GSAC SOFTBALL POLICIES (Approved by Softball Coaches 9/12/18) Updated 10-2-18 TABLE OF CONTENTS I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX X XI XII XIII XIV Awards Conference Meetings Conference Tournament Game Ball Guidelines For Play Host School Duties NAIA Tournament Berth Pre-Game Protocol Protests Ratings Scheduling Policies Sport Chair Statistics & Reporting Supervisor of Officials
I. AWARDS A. The Conference coaches shall select recipients for the All-Conference First Team, as well as the Player of the Year, Pitcher of the Year and Coach of the Year. B. Coaches shall not vote for themselves, but can vote for their own player for Player of the Year or Pitcher of the Year. C. Student-athletes named to an All-Conference First Team shall be awarded a certificate from the Conference. Plaques shall be awarded to individuals named Player of the Year, Pitcher of the Year and Coach of the Year. D. All-Conference Team Selections (Adopted 6-5-13) In the sport of softball, position requirements dictate the All-GSAC team and the recommendations for All- America. The following 18 positions shall be awarded: 5 Infielders, 4 Outfielders, 2 Catchers, 3 Pitchers, 1 Designated Player, 1 Utility, 4 At Large The Player of the Year and Pitcher of the Year shall come from the 20 student-athletes above The following process shall be used in selecting the All-Conference team: 1. Coaches may nominate an unlimited number of their own players for Conference awards. The Conference Office will solicit nominees two Mondays prior to end of the season. 2. Nominations are due to the Conference Office two days after the solicitation of nominees. 3. The Conference Office shall distribute to the coaches a voting ballot containing all nominations prior to the end of the regular season. 4. The coaches shall meet on a mandatory telephone conference call on the Monday prior to the end of the season to discuss their respective nominations. 5. The voting ballot shall be emailed to the Conference Office by no later than noon PST the Monday following the end of the regular season. Players are ranked by position with highest points being awarded to the player that is most deserving at that position. 6. The Player of the Year and Pitcher of the Year shall be selected by write-in vote. 7. By 2:00 pm PST, the Monday following the regular season, the Chair and the Commissioner shall review the final tally of votes. 8. By 5:00 pm PST, the At Large positions shall be determined by separate vote. 9. The All-Conference team shall be released by 10:00 am on the Wednesday following the regular season. E. All-Conference awards will be given to a maximum of twenty-five percent (25%) of the number of starters for that sport times the number of conference teams in that sport. If the GSAC All-Conference number does not meet the NAIA minimum number of student-athletes to be recommended for All-America consideration, the GSAC will raise its minimum to meet the NAIA limit. The NAIA Limit in softball is 18. (Adopted 6-5-13) 2
II. CONFERENCE MEETINGS A. All Conference Meeting - GSAC Coaches will meet, via mandatory conference call, on the Monday prior to the last day of the regular season to discuss the All-GSAC team. B. Annual Coaches Meeting GSAC Coaches will meet in the fall for their annual business meeting. III. CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT A. The top five teams in the GSAC will participate in the GSAC Tournament. B. The tournament champion will receive the league s automatic qualification berth to the NAIA National Tournament. C. Playoff ticket prices will be determined by the GSAC Executive Committee. D. Seeding - The GSAC teams will be seeded based on their final GSAC regular season standings. The tiebreak policy will involve the use of the following criteria in descending order. Tiebreakers In the event of a two-way tie for a position in the final standings: 1. The winner of the regular season Conference games between the tied teams shall receive the higher seed. 2. The second criterion involves head-to-head competition versus the rest of the GSAC in order of finish beginning with the first place finisher(s). Note that if more than one tie occurs in the conference final standings, ties will be broken in descending order. 3. If teams are still tied after the first two criteria, then a coaches' vote will decide the seeding of the tied teams.(1/9/2008) E. There are no complimentary tickets to be issued for any GSAC postseason tournament game. There is a 23- pass limit for GSAC Conference Tournament. These passes include the student-athletes and support personnel. IV. GAME BALL A. All GSAC teams will use the Rawlings/Worth ball for regular season and tournament play. V. GUIDELINES FOR PLAY A. The GSAC/NAIA follows the ASA & NCAA rules and regulations. B. No conference institution will disclose any information about another conference institution to any nonconference opponent. C. The coaches need to have the approved bat list available at all contests. It is encouraged to post these lists visibly for umpires, so they do not have to track coaches down in order to clear the bats for competition. D. Line-ups are to be presented prior to the start of competition. E. A completed game will be called if one team is ahead by 8 runs after 5 innings. F. International tie-breaker will be used in conference play starting with the eighth inning. International tie breaker will not be used in post season play. (1/9/2008) 3
V. GUIDELINES FOR PLAY continued G. Darkness Policy (1/9/2008) 1. Games suspended due to darkness shall be follow the halted game rule and continued at the next scheduled playing date for the two schools or at the next available date. 2. All darkness-delayed games will be made up starting with the same line-up that was in effect when the game needed. Any alteration in this line-up must be in accordance with ASA regulation and approval from the umpire. 3. Any score or inning played prior to darkness must be documented by the host institution. Play will continue from that point. 4. Both schools of the tie game shall be responsible for the paying of the additional umpire fees when the game is resumed. (10-3-13) VI. HOST SCHOOL DUTIES A. It is the duty of the host school to provide a safe, competitive environment, regulation softballs, water and an athletic trainer. B. Provide a visual scoreboard and scorekeepers. C. Designate a warm-up area of the field for the visiting team. VII. NAIA TOURNAMENT BERTH The GSAC policy for deciding the recipients of one automatic berth in the NAIA National Tournament is the tournament champion. The GSAC policy for deciding the recipients of two automatic berths in the NAIA National Tournament is as follows: 1. The tournament champion gets NAIA automatic berth #1. 2. The regular season champion gets NAIA berth #2 unless it is the tournament champion, then the tournament runner-up gets berth #2. VIII. PRE-GAME PROTOCOL A. The starting lineups should be exchanged 20 minutes prior to start of the game. A meeting between the coaches and the umpires should take place during lineup exchange and field stipulations should be reviewed. B. The prayer and National Anthem shall be performed after player introductions. C. Warm-up prior to competition allows for the visiting team to take 8-10 minutes infield practice followed by an 8-10 minute infield for the home team. An equal amount of batting cage time should be made available for each team for those schools that have batting cages. Fields should be open two hours before game time. D. Pregame protocol should be sent by the coaches to the visiting teams one week in advance. Protocols should also be posted in both dugouts. (6-3-15) E. A minimum of 20 minutes and a maximum of 30 minutes should be allowed between doubleheader games. 4
IX. PROTESTS A. Procedure for Protest Regular Season: When a game is completed under protest, (NOTE: The protesting school must state the intent to PROTEST to the Head Umpire about the play in question prior to a new play beginning.) after the completion of the contest the protesting school must: 1. Document the following information: a. The date, time, and place of the game. b. The names of the umpires and scorers. c. The rule and section of the official rules or local rules under which the protest is made. d. The information, details, and conditions pertinent to the decision to protest. e. All essential facts involved in the matter protested. 2. Notify by noon the next day the Athletics Directors of the two schools involved, the conference Supervisor of Umpires, and the Conference Commissioner. 3. When a game is protested, the Protest Committee will rule one of the following: a. The protest is considered to be invalid and the game stands as played. b. The protest is determined to be valid because of the misinterpretation of a playing rule. The decision will be corrected and the game shall be replayed from the point at which the incorrect decision was made. 4. Athletics Directors must agree on the next available playing date to conclude the game. 5. In the event the ruling calls for a replay of the game, either partial or full, teams will follow the following guidelines. 6. If there is a game(s) remaining at the same site later in the year, then it will resume prior to the scheduled game. If there is a game remaining with the same team but at the opposing site then the game may be finished there as long as it is not more than four innings. If the game is longer than four innings, then the team has the option to play the game as home team prior to the game at the opposing site or they may choose to have the game played at their own site. With the later the date the game will be played will be turned over to a schedule arbitrator who will determine the date of the game. B. Protest Committee - Tournament A rotation alphabetically of three teams (coaches) will compile the protest committee for the GSAC Tournament annually. If one or more coaches on the protest committee are involved personally with the protest, then the Softball Chair will appoint the coaches next in order to substitute on the committee. 1. Procedure for Protest - Tournament The protesting school must state the intent to PROTEST to the Head Umpire about the play in question prior to a new play beginning. a. Document the following information: i. The rule and section of the official rules or local rules under which the protest is made. ii. The information, details, and conditions pertinent to the decision to protest. iii. All essential facts involved in the matter protested. b. When a game is protested, play is halted and the Protest Committee will rule one of the following: i. The protest is considered to be invalid and the game stands as played. ii. The protest is determined to be valid because of the misinterpretation of a playing rule. The decision will be corrected and the game shall be replayed from the point at which the incorrect decision was made. 5
X. RATINGS Ratings will be frozen at the end of the regular season for the purpose of NAIA selection. A coaches vote will take place to determine the conference ratings for each ratings period. XI. SCHEDULING POLICIES A. All conference schools will play a home and home doubleheader schedule with each conference opponent, which will be maintained two years ahead of schedule. B. Conference opponents must be kept in the same order but allow flexibility in changing dates as long as the sequence is followed and it does not give an unfair competitive advantage to any GSAC team. A date change, outside of sequence, must be approved in advance by the GSAC Executive Committee. Any schedule change must also be approved by both Athletics Directors and the GSAC Commissioner. C. An originally scheduled first round doubleheader must be completed before the originally scheduled first date of the second round. (8-6-2009). D. Doubleheaders start at 1:30 prior to daylight saving time and 2:00 after daylight savings time. On Saturdays, doubleheaders should begin at 12:00 pm. (1-7-2009) E. There is an NAIA maximum of 28 playing dates. 1. Tournament days regardless of the number of games played equals one playing date. 2. Doubleheaders are considered one playing date. 3. Teams are allowed two scrimmage dates over the 28 playing dates. 4. Teams are allowed more than two scrimmages as long as the total dates played do not exceed 30, counting all scrimmages. 5. Any exhibition contest would count against the 28 playing dates. Only one exhibition contest is allowed. 6. GSAC adheres to NAIA 24-week rule. F. Rain-Out Guidelines (1-9-2008) The coaches involved in a rainout and reschedule must follow the criteria in order beginning with: 1. The two coaches involved come to an agreement no later than midnight the next school day. If they cannot agree, the respective athletics directors will make the decision. 2. The rescheduling must follow the GSAC policy of utilizing the first available date for a doubleheader (if needed). In most cases, this would be Monday. 3. Conference schedule changes necessitated by rain must be reported immediately to the GSAC Commissioner. 4. The decision to not travel to an out-of-market road contest shall be made by 8:00 am two days prior to the contest. If there is a 60% chance of rain, the coaches should discuss options. (6-1-17) XII. SPORT CHAIR The chair is appointed for a two-year term. Beth Renkowski is the 2019 chair. 6
XIII. STATISTICS AND REPORTING A. Game stats will be sent to the Conference SID after each game. B. GSAC game stats are to be posted on the school's website immediately after each game. C. Player of the Week will be announced by the GSAC Sports Information Director. Voting will be conducted by a committee of the league s sports information directors. XIV. SUPERVISOR OF OFFICIALS A. The conference Supervisor of Officials shall assign 2-person crews for all home games involving GSAC teams. The Supervisor will assign tournament games hosted by GSAC schools for an additional fee. B. Schedules should be sent to the Supervisor of Softball Officials for officials' assignments by September 1 each year. C. The Supervisor of Softball Umpires will: 1. Assign all game officials. 2. Provide evaluation of officials. 3. Prepare preferred list of officials. 4. Handle any disputes involving officials. 5. Gather input from coaches on officials. 6. Acquaint officials with any NAIA or conference rules. 7. Provide for the officials' evaluation of coaches' conduct. 8. Provide uniformity of assignment - trust, consistency, conference control. 7