Game Management Manual BASEBALL (Revised 7/17)
Sections Baseball Game Management Manual TABLE OF CONTENTS Pages 1. Automatic Qualifier to NCAA Division I Baseball Championship...3 2. Awards and Honors System...3 3. Ball...3 4. Bat...3 5. Batting Practice Format...3 6. Coaches Chair...4 7. Conference Champion...4 8. Conference Schedule... 4-5 9. Departure Time from Conference Games...5 10. Designation of the Home Team...5 11. Field...5 12. Financial Settlements...5 13. Jewelry Prohibition/Safety Regulation...6 14. Lightning Policy...6 15. NCAA Clock Protocols...6 16. Protest of Officials Decisions...6 17. Responsibilities of the Host Institution...6 18. Roster for Series...7 19. Rules...7 20. Site of Games...7 21. Sports Information Department Representative...7 22. Sportsmanship Policy...7 23. Suspended Game Policy... 7-8 24. Ticket Policies...8 25. Tobacco Ban...9 26. Umpires...9 27. Unspecified Policies...9 28. Weather Policies... 9-10 Attachments Standard Roster for Big Ten Series... Attachment A Standard Player/Coach Pass List for Big Ten Series... Attachment B 2
1. Automatic Qualifier to NCAA Division I Baseball Championship The team designated as the Conference representative to automatically qualify for the NCAA Division I Baseball Championship shall be the winner of the Conference postseason tournament. Also see Section 29 of the Tournament Manual - Tie Breaker for NCAA Automatic Qualifier. 2. Awards and Honors System All of the awards and honors sponsored by the Conference that are available to student-athletes in the sport of baseball are designated in Section III (Awards and Honors System) of the Big Ten Championship Manual. 3. Ball The Conference shall use the Rawlings R1-NCAA baseball for the regular season and Conference tournaments. The host shall provide balls for each game played, but is not required to provide bullpen balls. The games should start with approximately four dozen baseballs, pre-rubbed and examined by umpires. (Revised 2/22/00, 2/04, 2/06; Effective 2/06; Editorial Revision 9/10) 4. Bat In regular season games (including Big Ten Tournament), only bats that meet the specifications allowed for use in the NCAA Division I baseball championship will be used. (Revised 1/9/99, 2/04; Effective 2/04) 5. Batting Practice Format (Revised 2/04, 2/14; Effective 3/14) A. The following is the batting format for all Conference contests with lights: Home batting practice - 40 minutes Visitor batting practice - 40 minutes Home infield practice - 10 minutes Visitor infield practice 10 minutes B. The following is the batting format for Saturday and Sunday contests with no lights: Home batting practice - 40 minutes Visitor batting practice - 40 minutes Home infield practice - 10 minutes Visitor infield practice 10 minutes C. The following is the batting format for Friday and Monday contests with no lights: Visitor batting practice - 40 minutes Home batting practice - 40 minutes Visitor infield practice - 10 minutes Home infield practice - 10 minutes. Note: The opposing team members may not be on the field or on the infield cut in front of the dugouts during batting practice. 3
6. Coaches Chair A baseball coach will serve a two-year term as the coaches' chair, beginning with the start of the chair's first annual business meeting and concluding on the date of the annual business meeting two years later. Coaches will rotate through the position based on alphabetical order of the institutions. New coaches must attend at least one annual business meeting before being eligible for the position. 7. Conference Champion (Revised 2/96, 2/00, 2/04, 2/09; Effective 2/09) The Conference shall determine its baseball champion(s) by the best winning percentage of games played during the regular season Conference schedule. Ties shall not be broken. A. Non-conference games shall not be scheduled if such scheduling could in any way lead to conflicts with playing dates of the Conference schedule. B. The Conference baseball schedule shall be developed by the Conference office, reviewed by coaches, and approved by the Sports Management Committee. C. Each team shall play eight (8) out of twelve (12) Conference opponents each season. D. Ties shall be counted in the Conference standings as one-half win and one-half loss. E. If a team is on suspension it may compete in the Conference schedule, but it will not be considered for the Conference championship or participation in the Conference tournament irrespective of its final Conference standing. F. All games, except for the third game, are to be considered suspended games if for any reason a winner is not determined. G. Every attempt shall be made to play at an alternate site if circumstances prohibit use of a home field. The site shall be determined by the host team prior to the scheduled weekend series by mutual agreement of both universities. H. Teams will play one nine-inning game per day over a three-day period. No rain dates after visiting team has left its campus to travel. 8. Conference Schedule The Conference baseball schedule shall be developed according to the following parameters and criteria. (Revised 2/04, 2/07. 7/07, 2/08, 2/09; Effective 2/09) A. The Conference schedule shall be played over the nine weekends prior to the Conference tournament. The Conference tournament shall take place on the weekend prior to the NCAA Championship Regionals and shall begin on a Wednesday. B. Each team plays 8 of 12 Conference opponents each year. C. Teams will see each institution home and away equitably over a three-year rotation. D. Teams shall play in a 9-9-9 format. E. No team has more than two consecutive series at home or on the road. F. Each team will experience a Bye week. BYE weeks will rotate annually for those occurring in weeks 1 and 2. One team will be rotated out of the first two BYE weeks, every two years. G. Based on a rotation of grouped teams, plays and no-plays will change annually. H. The final weekend of the regular season shall be played on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. 4
I. Conference teams may mutually agree to play on days other than those scheduled if weather prevents play on the scheduled days, if travel problems exist or academic commitments take precedence. The altered series must be played over two or three consecutive days in the 9-9-9 format. J. Once the visiting team leaves its campus to travel to the host campus (game site), the scheduled day of the first contest is in force. K. In the event of foreseen inclement weather, one of the days may be used for a doubleheader with the agreement of both coaches. (Revised and Effective 2/10) L. Final exams schedules of each institution will be considered when developing schedules. M. If modest time changes are requested in order to accommodate live television, the host institution may adjust the game time accordingly. If significant game changes (i.e. date change or move from afternoon to prime time or vice versa) are requested in order to accommodate television, mutual consent by the participating institutions is required. N. Television may move up to two (2) series per institution with no more than one on the road, to a Saturday/Sunday/Monday series. O. If any games in the series have been selected to be televised, the conference office must be notified before any schedule changes are made. 9. Departure Time from Conference Games The visiting team may depart from a Conference city no earlier than 8 p.m. or the last possible flight time available on the final day of the three-day series. If the last possible flight time is earlier than 8 p.m., the visiting coach will inform the host coach prior to finalizing travel plans. (Revised 2/17/98, 2/04; Effective 2/04) 10. Designation of the Home Team During Conference play, the host school shall be designated as the home team, unless mutually agreed upon by both universities when moving the location. (Revised and Effective 2/04) 11. Field (Revised and Effective 2/04) In order to avoid cancellations due to wet grounds, each university shall provide a reliable rain cover for its entire infield. This cover shall be placed on the field the day before a scheduled Conference game or games, unless the condition of the field does not warrant this action. 12. Financial Settlements A. A settlement or a financial report for a scheduled game or event is not necessary unless mutually agreed. B. Each university shall pay its own game and other expenses for a scheduled game or event unless otherwise mutually agreed. 5
13. Jewelry Prohibition/Safety Regulation Student-athletes are prohibited from wearing on their bodies any type of jewelry in all Big Ten regular season or championship competition. (Revised and effective 5/99) 14. Lightning Policy (Revised and effective 2/01) A. The host institution s lightning policy shall be followed provided it is at least as stringent as NCAA guidelines. B. If a host institution will use a lightning policy that differs from NCAA guidelines, the policy to be used shall be included in the game contract with both the opponent and the officials. C. When an institution does not have a lightning policy, NCAA guidelines shall be followed. See Appendix F of the Championship Manual. 15. NCAA Clock Protocols (Effective 2/11) NCAA clock protocols monitoring the time allowed between pitches and innings shall be managed by umpires on the field. 16. Protest of Officials' Decisions Protests will not be considered. 17. Responsibilities of the Host Institution For all Conference competition event management must enforce the following Conference policies: A. Nonpermissible Items - The arena management is responsible for enforcing the Big Ten policies in this regard. The following items may not be brought into the arena by patrons: Alcoholic beverages, bottles, cans, cups or containers, irritants (e.g., noisemakers) or strobe lights. In addition, the facility may have additional restrictions on items that can be brought into the arena. B. Irritants - Irritants include such items as oversized flags, banners, or signs that may block the view of other patrons. The management administrators are responsible for determining whether a specific item in this category represents an irritant to other patrons and whether it should be prohibited. C. Distribution of Materials No person or group may distribute the following materials in the facility or adjacent areas that fall under the control of the arena management without the advance written permission of the Big Ten including, but not limited to, handbills, flyers, newspapers, memorabilia or promotional materials for other events or activities. D. The host institution shall provide an athletic trainer, ice, water and drinking cups for all games. 6
18. Roster for Series (Revised 2/17/97, 2/04, 2/07, 2/09; 2/12 Effective 2/12) A 27-player roster shall be submitted to the umpire crew chief and the opposing coaches using a standard form approved by the conference office as roster (name, number) prior to the opening game of every series (See Attachment A of this manual). These are the only players who will be eligible to play in games in that series. If a player is used who is not listed on the roster, he shall be removed from the game immediately and replaced with a player on the roster and the institution shall self-report the violation. 19. Rules A. NCAA rules shall be followed except where noted in this manual and where local ground rules require modification. B. The local ground rules shall be given to the visiting coach and to the umpires before the start of the game. 20. Site of Games The site of the scheduled weekend series may be adjusted by mutual agreement of both universities if circumstances prohibit use of a home field. An alternate site is defined as any facility within reasonable distance where regular season games are scheduled. (Revised and effective 2/04) 21. Sports Information Department Representative Institutions are encouraged to have a representative of their sports information department travel with their team to away Conference games. 22. Sportsmanship Policy It shall be the responsibility of each member university to ensure that all of its students and all individuals employed by or directly associated with it conduct themselves in a sportslike manner when representing their university, especially at intercollegiate athletic contests. See the Agreement 10. Sportsmanship Policy in the Conference Handbook for a description of disciplinary action and penalties. 23. Suspended Game Policy (Revised 2/17/97, 2/04, 4/04, 2/05, 2/08, 2/09; Effective 2/09) All Conference series are normally scheduled on Friday, Saturday and Sunday with no rain date. The game format will be one nine-inning game on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. A. All games must be completed unless the final game of the series is stopped because of rain or darkness. In that case, the last game (which could be game one, two, or three) will count if it has become regulation (four and one-half or five innings). If the game has become regulation and is tied, it shall be treated as a complete game and be treated as a tie in the Conference standings (one-half win for both teams). 7
B. If a game is stopped before completion, it will become a suspended game and completed the following day. The suspended game may start as early as 10:00 a.m. the second or third day of the series, by mutual agreement of both coaches. At least 15 minutes must be provided between any two games and no game may start after 9:00 p.m. In addition, teams shall not play more than two games in one day, not counting suspended games. C. Host management and the visiting team must agree that weather and field conditions will or will not permit the start of a game. If there is not agreement between the host and the visitor, the visiting team must stay and be ready to play until the scheduled game time of day three of the series. If there is agreement between the host and the visitor, the game(s) scheduled for the third day may be canceled. D. If game one is not played on the first day, two nine-inning games shall be played on the second day. If game two has not started on the second day, two nine-inning games shall be played on the third and final day. E. Prior to the first pitch of the series, the host and the visitor must mutually agree upon the time when no inning may be started if the final game has not been completed by the agreed upon time. This is to assure that the visitors can accommodate their schedule and both teams have a fair opportunity to win the game. 24. Ticket Policies A. Price of Admissions 1. Each university shall establish the price of admission for all sports or athletic events held under its supervision. 2. A member of the student body, faculty, staff or employee of a university may purchase a ticket or tickets at a reduced price, which shall be established by the university. 3. The university may establish a general admission price, and a reduced ticket price for high school and grade school students, and coaches. 4. A news media representative must pay the full popular price for any ticket in the stands. B. Player/Coach Pass List (Revised 2/04, 2/05; Effective 2/05) A player/coach pass list shall be made available for all scheduled games using a form similar to the one shown in Attachment B of this manual. C. Complimentary Admissions A complimentary admission is defined as a free or service charge admission issued by a university for a particular event. 1. All eligible student-athletes in all sports may receive a complimentary admission to all regular-season home athletic events as long as tickets are available, except in football, men's basketball and ice hockey. 2. Members of the working press may receive a press pass only. 3. Complimentary admissions shall not be issued on behalf of a squad member who is ineligible for competition. 4. A varsity squad member who is eligible for competition may be admitted free to any home varsity game in the athlete's sport, regardless of whether he is in a game uniform. 8
25. Tobacco Ban The use of all tobacco products by all individuals at the site of Conference regular season, championships and postseason Conference competition as well as during other activities associated with competition such as banquets, autograph sessions, press conferences and post-game interviews shall be prohibited. (Adopted 8/8/94) 26. Umpires (Revised 2/97, 1/00, 2/00, 8/00, 2/04, 2/05, 2/06, 2/07, 8/07, 10/08, 2/09, 7/13, 02/16, 7/17; Effective 7/17) A. Umpires shall be assigned by the approved Conference assignor. B. Fees for umpires working a weekend series during regular season play will be $1300 (in 2017) and $1500 (in 2018) per series for each umpire along with per diem for each umpire based on the conference per diem policies. C. If a game(s) is cancelled due to inclement weather, each assigned official will still receive a game fee for each cancelled game. If the game(s) is rescheduled and the same umpire is able to work the game(s), only one game fee will be processed. Per Diem is subject to approval by the conference office. D. A four-person crew rotation shall be used for umpiring Conference games. E. The umpires are responsible for reservation and payment of their hotel rooms for conference games. F. Officiating Conflict of Interest Policy - A person shall not be appointed or retained as an official if the person s other employment or conditions might affect the efficiency or quality of the person s officiating. The following individuals are prohibited from serving as officials for conference events during the regular season and championship/tournament (Revised 8/1/07, 2/16; Effective 2/16): i. Immediate family members; ii. Current coach or individual affiliated with a current program; iii. Individual involved in a personal relationship with a coach/student-athlete; iv. Student at a Conference university. Any person employed by a Conference university shall only be appointed as an official if it is deemed by the Conference office that no conflict of interest exists 27. Unspecified Policies If there is no stated Conference policy relative to a specific item or question covered in this Manual, a practice shall not be permissible unless the practice or policy has been approved by the appropriate Conference governing body. 28. Weather Policy (Revised and effective 3/16) Games shall not be played if the RealFeel temperature for the facility on AccuWeather.com is less than 28 degrees. If the temperature at one hour prior to the game is less than 28 degrees, but the forecast indicates the temperature will reach 28 degrees by the start of the game, teams may begin pre-game warm-ups. If the temperature at the start of the game does not reach 28 degrees, 9
the game shall not be played at the scheduled time. The game may be delayed if the forecast indicates the temperature will reach 28 degrees at a later time. If the RealFeel temperature is 29 degrees or above, the home and away team administrators shall mutually agree on whether to play the game. Coaches, administrators and host event management staff shall communicate regarding logistics and other factors influencing the decision to play or delay the game. If a mutual agreement cannot be reached, the home team administrator shall make the final decision on whether to play the game based on field conditions and the health and safety of all participants. 10
BIG TEN SERIES ROSTER FORM Attachment A School: Coach: Roster Name No. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. Signature of Coach: 11
UNIVERSITY BASEBALL PASS LIST Attachment B DATE: OPPONENT: Please fill in guests names after your name. Picture ID's will be required by guests for admittance. PLAYER NAME GUEST NAME RELATIONSHIP GUEST SIGNATURE 1 2 3 4 12
Attachment B PLAYER NAME GUEST NAME RELATIONSHIP GUEST SIGNATURE 5 6 7 8 9 13
Attachment B PLAYER NAME GUEST NAME RELATIONSHIP GUEST SIGNATURE 10 11 12 13 14 14
Attachment B PLAYER NAME GUEST NAME RELATIONSHIP GUEST SIGNATURE 15 16 17 18 19 15
Attachment B PLAYER NAME GUEST NAME RELATIONSHIP GUEST SIGNATURE 20 21 22 23 24 16
Attachment B PLAYER NAME GUEST NAME RELATIONSHIP GUEST SIGNATURE 25 26 27 17
Attachment B UNIVERSITY COACHES, MANAGERS & SUPPORT STAFF PASS LIST NAME STAFF NAME GUEST NAMES GUEST NAMES GUEST NAMES Head Coach NAME Assistant Coach NAME Assistant Coach NAME Assistant Coach NAME Trainer NAME SID NAME OTHER NAME OTHER 18