker, found himself caught in the middle of a 3-player scuffle. Swiping, stumbling and scrapping for possession, Baker's arm found his defender's soft spot and sent him curled to the floor.
Flagrant two was the call, despite the contact appearing incidental. A poor call? Not according to the rulebook, as a shot to the groin warranted an automatic ejection.
For Dawson Baker pic.twitter.com/Eglodpp5zC
— Jarom Jordan (@jaromjordan) June 11, 2025
Who would've thought that an accidental pot shot could change the verbiage of the authority over the sport? A Wisconsin student athlete put his lineage on the line to improve the game for future generations. A beautifully poetic sacrifice.
Perhaps an oversight in the rulebook, the previous iteration stated in no uncertain terms that a shot below the belt was an automatic ejection -- no questions asked. While a flagrant two is often the right call in such a situation, incidental contact is a regular occurrence in contact sports like basketball. Adjusting the rulebook to account for minor incidents keeps players on the floor, keeps the game moving, while still dissuading contact to dangerous areas.
So, this is the "Dawson Baker rule". Though they'd likely never admit it publicly, this event in a BYU basketball game was likely the impetus for this rule change. That, to me, is beautiful.