MISSOURI VALLEY CONFERENCE 2009 MEN'S SOCCER PROCEDURES 1. Dates. 2. Site. 1.1 Regular-Season Competition. Conference games shall be scheduled by the Conference office. 1.2 Tournament. The tournament shall be conducted following the conclusion of the regular-season Conference schedule and one week prior to the start of the NCAA Division I men's soccer tournament. 1.2.1 2009 Dates. Semifinals Friday, November 13 Final Sunday, November 15 st Note: The 2009 tournament will include four teams and 1 round matches will be eliminated. 1.2.2 2010 Dates. 2.1 Tournament Site. st 1 Round Wednesday, November 10 Semifinals Friday, November 12 Final Sunday, November 14 2.1.1 2009 Site. Drake Note: If Drake does not finish among the top 4 teams to qualify, the alternate site will be the top team among those that originally bid to host the tournament (Bradley, Creighton, Evansville). 2.1.2 2010 Site. To be determined 2.2 Bid. If championships are not held at a neutral site, institutions wishing to host must submit a minimum guaranteed bid of $10,000 over budgeted expenses, excluding visiting team banquet expenses. The timetable for submitting bids shall be determined by the Championships Committee. 3. Team Selection. 1
3.1 Regular-Season. The following institutions participate in MVC soccer competition: Bradley, Creighton, Drake, Evansville, and Missouri State; and Eastern Illinois as an affiliate member. 3.2 Tournament. The results of single round-robin schedule shall determine the top six teams which advance to the Conference tournament. All matches shall be played at a single tournament site. [Note: The top four teams will advance to the Conference tournament in 2009.] 4. Conduct of Championship. 4.1 Regular Season Competition. 4.1.1 Regular Scheduling. The Conference Office shall determine the single round-robin Conference schedule using the following scheduling principles. a. Single-matches scheduled on weekends. b. Two Wednesday opponents per team one home, one away. c. Balanced travel of major trips. d. Ability to reschedule weekend matches to avoid conflicts with football, but with no changes permitted for the final Saturday match prior to the tournament. 4.1.2 Regular-Season Champion. The regular-season champion shall be the top team as determined by the point system. (See 4.2.1 a) 4.1.3 Game Agreements. a. Field Size. All Conference institutions shall have a home field that meets the NCAA minimum field size dimensions for fields built after 1989: 65 yards x 110 yards (minimum) and 75 yards x 120 yards (optimum). b. Home Management. The following home management guidelines are in effect for Conference games: (1) Five game balls (2) Minimum of four ball persons (recommended age 10) 2
(3) Certified medical personnel or trainers on site (4) Phone access for emergency situations (5) Fourth (bench) official (6) Horn (7) Number cards for substitutions (recommended) (8) Tents if locker rooms are not available on site (recommended) (9) Phone line for radio or Internet broadcasts. c. Noisemakers. The restriction on the use of artificial noisemakers has been adjusted for conference matches. The public address system shall not be used to play music or sound during the match, except after goals. Games management shall be responsible for monitoring behavior to ensure the environment maintains an appropriate level of sportsmanship. d. Official Ball. There is no official Conference ball for men s soccer for MVC regular-season matches. The host shall provide the tournament balls. e. Pregame Timetable. A standard pregame timetable shall be established subject to adjustment by mutual consent of coaches to accommodate weather conditions. 30:00 Field available for warmup 20:00 Captains and officials meet 5:00 Teams clear field 4:00 Introductions 1. Officials 2. Visiting team starters and head coach 3. Home team starters and head coach 2:00 National Anthem 0:00 Team Handshake/Sportsmanship Statement Game begins f. Scouting. Sharing scouting reports of conference teams with non-conference opponents is prohibited. g. Travel Squad. There are no travel squad limits; however, each institution shall be limited to twenty (20) participants. The 20 eligible players for both the home and visiting teams must be designated prior to each conference match. 3
h. Uniforms. Teams must wear contrasting colors. i. Videotape. It is recommended that the home team for each Conference game videotape the contest on a ½-inch VHS tape and provide a copy to the visiting team. Game tapes may not be provided to non-conference teams. j. Videotape Exchange. Coaches may participate in a voluntary videotape exchange program for the purpose of intra-conference scouting. [See Appendix 1 for videotaping guidelines.] (1) Each coach may request two videotapes a minimum of two weeks prior to the start of the season. (2) Only videotapes of the requested team s home games may be requested. (3) The requested videotapes must be received one week prior to when the teams involved in the exchange are scheduled to play or, if this is not possible due to when videotaped game is played, be sent by overnight delivery on the first working day after the game. (4) Box scores must be sent with videotapes. k. Warm-up. Each team's warm-up activities shall be limited to the half of the field by its assigned bench. 4.2 Tournament. The Conference champion shall be determined by a single elimination tournament. In the event the tournament cannot be completed, the remaining highest-seeded team shall receive the NCAA automatic bid. 4.2.1 Team Selection. The results of single round- robin competition shall determine the top six teams which advance to the Conference tournament. a. Point System. Regular-season standings and tournament seeding shall be determined by point system, win = 3 points., tie - 1 point, loss = 0 points. 4.2.2 Seeding. Seeds for the Conference tournament shall be determined on 4
the basis of the final regular-season Conference standings in descending order according to the MVC point system. 4.2.3 Tiebreaker. Ties for any seeded positions shall be broken as follows: a. Two-way Tie. (1) Head-to-head Conference competition with the winner being the higher seeded team. (2) Superior goal differential involving the two tied teams and their contests against one another. (3) The higher number of goals scored in the away matches involving the two tied teams and their contests against one another. (4) Fewest losses, conference matches only. (5) Fewest goals allowed, conference matches only. (6) Most goals scored, conference matches only. (7) The latest available RPI ranking. b. Multiple Ties. For multiple ties, ties shall be broken as follows. If these procedures result in a tie between only two teams at any stage, application of the multiple tie-breaker procedures shall be discontinued and, instead, the two-way tie-breaker policies shall be applied. (For example, A, B and C are tied. A & B remain tied after step (3), while C allowed more goals in conference play. C is eliminated and shall be third among the pool of tied teams. A & B revert to the two-way tie-breaker policies, beginning with (1) in 4.2.3 (a). (1) Composite records, i.e. win/loss record among all tied teams. (2) Fewest losses among all tied teams, all conference matches. (3) Fewest goals allowed among all tied teams, all 5
conference matches. (4) Most goals scored among all tied teams, all conference matches. (5) The latest available RPI ranking. 4.2.4 Practice. If possible, the host school shall provide one-hour practice times the day preceding the tournament. Practice times also shall be available on the day of competition for each team. 4.2.5 Designation of Home Team. The higher-seeded team in each match of the tournament shall be designated the home team. Benches and jerseys shall be assigned by the conference office. Competing teams shall have both light- and dark-colored jerseys and light and dark-colored stockings available. 4.2.6 Overtime. NCAA tournament overtime rules shall be followed in all MVC tournament matches. 4.2.7 Playing Field. The Conference championship field shall be 75 yards by 120 yards (optimum); 70 yards by 115 yards(minimum). 4.2.8 Starting Times. Recommended starting times for first round and semifinal matches are 3:30 pm and 6:00 pm. 4.2.9 Bracket. Traditional six-team single-elimination bracket: 1 and 2 receive first round byes; 3 vs 6, 4 vs 5 in first round. Note: The 2009 st tournament will include four teams and 1 round matches will be eliminated. 4.2.10 Sports Information. Teams participating in the televised final shall be required to have an institutional sports information person staff the championship match. 4.2.11 Tournament Squad Limit. There shall be no limit to the number of players permitted on the sideline during tournament matches. Each team shall designate twenty-two (22) eligible participants prior to each match. 4.2.12 Tickets. No complimentary tickets shall be provided for tournament matches, including play-in competition. 6
5. Officials. 4.2.13 Uniforms. Teams participating in the televised championship game must display the Valley logo on their uniforms. 4.2.14 Videotape. The tournament host shall provide coaches with videotape(s) of their matches. 5.1 Regular Season. 5.1.1 Assignment. a. Conference Matches. The Conference soccer assigner shall assign the referee and linesperson for all Conference matches, regular-season and tournament. b. Bench Official. The bench official shall be assigned by a local assignor, with the local assignor to be provided the NCAA list of bench official responsibilities to ensure qualified officials are assigned. c. Non-conference Matches. The coordinator of officials shall be responsible to make all officials assignments for non-conference matches. d. Institutional Employees. Employees of member institutions shall not be assigned to officiate any conference or non-conference game unless approved by waiver on a case-by-case basis. e. Assignment Guidelines. (1) Officials should be assigned to no team more than twice in conference matches, and not consecutively (maximum 3-4 during entire season). (2) Assignments shall be made in a timely manner; with initial assignments completed by April 1. 5.1.2 Payment. The host institution shall be responsible for payment of officials at the site on the day of the match or mailed no later than five days after the match. 7
a. Game Fees. Referee: $200 Linesperson: $115 Bench official: Determined by host. b. Mileage. $1.00 per mile (one-way) for the referee and each linesperson. c. Per Diem. $35 when mileage is over 100 (one-way). d. Lodging. Provided by host when mileage is over 200 (one-way). e. Tickets. Two complimentary admissions shall be provided to each official for all conference contests, when requested at least one week in advance. 5.1.3 Evaluation. Forms to evaluate officials assigned to their games are available on the Conference website. 5.2 Tournament Officials. 6. Awards. a. Assessors. Assessors shall be provided whenever possible throughout the season by host teams and at the tournament by the Conference Office. b. Video Evaluation. Institutions are encouraged, but not required, to provide a videotape (or DVD) after each match to officials as an evaluation tool for officiating improvement. 5.2.1 Assignments. The Conference office shall assign officials for all tournament matches. 5.2.2 Payment. The Conference office shall be responsible for all officiating expenses. Fees: Referee - $225; linesmen - $225 Bench - $50 Expenses: Same as regular season 6.1 Team Trophies. Team trophies shall be awarded to the following: 6.1.1 Regular-season champion (See 4.1.2) 6.1.2 First-place tournament team 8
6.1.3 Second-place tournament team 6.2 First-place Team Individual Awards. Watches shall be awarded to members of the first-place team, regular season and tournament. [Duplicate watches shall not be provided if the same team wins both titles.] 6.3 All-Conference. First and second all-conference teams shall be selected by a vote of the head coaches at the end of the regular season. Each team shall consist of one goalkeeper, two forwards, two midfielders, three defenders and three wildcards, i.e selected from any position. 6.3.1 Awards. The first team shall receive all- conference plaques. Certificates will be awarded to second-team and honorable-mention selections. 6.3.2 Nominations. The number of all-conference nominations shall not be limited. There shall be a Conference call of the coaches on Monday morning the week of the tournament to discuss nominations for the allconference team. 6.3.3 Procedures. a. It is recommended that each coach submit up to six names (in rank order) for consideration for all-conference honors. b. The Conference Office shall compile a ballot of the athletes to be considered and will distribute the ballot to coaches prior to the Monday conference call. c. Coaches shall vote for a first and second team. Coaches may not vote for a player from their own team. d. Only complete ballots shall be accepted. e. Student-athletes receiving the most votes at their respective positions shall be named all-conference (three forwards, four midfielders, three defenders and one goalkeeper for first and second teams). Average rank on ballots shall be used to break ties. f. Honorable mention honors shall be awarded to the next 11 votegetters (regardless of position). Note: The Conference office has the latitude to adjust this number. g. Each team shall have at least one all-conference representative, inclusive of honorable mention. 9
h. Dates and deadlines shall be determined by the Conference Office. 6.4 Individual Awards. Awards shall be provided to the following as voted upon by coaches at the end of the regular season. 6.4.1 Player of the Year. Player of the year shall be top vote-getter in player of the year voting. 6.4.2 Freshmen Team. An all-conference freshmen team of eleven (plus ties), including an MVP, shall be selected. Only student-athletes competing in their first season of collegiate competition shall be eligible for both team and MVP selection. The Freshman MVP shall receive a plaque and the remaining team members shall receive certificates. 6.4.3 Defensive Player of the Year. Defensive player of the year shall be the top vote-getter in defensive POY voting. 6.5 Coaching Staff of the Year. A coaching staff of the year shall be selected by a vote of the head coaches at the end of the regular season. 6.6 All-Tournament. An all-tournament team shall be selected as follows by the designated coaches: 1st place team: 4, including MVP 2nd place team: 3 3rd and 4th: 2 th th 5 and 6 : 1 6.7 Scholar-Athlete Team. Student-athletes shall be named to the MVC scholarathlete team using the following all-academic criteria and procedures. 6.7.1 3.2 cumulative GPA 6.7.2 At least a sophomore in academic and athletic standing 6.7.3 Participation in MVC Championship or 75% of regular-season 6.7.4 Voted upon by sports information staff after the championship 6.7.5 Receipt of at least two votes to be named honorable mention. 6.8 MVC Fair Play Award. The team that is issued the fewest penalty cards in MVC 10
matches shall receive the MVC Fair Play Award. 7. Coaches Meeting. The soccer coaches shall meet annually in St. Louis and/or in conjunction with the NSCAA Convention. The 2010 meeting is scheduled in St. Louis on Tuesday, February 4, starting at 8:00 am. 8. Finances. 8.1 Budget. The Conference shall be responsible for developing the championship budget. 8.2 Distribution of Tournament Revenue. Tournament revenues shall be distributed as follows: 8.2.1 The Conference shall distribute net income (tournament income minus host expenses). 8.2.2 Participating teams shall be reimbursed actual transportation expenses or at a rate of $2.25 per mile round trip, whichever is less, or % thereof, to the visiting teams using NCAA transportation guidelines. 8.2.3 Participating teams shall be provided per diem (not to exceed $30 per diem for travel party of 24). 8.2.4 The balance of receipts shall be divided equally among sponsoring members plus Conference Office. Y:max\procedures\soccer Rev. 8/09 11
Appendix 1 MVC MEN S SOCCER VIDEOTAPE EXCHANGE PROGRAM 1. Each coach may request two videotapes a minimum of two weeks prior to the game requested. 2. Only videotape of the requested team s home games may be requested. 3. Box scores must be sent with videotape. 4. The requested videotape must be received one week prior to when teams involved in the exchange are scheduled to play or, if this is not possible due to when videotaped game is played, be sent by overnight delivery on the first working day after the game. 5. You are not required to send requested videotape earlier than one week prior to the match for which the tape is requested. 6. Tapes sent next day delivery may be delayed by going through campus delivery. In such instances, you may need to track down the video on your campus or arrange for delivery at another address. 7. The videotape program does not prohibit solicitation of information from conference opponents. Coaches, however, should not provide scouting information (verbal, written or video) on other conference teams to nonconference institutions (or to conference teams outside the video exchange program). 8. Video guidelines. a. All videotapes should include sound. b. Videos should be taped at slow speed, if possible. c. All action should be videotaped. d. Fresh tapes (not ones from previous years) should be used for all MVC videotaping. e. The home team will provide the tape. f. Take this job seriously. These films are important to the evaluation and improvement of our teams. 12