MCCC WOMEN'S DIVISION FASTPITCH SOFTBALL OPERATING CODE
I Organization of Coaches Group and
Meetings
A. Membership
1. All current
members of the MCCC Women's Division may participate in the meeting.
2. It is required that
all MCCC Women's Division softball coaches or a designated representative
attend the meeting.
3. Each member
college will have one vote.
II. Competitive Season
A.
The first day
of organized practice shall be no sooner than March 1. Coaches will be allowed to have a maximum of
three workouts per week with pitchers and catchers only from January 15 to
March 1.
B.
Coaches may
also have the option to start individual practice on January 15 with a maximum
of four (4) players present. The maximum
individual practice time per person is two (2) hours per week. This does not include work with pitchers and
catchers.
C.
Starting in
the fall of 2005, MCCC teams will allowed up to 14 practice dates in fall
semester. Dates must be documented with the
college athletic director and submitted to conference office after completion.
III. Rules and
Regulations
A. All home colleges
shall send a letter of confirmation to each college they will be competing
against stating date, time, place, officials, and colleges involved. Visiting teams will sign and return the
confirmation within 30 days. All
confirmations must be postmarked April 1.
B. Any college after
signing a confirmation that does not honor their commitment will be obligated
to pay a fine. The conference office
shall be notified if, by mutual consent, a contest is changed two weeks or more
before the scheduled date.
C. NCAA rules will be
used for all competition. The use of any
experimental rule is allowed in non-conference games only if both coaches
agree.
D. All colleges will
send a team roster and schedule of games to all colleges competing against them
in the season prior to the date of the first game.
E. Team rosters may
consist of 18 players.
F. Scheduled conference
dates will consist of two games, each being seven (7) innings.
G. The Dudley WT12Y-FP
is recommended as the official ball and the fifth‑inning, eight‑run
rule (NCAA Rule Book) shall be in effect for all MCCC games.
H. Clothing in
addition to the official uniform shall be allowed.
I. Players shall be
allowed to wear metal or rubber cleats.
J. The home team is
responsible for providing the game balls for both games.
K. Host site must
provide water for both teams.
L. A "Coach of
the year" will be selected for each division. The voting will be conducted at the time of
the "All Division" Team balloting.
M. Make-up games shall
be scheduled by mutual consent of the participating teams with the last
available make-up date to be the Tuesday prior to the Region Tournament.
N. Exceptions to the
NCAA Rule Book
MCCC
1. "Down or
Out" - if on a wild pitch or passed ball and in the judgment of the
official there is a collision at the plate, the base runner must slide or be
called out.
2. Catchers must wear
helmets
3. The international
tie-breaking procedure shall not be used.
4. Effective in 2005
– teams starting with nine (9) players will be allowed to continue play with
eight (8) players in the event of an injury.
Each time the injured player is due up an out will be issued. One year trial basis,
O. The
halted game policy will be in effect for all MCCC Division contests. Make-up of halted games will occur as
follows:
·
If game 1 of
round 1 or 2 is halted, the game is picked up at the original site.
·
If game 2 of
round 1 is halted, game 2 is to be completed at the site of round 2.
·
If game 2 of
round 2 is halted, game 2 is to be completed at a site by mutual consent or if
no mutual consent, a home site shall be determined by coin flip.
P.
All conference
games will be two 7‑inning games. The 8‑run rule after 5 innings
will be in effect.
Q.
Family of
players and coaches and employees of schools in the division may not be used to
officiate. No official shall be a former
coach (from previous year) for any player participating in the contest.
R.
The host
school will be home team for both games of the doubleheader.
S. All conference
games must be played on a fenced field if possible.
IV Organization of Divisions
A. Composition
Southern Division Northern
Division
MN West Rochester
B. Division Chairs
and Secretary
1. Each division shall
elect and/or appoint a chair and a secretary.
a. The Northern Division softball chair is
Bill McBride.
b. The
Southern Division softball chair is Todd Thorstad.
V. Eligibility
A. College must be
paid member of the MCCC Women's Division.
B. Eligibility forms must meet requirements of
Section 13 of the NJCAA eligibility rules and so filed with that office.
VI. Awards Procedures
A. All‑Division
1. The Northern and Southern All Division Teams will be chosen in the
following manner:
a. Each coach may
nominate up to five players from his/her team (listing their top choice first)
including individual statistics and comments and submits the names to the
women's division chair by May 1st.
b. The division chair
will send out ballots to each coach.
Coaches vote for 18 players (reminder ‑ you cannot vote for your
players).
c. In voting, coaches
should consider the order of nominations.
d. Results will be
tallied in the following manner:
1. Each coach votes 1 thru 18 (with 18 being
their top choice).
2. In case of a tie for any position, the names
of the players will be listed in the order of overall conference record
standings.
3. Also, each team must have at least one
representative on the All‑Division team.
Any one school can have a maximum of four on the All‑Division
team with no more than three on the first team.
2. The chair will
send out to each coach the ballot with all teams nominations and statistics
before division playoffs.
3. By the Monday
preceding the region tournament the division chair must have received all
ballots from the coaches. Coaches may
not vote for their own players.
4. The chair will
tabulate the results on the Monday prior to the state tournament will send all
results to each coach, the state tournament director, all athletic directors
and the MCCC Secretary.
B. All‑State
1. Rationale:
a. To select a team
that is representative of the total state.
b. To ensure that
those divisions whose teams finish highest in the state tournament are fairly
represented as well as those individuals who are outstanding.
c. To take into
consideration the coaches' and division's recommendations on ranking of
players.
2. Procedure:
a. Each division
would select a 18‑player All‑Division team.
b. Each division
would rank their 18 players in order from top to bottom. This ordered ranking would be utilized for
the division's All‑State slots.
c. Each division
would obtain a number of All‑State team slots based upon that division's
teams finish in the state tournament.
d. The All‑State
team would consist of 9 players on
the first team and
9 players on the
2nd team, with 9 players as Honorable Mention.
e. The All‑State
first team would be submitted for Region 13 consideration.
The
team that finishes first in the state tournament would gain as many points as there
are teams in the tournament (12 teams‑first place worth 12 points.
Descending finishes would also be reflected in descending point
totals. The "division" with the
Regional Winner shall have five points added
to its total. The slot for the All‑State
team would then be determined utilizing the following format:
1st
team 2nd team
Division
with most points 5 5
Division
with 2nd most pts. 4
4
9 9
If
divisions are tied, then the slots would be divided evenly (6, 6). The Division with the highest place finish
would have its' players placed first on the
C. All Tournament
Team
1. Coaches shall
nominate to the selection committee two players from each team they compete
with during the tournament immediately after each game.
2. The first place
team would have four slots.
3. The second place
team would have three slots.
4. The third place team
would have two slots.
5. The remaining
three slots could come from any of the teams, including the first, second, or
third finishers.
VII. Master
Rotational Schedules:
A. Schedule Protocol
1. Both the Southern and Northern Division will
play a double round-robin schedule with all Division III games counting toward
qualification into the Region 13 Tournament.
a. For entry into the
State and Region 13 tournaments, ties shall be broken in the following manner:
1. Records against each other
2. If still tied, records against top four teams
in your division.
3. If still tied, a play off game. The site of which is determined by a coin
flip or at a neutral site by mutual consent. Expenses will be shared by the participating schools.
b.
For seeding into the State and Region 13
tournaments, ties shall be broken in
the following
manner:
1. Head to head competition in regularly
scheduled division games.
2. Runs scored against the team with which there
is a tie.
3. Coin Flip
c.
All Division weekday doubleheaders will begin
at
B. Region 13 Format
·
Region 13 will
be split into two separate Regions. In 2006,
Region 13A will consist of all Southern Division teams, plus a Wisconsin
representative determined by the Wisconsin conference and
·
The 2007
Region 13 Tournaments will be held May 11-12, 2007.
Ridgewater – 13A host
TBA - 13B host
Northern
Division Schedule – Even Years (2008, 2010, etc.)
Tuesday, April 1 Saturday,
April 19
Rainy River at
Vermilion at Mesabi Range
Friday, April 4 Monday,
April 21
Rainy River at
Northland at
Itasca at
Saturday, April 5 Mesabi
Range at Vermilion
Itasca at
Northland at Vermilion Friday, April 25
Wednesday, April 9
Mesabi Range at
Vermilion at Rainy River Saturday, April 26
Friday, April 11 Northland
at
Rainy River at
Saturday, April 12 Northland
at
Mesabi Range at
Rainy River at Northland Tuesday, April 29
Tuesday, April 15 Mesabi
Range at Rainy River
Northland at
Rainy River at
Vermilion at
Friday, April 18
Fri-Sat, May 9-10
Mesabi Range at
Vermilion at Northland
• Double Round Robin Schedule
• All games count towards Region 13 qualification,
top two teams qualify.
• All games count towards MCCC Tournament seeding.
• All games are doubleheaders with host school home
team for both games.
Northern
Division Schedule – ODD YEARS (2007, 2009, etc.)
Tuesday, April 3 Saturday,
April 21
Itasca at
Rainy River at
Mesabi Range at Vermilion Northland at
Friday, April 6 Monday,
April 23
Vermilion at
Rainy River at
Saturday, April 7 Vermilion
at
Mesabi Range at
Rainy River at Vermilion Friday, April 27
Wednesday, April 11 Mesabi
Range at
Northland at
Rainy River at Vermilion Saturday, April 28
Rainy
River at
Friday, April 13
Northland at
Vermilion at
Mesabi
Range at
Saturday, April 14
Itasca at
Northland at Rainy River Tuesday, May 1
Northland
at
Tuesday, April 17 Rainy
River at Mesabi Range
Friday, April 20 Fri-Sat,
May 11-12
Itasca at
Northland at Vermilion
• Double Round Robin Schedule
• All games count towards Region 13 qualification,
top two teams qualify.
• All games count towards MCCC Tournament seeding.
• All games are doubleheaders with host school home
team for both games.
· Double
Round Robin Schedule
· All
games count towards Region 13 qualification, top two teams qualify.
· All
games count towards MCCC Tournament seeding.
· All
games are doubleheaders with host school home team for both games.
Southern Division Schedule – 2007
KEY:
DCTC = DAKOTA COUNTY SC = ST CLOUD
MSCTC-FF = FERGUS
FALLS RL = RIVERLAND
MW =
RCTC =
April
2 April
4
MW
@ RCTC MSCTC-FF @ SC
MSCTC-FF
– BYE DCTC @ MW
RW
@ SC
RW – BYE
DCTC
@ RL
April 6 April
7
MSCTC-FF
@ RL MSCTC-FF @ MW
RW
@ MW RW @ RL
SC
@ DCTC SC @
RCTC
RCTC
– BYE DCTC –
BYE
April 8 April
10
RL
@ RCTC RCTC @ DCTC
RL @ SC
MSCTC @ RW
MW – BYE
April 13 April
14
RW
@ RCTC
MSCTC-FF @ RCTC
MSCTC-FF
@ DCTC RW @ DCTC
RL
@ MW SC @
MW
SC
– BYE RL
– BYE
April 17 April
20
RCTC
@ MW RCTC @
MSCTC-FF
SC
@ RW DCTC
@ RW
RL
@ DCTC MW @
RL
MSCTC-FF
– BYE SC – BYE
April 21 April
24
RCTC
@ RW DCTC @
RCTC
DCTC
@
MW
@ SC RW @
MSCTC-FF
RL
– BYE MW
– BYE
April 27 April
28
RL
@ RW MW @
RW
MW
@ MSCTC-FF RL @ MSCTC-FF
DCTC
@ SC RCTC @ SC
RCTC
– BYE RW – BYE
May 1 May
5-6
RCTC
@ RL MCCC TOURNAMENT @ BRAINERD
SC
@ MSCTC-FF
MW
@ DCTC
RW
– BYE
May 11-12
REGION
XIII “A” @ RIDGEWATER
· Double
Round Robin Schedule
· All
games count towards Region 13 qualification, top two teams qualify.
· All
games count towards MCCC Tournament seeding.
· All
games are doubleheaders with host school home team for both games.
VIII. State
Tournament Policies
A. The MCCC State
Tournament will be a two day, double elimination tournament.
1.
2. The tournament
dates for 2006 are Saturday/Sunday, May 6-7.
3. The Monday
following the tournament will be used as a make-up date.
B. Type of Tournament
1. An open double
elimination tournament will be played.
2. Each school must
decide by April 15th if participating in state tournament, and notify the
tournament director.
3. The tournament
director is to send contracts to the participating colleges. Colleges may withdraw form the tournament up
to May 1st. However, any withdraws or no
shows will be fined, by the tournament director after the May 1st deadline,
except for the regional winner. (Fines
are outlined in Appendix R.)
4. Seeding for the
state tournament are based upon the completed conference schedule and upon
conference record. The Northern Division
will have the bye advantage in 2005 with Dawson CC qualifying through the
South.
5. No games will
start before
6. It is highly
recommended to have four or more fields in use for the tournament.
7. Picture programs
are to be provided.
a. Team pictures,
Rosters should be sent to the tournament director by April 25.
b. Programs are to
include Region XIII winners, all academic teams, and all division teams.
8. Colleges pay all
expenses for the State Tournament.
9. Flip for home team
20 minutes before all games of every round.
C.
1. Must apply to the
chair of the Board before the spring meeting of the previous year.
2. It is recommended that
the tournament director not be participating as a coach in the tournament.
3. The tournament
director will be responsible to provide:
a. Information and
results to major press services and the local news media;
b. Prepare and
distribute tournament program;
c. Prepare and
distribute tournament news releases (pre‑, during, post‑);
d. Provide emergency
first aid services; athletic trainer.
e. All tournament
directors are responsible for maintaining and up‑dating a traveling
folder on tournament operation, and passing it along to future tournament
directors. Folders will go to the office
of the Conference Coordinator to be sent to the new tournament directors;
f. Other services as
deemed necessary.
4. Shall keep the
tournament for two years upon receiving the bid for the tournament.
5. Shall submit a
report of the tournament to the Conference Coordinator.
6. All tournament
information shall be mailed to MCCC member schools by April 1.
D. Tournament Expenses
1. Officials compensation will be the only
expense covered by the MCCC.
E. Officials
1. Recommendations
shall be made to the tournament director by April 15.
2. Softball officials
shall be hired according to their rating (NCAA) recommendations and
availability. Tournament directors are
responsible for hiring, assigning, and scheduling officials.
3. Officials'
compensation shall be decided by the tournament director.
4. Any person
affiliated with a team in the tournament shall not officiate a game in which
that team is playing.
"Affiliate" shall be defined as a staff member, current
student, or a student of that college the previous year.
5. Officials must
follow NCAA guidelines and be ready and on the field 20 minutes prior to game
time.
6. Officials should
not work straight through the day, but have at least one break scheduled
between games.
F. General
1. At the MCCC state
tournament the taking of infield practice is optional for all teams for all
beginning rounds each day (even when the weather is bad).
2. The fields shall
be ready one hour before the scheduled starting times, and maintained between
games as needed (foul lines, batters' box to be groomed after each round).
3. The five‑inning,
eight‑run (NCAA Rule book) rule shall be in effect for the entire state
tournament.