Softball

January 23, 2012

Section 1. Participation Requirement  

1.1. All member institutions fielding teams in women's softball shall agree to participate for the championship.

Section 2. Schedule

2.1 All member institutions shall observe the NCAA starting date for pre-season practice regardless of geographic location. No geographic exceptions are allowed. (Updated October 2010)

2.2. The maximum number of games permitted in a single season shall not exceed the NCAA maximum number of allowable dates. Regular season conference dates cannot be exempted dates on the Hawaii and Alaska exemption.

2.3. Varsity contests shall be scheduled in accordance with the regulation as it appears in Article 17 of the Bylaws of the NCAA.

2.3A - The conference schedule shall be the responsibility of the conference office with input from the coaches and approval by the athletic directors.

2.4. Make-up policy:  

A. Postponed games shall be completed as originally scheduled whenever possible. This means the game must be continued at the scheduled home site or an alternate site the date of the contest whenever possible. The host institution is responsible for determining when a field is playable. Once a game has started, the umpires are responsible for determining when and if a game should be postponed/canceled. The visiting team has an obligation to stay a reasonable length of time to play on that day.

B. If games are cancelled, every effort to make up games is required. Playing up to four games the following day is permissible weather permitting. If travel arrangements allow for an extra day, every effort to play all conference contests is suggested. Hawai‘i and San Francisco Bay area schools, due to their close proximity, shall use all means possible to make up conference games at a later open date. (Updated April 2010) 

C. If any games remain unplayed after applying the make-up policy, the won-loss percentage in conference games played will be used in determining the final conference standing.

Section 3. NCAA Tournament Representation and Conference Champion

3.1. The regular season champion shall be the team with the best won-loss percentage in conference games played, even if cancelled games could not be made-up.

The conference champion shall be the automatic qualifier to the NCAA tournament. If a tie exists, co-champions shall be declared. The automatic qualifier shall then be determined by:

1. Head to head results
2. Results against teams in descending order of finish
3. Highest ranking by NCAA West Region Regional Advisory Committee
4. Coin flip (Commissioner will determine date/time/site and procedures.

If a non-eligible NCAA team wins the conference championship, the automatic qualifier goes to the next highest NCAA eligible finisher in the final standings (i.e. runner-up or highest eligible finisher) (Updated April 2010)

(EFFECTIVE STARTING 2012-13.) In the case of a tie for first place in the conference standings, the winner of the head-to-head competition between the tying teams shall be declared conference champion. In all other cases, or in the case that a tie is not broken in head-to-head competition, co-champions shall be declared.

Section 4. Contracts

4.1. Agreements for women's softball between member institutions shall be by written contract and shall cover a one-year period. The home team is responsible to initiate the written contract for that specific competition date. Contract Agreements between schools can be exchanged via email. (Updated April 2010)

Section 5. Guarantees - None

Section 6. Conduct of Participants

6.1. The highest standards of sportsmanship and conduct are expected of players, coaches and others associated with the contest.

6.2. It is the duty of the coach to be in control of his/her players at all times in order to prevent any unsportsmanlike act toward opponents, officials or spectators.

6.3. Coaches are expected to comply wholeheartedly with the intent and spirit of the rules.

6.4. Conduct of the coaches, players, spectators and other personnel shall be strictly enforced as per Rule 13 of the official NCAA Softball Rules.

Section 7. Playing Rules

7.1. Conference games pre-game procedures shall follow NCAA Softball Rules.

7.2. The eight-run after five innings shall apply to all conference games.

7.3. The International Tie-Breaker Rule shall be used beginning with the top of the 10th inning in all conference games.

7.4 The host team shall be the home team for the first game of a conference doubleheader, and the traveling (visiting) team shall be the home team for the second game of a conference doubleheader. (Approved May 2010).

7.5. The maximum number of games that can be played in any one day by any one team shall be four.

7.6. The time between games of a doubleheader shall be a minimum of fifteen minutes and a maximum of thirty minutes. If more than a doubleheader is being played, the interval between games shall be thirty minutes.

7.7  Suited-up athletes for conference games of visiting conference teams shall consist of no more than eighteen (18) student-athletes, except visiting teams traveling within their pod (i.e. geographical region of Hawaii, SF Bay Area, Southwest).  Suit-up rosters for teams traveling within pod is unlimited.  The home team may dress as many as allowed by NCAA rules. Non suited-up players are requested to sit outside the bench area, unless special circumstances exist. (Approved 2010)

Section 8. Officials

8.1. A minimum of three umpires will be assigned to each conference game. (February 2011)

8.2. All umpires shall be qualified as per their state association utilizing NCAA Softball Rules.

Section 9. Equipment

9.1. The official ball used for all conference games shall be the Worth NC12L, 0.047 core yellow ball with red stitches stamped NCAA

Section 10. Conditions of Competition 

10.1. The host team will provide adequate equipment and supplies at the game site, including the following:

A. Game balls

B. Drinking water and cups

C. Restroom facilities

D. Towels (if pre-arranged)

10.2 The host team shall provide a trainer at least one and one half-hour prior to game time either at the game site or in the training room. A trainer must be in attendance during, between, and for a reasonable time period following the games(s).

10.3 The host institution shall provide a well-trained and knowledgeable official scorekeeper for each game. The official scorer shall be the final authority for all scoring decisions made during the course of the game. Under no circumstances shall the official scorer be permitted to keep score in either the host or visiting team's dugout.

10.4 The host team shall allow the visiting team a maximum of ten minutes pre-game warm up on the playing field. The visiting team will be notified of their pre-game warm up time and ground rules/facility rules upon arrival. 

10.5 The host team administration shall designate an on-site administrator whose responsibilities are listed in Rule 4 of the NCAA softball rule book.

Section 11. Tie-breaker procedures

11.1. Tie-breaker procedures for individual games will begin in the top of the 10th inning and follow guidelines in the NCAA softball rule book. (See section 7 above)

11.2. In case of a game being stopped by umpires, it shall be ruled as a halted game and resumed at that point if possible. The game will be a completed game if the umpires call the game after five innings. This rule will only be used if the game has not reached an official game. If the game can be continued the next day, it will begin before the start of the regularly scheduled game. If teams are unable to finish halted games, it will not be counted as a contest.

11.5. Rules 11.1 and 11.2 will be covered with the umpires and visiting coaches prior to each Pacific West Conference game.

Section 12. Statistical Information 

12.1. The host institution shall fax the official score sheets and official NCAA box scores to visiting coaches, Sports Information Directors, and the Conference Office as soon as possible after each game.

12.2. The host institutions shall email the appropriate StatCrew files to the Conference Information Director as soon as possible after each game.

12.3. Statistics from games played against junior colleges, club teams, and teams from foreign countries shall not be used when reporting statistics to the NCAA, Conference, All-American, All-Regional, or League Division selection committees.

Section 13. All-Conference Team

The All-Conference team, Coach of the Year, and other awards shall be the responsibility of the Conference Information Director in accordance with the By-Laws of the Pacific West Conference.

Section 14. VIDEO EXCHANGE AND SCOUTING REPORT POLICY 

14.1 Dissemination of videos or scouting information on member institutions to non-conference institutions is not permitted by any means (e.g., tape, phone, email, written material).  

14.2 Live scouting of opponents is permitted.

15. GENERAL

15.1 All other situations not covered by these conference rules should be referred to the NCAA Championships rules handbook and handled accordingly.