Page | 1

Southern Athletic Association

Operations Manual

www.SAA-Sports.com
 Page | 2

Table of Contents
SAA Information
Page 3 SAA Member School and Colors
Primary Staff Directory
SAA Office / Overview
Primary Staff Directory
Page 4 SAA Office / Overview
Page 5 SAA Code of Ethics

SAA Procedural Overview

Page 6 Athletics Trainers
Page 10 Sports Information Directors

SAA Sports Manuals

Fall Sports
Page 16 Men’s and Women’s Cross Country
Page 19 Field Hockey
Page 24 Football
Page 31 Men’s and Women’s Soccer
Page 36 Volleyball

Winter Sports
Page 41 Men’s and Women’s Basketball
Page 49 Men’s and Women’s Swimming & Diving

Spring Sports
Page 57 Baseball
Page 62 Men’s and Women’s Golf
Page 7 Men’s Lacrosse
Page 77 Women’s Lacrosse
Page 81 Softball
Page 87 Men’s and Women’s Tennis
Page 92 Men’s and Women’s Track & Field

www.SAA-Sports.com
 Page | 3

Institutions
Berry Silver Blue
Birmingham-Southern Black Gold
Centre College Gold (123) White/Black
Hendrix College Orange (1375) Black
Millsaps College Purple (273-U) White
Oglethorpe University Gold (109-U) Black
Rhodes College Red (185) Black
University of the South Purple (273) White
Southern Athletic Association Blue/Black White/Gray
*PMS numbers in parenthesis

Council of Presidents
President Name School
President Steven Briggs Berry
President Daniel Coleman Birmingham-Southern
President Milton Moreland Centre
President Ellis Arnold III Hendrix
President Rob Pearigen Millsaps
President Nicholas Ladany Oglethorpe
President Carroll Steven Rhodes
Vice-Chancellor/President Reuben Brigety University of the South

Council of Athletic Directors

Athletic Director SWA School
Angel Mason Ginger Swann Berry
Kyndall Waters Sherri Salmon Birmingham-Southern
Brad Fields Gina Nicoletti Centre
Amy Weaver Brittany Newberry Hendrix
Aaron Pelch Jaime Fisher Millsaps
Todd Brooks Cindy Vaios Oglethorpe
Matt Dean Sara Quatrocky Rhodes
Mark Webb Tracey Braden University of the South

www.SAA-Sports.com
 Page | 4

SAA Office

Address: 4484 Peachtree Road, Atlanta, GA 30319

Staff:
Jay Gardiner, Commissioner
[email protected]
404-364-8414

Clayton Felts, Associate Commissioner

[email protected]
931-691-7653

Website: saa-sports.com Founded: 2011 First Year: 2012-13

Geography: One school each in Alabama (Birmingham-Southern), Kentucky (Centre), Arkansas

(Hendrix) and Mississippi (Millsaps); two schools in Tennessee (Sewanee and Rhodes), in
Georgia (Berry and Oglethorpe)

Sports Sponsorship:
MEN (10) - Baseball, basketball, cross country, football, golf, lacrosse, soccer, swimming and
diving, tennis, outdoor track and field.

WOMEN (11) - Basketball, cross country, field hockey (TBD), golf, lacrosse, soccer, softball,
swimming
and diving, tennis, outdoor track and field, volleyball.

Governance:
COUNCIL OF PRESIDENTS - Comprised of the chief executive officers of the member
Institutions. This group meets bi-annually and is ultimately responsible for the operation of the
conference.

ATHLETICS DIRECTOR’S COUNCIL - Comprised of the athletics director and senior woman
Administrator (SWA) at each member institution. This group meets bi-annually and makes
recommendations on legislation to the Presidents and accepts reports and recommendations
from all Sports Councils.

SPORTS COUNCILS - Represent the 21 sports sponsored by the conference and includes
the head coach at each member institution. There are also councils representing the Sports

www.SAA-Sports.com
 Page | 5

Information Directors (SID) and Athletic Trainers. Each Sports Council meets annually to
discuss
policies and make recommendations to the Athletics Directors Council.

COMMISSIONER - Serves as the executive director and is responsible for directing the
development, coordination and implementation of the conference’s policies.

www.SAA-Sports.com
 Page | 6

SAA Code of Ethics

Section 1 - Abusive, profane, or insulting language directed at any player, coach, official, any
staff member at a conference institution, or the commissioner, is completely unacceptable by
anyone associated with the conference and its member schools. Such misconduct could result in
disciplinary action by the individual’s institution and/or the commissioner.

Section 2 - It is completely unacceptable for anyone to directly comment in a derogatory manner

to a media member on a player, coach, official, any staff member of a conference institution, or
the commissioner. Such misconduct could result in disciplinary action by the individual’s
institution and/or the commissioner.

Section 3 - Neither a coach nor his/her representative may enter the officials’ dressing room
facilities. The officials’ dressing room must remain private. A capable security guard must be
responsible for maintaining the privacy and safety of officials while they are on campus.

Section 4 - A report on any ejections from athletics events involving conference teams must be
reported to the conference office within 48 hours after the contest by the host institution. If the
contest is a non-conference event, the member institution is responsible for notifying the
conference office of any ejections within 48 hours. An ejection could result in disciplinary action
by the individual’s institution and/or the commissioner. The Athletics Directors Advisory
Council will serve to assist the commissioner on any such rulings involving potential
suspensions of student-athletes and/or coaches as it relates to potential violations of the SAA
Code of Ethics.

www.SAA-Sports.com
 Page | 7

Murray Burch Athletic Trainers Council

1. The Athletic Trainers Council will include the head athletic trainers from each SAA school.
This Council will have an annual conference call during the spring to discuss common concerns
and make recommendations to the Athletic Directors Council for changes in these policies.

2. In order to provide an acceptable standard of care for all conference sports and events, an
NATABOC certified athletic trainer must be on campus and directly accessible as well as have
direct communication available to him/her to all events in competition. The host athletic trainer
will provide emergency care to visiting teams. In the sports of football and men’s lacrosse,
conference schools are required to travel with an athletic trainer.

3. It is the responsibility for the host institution’s athletic trainer to provide the following
amenities for football games:
A. At each sideline:
(4) 10-gallon water coolers with cups
(1) Ice chest with loose ice and bags
(1) Treatment table
(1) Water table
(1) Trash can

B. In each locker room:

(2) 10 gallons of water with cups
(1) Ice chest with loose ice and ice bags
(1) Taping/Treatment Table mandatory
(2) Taping/Treatment Tables recommended
(1) Hydrocollator Unit
(1) Trash can

C. Provide football equipment transportation to the field no less than 45 minutes prior to
kickoff. The status of all the aforementioned equipment and supplies will be checked at
halftime.

D. In addition to the athletic trainer, it is required that a physician and ambulance be on

site.

E. The host institution must provide two-way radios for each team to be used via both
sidelines for the purpose of communication about water and physician needs.

www.SAA-Sports.com
 Page | 8

4. It is the responsibility for the host institution’s athletic trainer to provide the following
amenities for men’s lacrosse games:
A. At each sideline:
(2) 10-gallon water coolers with cups
(1) Ice chest with loose ice and bags
(1) Trash can
(1) Treatment or massage table is recommended

B. Outside each locker room:

(1) Taping table
(1) Treatment or massage table is recommended
(1) 10-gallon water cooler with cups is recommended

C. In addition to the athletic trainer, it is highly recommended that a physician and/or

ambulance be on site.

5. It is the responsibility for the host institution’s athletic trainer to provide the following
amenities for basketball games:
A. At each bench:
(1) 10-gallon water coolers with cups
(1) Ice chest with loose ice and bags
(1) Trash Can
(5) Bench towels
(1) Treatment or massage table is recommended

B. At each locker room:

(1) 7-gallon water cooler with cups
(1) Trash Can

6. It is the responsibility of the host institution’s athletic trainer to provide the following
amenities at each bench for baseball, field hockey and soccer.
(2) 10 gallon water coolers with cups
(1) Ice chest with loose ice and bags
(1) Trash can
(1) Treatment or massage table is recommended

7. It is the responsibility of the host institution’s athletic trainer to provide the following
amenities at each bench for softball, volleyball and women’s lacrosse:
(1) 10 gallon water cooler with cups
(1) Ice chest with loose ice and bags
(1) Trash can
(1) Treatment or massage table is recommended

www.SAA-Sports.com
 Page | 9

8. If a visiting institution will have a practice at the host SAA institution, it is the responsibility
of the traveling athletic trainer to contact the host athletic trainer at least 48 hours in advance to
request water and ice to be placed at practices.

9. The chair of the SAA Athletic Training Council will maintain a SAA Athletic Training contact
list. The head athletic trainer or Coordinator of Athletic Training Services at each institution is
encouraged to share the SAA Athletic Training contact list with each of their staff members. The
staff members should contact the athletic trainer working the prospective sport at each
institution.

10. In addition to standard provisions for all sites and events, the SAA Championships presents
the following additional responsibilities for the host athletic trainer(s):

A. The host athletic trainer(s) will work with the visiting athletic trainers to ensure that all
games are covered by two certified athletic trainers during the championship at all times.
(Except in the sport of golf when one certified athletic trainer is acceptable).

B. For track & field, a tented/shaded area is required that serves as a dual site for
officials. The tent must be large enough to be equipped with the following at a minimum:
(2) 10-gallon cooler with cups
(1) Ice chest with loose ice and bags
(1) Treatment table
(1) Ice bath

C. For the cross country meet, the minimum following amenities are required:
(2) 10-gallon cooler with cups
(1) Ice chest with loose ice and bags
(1) Treatment table

D. The host institution is recommended to provide an ambulance or EMT on site.

E. If any team in any championships is not represented by an athletic trainer, the host
athletic trainer(s) will provide coverage for the event.

11. The Athletic Trainers Council also recognizes the need for a consistent provision of standard
modalities at each conference institution. The minimum standards for the provision of modalities
for use by visiting teams includes but is not limited to ice, moist heat (hydrocollator unit), and a
combination E-Stim-Ultrasound unit.

12. The provision of providing cold beverages after each athletic event for visiting teams is the
primary responsibility and decision of the athletic director and/or head coach and not the
decision of the athletic trainer. The same provision is true for shower towels and is not the
responsibility of the athletic trainer.

www.SAA-Sports.com
 Page | 10

13. All conference teams must travel with some form of identification that will guarantee
emergency care (insurance) at any hospital. Individual player information needs to be provided
by each athletic trainer.

14. Teams not traveling with an athletic trainer should contact the host school’s athletic trainer at
least 48 hours prior to the scheduled competition if special needs or treatments will be necessary.
This is to include taping, treatments, etc. The standard provisions as stated above will be
provided and the visiting team is expected to bring normal medical supplies (wrapping tape,
etc.). Only emergency care will be administered by the host school’s athletic trainer if he or she
is not contacted prior to the visiting team’s arrival. The host athletic trainer is not required to
cover practices for visiting teams in any sports. Any additional care will be provided only if the
host athletic trainer is notified in advance or with written instructions.

15. Current NCAA policy mandates the immediate, aggressive treatment of open wounds or skin
lesions that are deemed potential risks for transmission of disease. Participants with any active
bleeding should be removed from the event as soon as practical. Return to play is determined by
appropriate medical staff personnel and/or sport officials.

A student-athlete who is bleeding should be treated according to the NCAA

Guideline 2L regarding “Blood-Borne Pathogens and Intercollegiate Athletics.” The
bleeding must be stopped and the open wound covered with a dressing sturdy enough to
withstand the demands of the activity before the student-athlete may continue
participation. While the wound is being attended, an assessment of the individual’s skin,
uniform and equipment should be made by medical personnel. All blood on the skin
should be thoroughly cleaned. Any equipment, including tape, padding or uniform that is
saturated with blood and could come into contact with other student-athletes should be
changed.

Other participants at the point of injury should be evaluated by medical personnel for the
presence of blood from the injured student-athlete. All blood on the skin of the non-bleed
individuals should be thoroughly cleaned. Any equipment, including tape, padding or
uniform that is saturated with blood and could come into contact with other
student-athletes should be changed.

Environmental surfaces should also be inspected to determine if any hard surfaces have
been contaminated by blood or other potentially infectious materials (OPIM). These areas
should be disinfected with the proper chemical germicides or a freshly prepared bleach
and water solution diluted to a 1:10 bleach/water ratio.

All personnel should follow “Standard Precautions” when providing care of the
student-athlete and cleaning and disinfecting of environmental surfaces. These
precautions can be found in the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)
standards for Blood-Borne Pathogens and Hazard Communication.(Standard #29 CRF
1910.1030 & .1200). The NCAA also publishes a Sports Medicine Handbook that

www.SAA-Sports.com
 Page | 11

addresses many of the problems with blood-borne diseases. Each athletic trainer is asked
to maintain a copy of this handbook.

16. The use of all tobacco products by individuals on the field of play and bench areas during
regular competition and practice is prohibited. Violations of this regulation shall be dealt with by
the Athletic Directors Council for possible disciplinary action.

17. The Council requires that all coaches be certified in CPR and first aid, plus be knowledgeable
of the Emergency Action Plan (EAP) at their conference school – for traditional and
non-traditional seasons. All EAPs must be posted on the respective schools website.

18. The Council requires that all schools follow the updated NCAA lightning policy. These
guidelines are included in the updated NCAA Sports Medicine Handbook. The host school’s
administrator-in-charge (AIC) will be responsible for ensuring that the person identified by each
institution to make the call concerning lightning safety has spoken with the lead official and
reviewed the lightning policy prior to competition.

19. The SAA policy regarding protocol for visiting team concussions (if an athletic trainer is not
traveling with the visiting team) is for the home team certified athletic trainer to communicate
with the visiting team certified athletic trainer. If a concussion is suspected, the athlete will be
removed from play. The home team certified athletic trainer will not clear visiting team athletes
to return to play after a concussion.

20. The Head Athletic Trainer or Coordinator of Athletic Training Services at each institution
must submit the medical hardship paperwork request via email to Jay Gardiner by May 1st of
each year. Jay Gardiner will e-mail the approval or denial paperwork to each Head Athletic
Trainer over the summer.

Additionally, each institution's compliance officer must sign the medical hardship forms before
turning them in.

21. The Chair of the Athletic Training Council will send minutes and a copy of the manual to
each institution including associate members in Football and Field Hockey.

Note: Presidents and ADs recognize the NATA recommendation of one certified trainer for every
100 athletes. This will be a conference wide priority.

www.SAA-Sports.com
 Page | 12

Sports Information Directors Council

I. General Overview

1. The Sports Information Directors Council will include the SIDs from all conference schools.

2. The SIDs will assist the conference office in maintaining a comprehensive conference record
book of all conference sports.

3. The conference office will coordinate with the SIDs an operating system for sports
information, publications and statistical maintenance regarding scores, results, and statistics.

4. Any school’s failure to comply with the SID Council’s guidelines could result in that school’s
forfeiture of all-conference consideration in the sport in question.

5. Before the approval of changes affecting the SIDs, sports council proposals should be
presented to the SIDs for discussion.

6. Schools are required to host championships based on each sport's championship manual,
created by the conference office. Each manual should adhere and be updated according to
changes from each sport's council on an annual basis. This also includes reading the provided
championship scripts as created by the conference office.

7. SID's should be included and invited by the conference office on pre-championship phone
calls. An SID-only conference call may take place afterwards if necessary.

8. A timeline for all awards will be provided by the conference office which includes
nominations open/closed dates, voting open/closed dates, and a date for the official release.
These dates should correspond to existing sports council timelines. The SID's should be copied
on all awards correspondence to coaches.

9. It is the responsibility of the host institution to provide a championship website. Brackets will
be updated on the conference website including times and locations, to allow a single link to be
used on championship sites.

II. Game Day Procedures - Gameday Management

1. The SID from each member school is responsible for the conduct at the press box or press row
at each home contest. The SAA, in the interest of ensuring a professional working environment

www.SAA-Sports.com
 Page | 13

and reflection of the member institution, recommends the following code of conduct for the
media facilities be distributed or posted in the press box or on press row:

“The Southern Athletic Association and (name of member institution) remind each person
here that this is a working media area and cheering and other
emotional outbursts are absolutely prohibited. Any such behavior may
result in dismissal from the press box or row by the crowd
control officer or sports information director.”

In all cases, only media personnel, scouts, athletics officials and necessary game staff are
permitted in any press box or on any press row. At no time is cheering or other emotional
outburst permitted. Such conduct could result in dismissal from the contest and suspension of
future media credentials or admittance to the press box or press row.

2. The host institution for football and basketball will provide internet access (wireless or wired)
for radio broadcasts by visiting teams within the field of play (football is the working press box
and basketball is inside the gym or arena), provided the space is requested 24 hours in advance.
Additionally, the broadcast location for football within the press box should maintain some type
of privacy. Every effort should be made possible for football broadcasters to have a level of
privacy separate from the regular working staff in the same location.

3. The following statement shall be read or played over the public address system. This pledge
encourages SAA schools to have a student athlete from both schools read the following:

Player one:  “As representative participants  in today’s contest we ask your cooperation in
helping to make today’s game  a positive one for all involved by promoting good
sportsmanship”

Player two:  “Please refrain from the use of profanity or any intimidating actions towards
the players, referees, or coaches of either team. The use of alcohol is only permitted in
designated and approved areas.”

Together:  “Thank you for your cooperation”

Other appropriate Sportsmanship Pledges may be substituted with the approval of the
Commissioner.

4. The public address announcer should not be a “cheerleader” or incite the crowd at any time.
During SAA tournament competition, the PA announcer must be strictly neutral, providing
pertinent information in a concise and restrained manner. Criticism over the public address
system of officials, coaches, student-athletes, etc, during any competition is a significant
violation of conference policy.

www.SAA-Sports.com
 Page | 14

Any individual guilty of such behavior will be expelled from those duties immediately. The
public address announcer should be aware of procedures in case of necessary evacuation of the
playing area for emergencies.

The crowd control offers should instruct the announcer of these procedures in advance of the
contest.

5. Prior to the beginning of any conference event, the following protocol is recommended:

A. The National Anthem will be played or sung, and the American and
SAA flags displayed. (If feasible, but not required for all sports – check
each Sports Council.)

B. It will be announced it is a Southern Athletic Association event:

Pregame timing protocols should follow sport-specific NCAA and coaching association
protocols.

6. Consideration should be given to special pregame and halftime activities (Homecoming,

Parent’s Weekend, Senior Day, etc.). Those activities should begin early enough so it does not
affect the starting times of games.

III. Game Day Procedures - Statistics

1. The host school is responsible for posting the final score to Presto and uploading the packed
file into the Presto system.

2. For consistency, in regards to digital roster files, the proper listing is as follows:
First name, Last name

3. Also, in the sports of baseball and softball, when sharing digital roster files, a school needs to
send both a .tro (roster) and .trx (extended roster) file before the game to allow for both first and
last names to show up in the box score.

4. The host SID must provide an official NCAA box score and a competent statistical staff for all
events. This is true for field hockey, football, basketball, baseball, soccer, softball, volleyball and
lacrosse. SIDs will work with cross country, golf, swimming and diving, outdoor track and tennis
coaches to ensure that adequate statistics and results are maintained. The host school must update
the SAA online scoreboard, no later than midnight the day of competition after a contest in
baseball, basketball, field hockey, football, soccer, softball, tennis, volleyball and lacrosse.

5. On conference basketball weekends, game files for the first game of a scheduled doubleheader
should be e-mailed immediately between games (if needed) or uploaded to the appropriate
website. Once the second game is completed, the same procedure applies. SIDs are also

www.SAA-Sports.com
 Page | 15

responsible for distributing basketball box scores to the locker room of both teams during
halftime and at the conclusion of all games.

6. In football, it is required that each host SID provide a play-by-play for all conference home
games. This play-by-play should be a part of the regular statistics package provided after each
game (box score, tackle statistics, etc.) SIDs are also required to review with their statistics staff
assisted and unassisted tackles for accuracy in reporting defensive statistics (e.g. an assisted
tackle means the player assisted in the momentum of the tackle). To ensure accurate game
statistics, coaches or SIDs will send a set of individual defensive statistics and correction of team
statistics from game film according to NCAA guidelines. This should be done no later than 9:00
a.m., (EST) Monday.

7. At the SAA Volleyball Tournament, it is required that the host school keep live, in-game
statistics for both the semifinal matches and the championship match on Sunday.

IV. Game Day Procedures - Ejections

1. The official scorebook – in those sports in which an official scorebook is maintained – is the
final determining factor for ejections, fighting, etc. The act of an ejection and the consequences
involved with any ejection must be recorded in the official scorebook by the official scorekeeper
in all sports that require official scorekeeping. All ejections will be reported to the conference
office within 48 hours by the member institution.

V. Roster Maintenance

1. For consistency in roster guidelines (when using and sharing Microsoft Word rosters), all
schools should have team sport rosters available per NCAA standards:

Cross Country / Golf / Tennis / Track / Swimming and Diving

1) name
2) class
3) hometown
(list events for each swimmer and/or track athlete after class and before hometown)

Basketball / Football / Soccer / Volleyball / Lacrosse / Field Hockey

1) number
2) name
3) position
4) height
5) weight (omit for women’s basketball, women’s soccer, volleyball, women’s lacrosse
and field hockey)
6) class
7) hometown

Baseball / Softball

www.SAA-Sports.com
 Page | 16

1) number
2) name
3) position
4) bats/throws
5) height
6) weight (omit for softball)
7) class
8) hometown

Also, for listing of states on all rosters, the AP style should be used.

2. Football rosters and two-deep charts shall be sent to conference opponents both on the
Monday prior to Saturday’s game.

3. Each school must send their digital rosters for the applicable sports the Monday before
conference competition. All rosters must be maintained in a digital format (Statcrew, Presto, etc.)
and Word or Google Doc format in numerical order on each school’s athletics website and all
rosters should be kept up to date during the season to reflect changes, deletions, additions, etc.

VII. Player of the Week Nominations Process

For all sports that use Stat Crew, Genius Sports, or Presto statistics (except volleyball), the SIDs
will make weekly Player of the Week nominations using the Presto online nomination platform
and will use the comments section to write their submissions in paragraph form.

VIII. Video Streaming

There is no conference-wide contract to utilize a specific streaming service. Due to conference

split of website providers, institutions may use streaming services that best fit with each
institution's own needs. Each institution must use a video streaming service. It is up to each
individual institution to charge for revenue. A school may not charge for any SAA conference
tournament or championship event.

All schools are required to video stream online conference football and basketball games. We
highly encourage institutions to broadcast all other conference sports. Schools may charge a fee
for the video service at their discretion. Schools may not password protect or block any
on-demand games due to a possible competitive advantage between conference programs.

www.SAA-Sports.com
 Page | 17

Men and Women’s Cross Country

1. The men’s and women’s championship will be held two weeks prior to the NCAA Regional
Meet. The women will race 6,000 meters. The men will race 8,000 meters. The course should
meet minimum NCAA championship standards with regard to obstacles and obstructions, and
avoid any lapping.

2. A rotation for host sites will be established among conference schools. If schools do not have
adequate facilities, or are unable or unwilling to host, they may pass on their opportunity to host
to the next school listed in the rotation. Championship sites must be approved, two (2) years in
advance, by a majority of the conference coaches and must comply with all NCAA rules and
regulations, as listed in the NCAA cross country manual. Schools wishing to join the rotation
(having either newly joined the conference or acquired a new facility) may be placed at the end
of the current rotation. The head coach at the host institution will automatically serve as the cross
country council chair for that season.

3. Start times will be at 10:00 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. local time. The order of start for the men and
women will alternate, following the order used at the NCAA Championship Meet. In addition, a
majority of coaches, in consultation with the conference office, may vote to adjust the start times
for a particular year when there is concern that weather conditions may significantly affect
performance and/or create health concerns.

4. SAA Championship races must be timed/scored with modern equipment on par with NCAA
Championship standards. (Chip timing is currently the standard protocol, with video/finish Lynx
back-up for times within 4/10ths of a second of one another. In addition to chip timing, a finish
corral should be used, rather than a chute, as noted in the NCAA rules book.) In addition,
manual scoring/timing backup systems must be used at the finish line.

5. At the conclusion of the second race, and once both sets of results are posted, they are
considered “unofficial”. The time of posting will be noted on the results sheet. At this point, a 20
minute protest period begins, during which protests for both races may be filed with the meet
referee. At the conclusion of the 20 minute period, if no protests have been filed, the results
become “official”.

6. The meet referee will rule on any protests. A coach has the option of appealing the meet
referee’s ruling to the games committee. The games committee is composed of three (3) coaches
- the host coach, the host coach from the previous championships, and the host coaches from the
upcoming championships. In the event a protest involves a school from which a coach is
serving on the games committee, an alternate coach (as selected by the host coach) will serve in
his/her place.

www.SAA-Sports.com
 Page | 18

7. The annual cross country council (coaches) meeting will take place each year per telephone
conference call. The purpose of the meeting is to propose changes to the cross country operating
manual, as well as to select/approve the championship site for two years out. It is the
responsibility of the host coach from the previous academic year’s championship meet to
schedule this conference call. The specific date/time of the conference call should occur at
the end of the Fall semester and before the start of the Spring semester.

8. The host institution will make a reasonable effort to make the meet packet (bib numbers,
chips, and other important material) available to each school on Friday prior to the meet. It is
recommended that this material be available at the course on Friday, at a pre-race meal (if
scheduled), or at a convenient location near the host hotel(s). Box assignments will be drawn by
the host institution and made available as a part of the packets on Friday. Packets not picked up
must be available at the course 90 minutes prior to the first race on Saturday, at which time box
assignments will also be drawn. In addition, course maps should be available at least two weeks
prior to the meet.

9. Entries are due to the host institution by midnight on the Monday prior to the SAA
Championships. The entry procedure will be determined by the host school. An unlimited
number of entries per institution will be permitted at the SAA Championships. It is the
responsibility of the host institution to forward meet entries to the conference office by 5:00 p.m.
est. on Tuesday prior to the meet.

10. It is the responsibility of the host institution in coordination with the SAA office to send a
meet packet (hotels, restaurants, directions, practice opportunities on the course, starting times,
etc) to each school no later than October 1 prior to the SAA Championships.

11. Awards
The team champions will be awarded championship trophies provided by the conference office.

The individual finisher in each event will be named the conference Runner of the Year and
recognized during the awards ceremony. Newcomer of the Year (top freshman or first-year
student based on finish at the conference championship) will also be selected and recognized
during the awards ceremony. Coach of the Year will be selected after the championships.

The top-five finishers in the conference meet will be named to the All-SAA First-Team
All-Conference Team, the next five will be named to the second team and finishers 11-15 will be
listed as Honorable Mention. Each runner will be awarded a medallion following the meet.

At the conclusion of the meet, the following schedule should be followed:

Recognition of senior student-athletes who have participate in four individual cross

country conference championship competitions. The host institution shall list the athletes
by school before the beginning of the individual and team awards.

www.SAA-Sports.com
 Page | 19

Team and individual orders of finish determined.

Announcement of final team order of finish. Recognition of all teams, beginning

with the last-place team and working up to the conference champion. The team
trophy is then presented.

Announcement of the top-15 individual finishers, beginning with the 15th place
finisher and working up to the individual champion.
 
Announcement of the Newcomer of the Year Award.

It is mandatory that the host institution set up an appropriate area to conduct the
awards presentation and post the final scores and results.

The commissioner will present the awards. If the commissioner is unable to be

present for the awards presentation, the assistant commissioner, host institution’s
president, primary athletics administrator or head cross country coach should
make the presentation.

SAA Coach of the Year awards for men and women will be selected by the head coaches. Head
women’s coaches will vote for the women’s SAA Coach of the Year award, and head men’s
coaches will vote for the men’s coach of the year award. Coaches are allowed to vote for
themselves. Voting and announcement of award recipients will take place during the week
immediately after the SAA Conference Championship meet, and will be coordinated by the
conference office.

12. A male and female SAA Runner of the Week will be selected each week during the regular
season. Coaches will submit their nominations via e-mail to the SAA office by 1:00 p.m. (EST)
each Tuesday. All weekly nominees will be emailed back to the coaches for a vote to select the
winners. Coaches are allowed to vote for their own runners. The SAA office will release the
winners by 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday on the SAA website and by email to the institution.

13. An All-SAA Sportsmanship Team will be selected after the SAA Championship Meet. Each
men and women’s team will select one member from their team who displays good
sportsmanship throughout the season to be a member of the All-SAA Sportsmanship Team.

14. It is strongly recommended that the host school of the SAA Cross Country Championship
have a meal (or some other appropriate event) after the championship race and
before/during/after the awards ceremony. The host should take into consideration that visiting
teams need to travel home and may not have time for an event that lasts a long time.

Future Championship Host

Sewanee - 2020
BSC - 2021

www.SAA-Sports.com
 Page | 20

Centre - 2022
Hendrix - 2023
Millsaps - 2024
OU - 2025
Rhodes - 2026
Sewanee - 2027
Berry - 2028

www.SAA-Sports.com
 Page | 21

Field Hockey

Section 1- Regular Season and Postseason

A. Regular Season Scheduling

For the 2019 season, each team shall play a single round-robin schedule consisting of 4
conference games - home/away are determined by the SAA Matrix (See Appendix A).

B. Scheduling Guidelines
1. No conference games will be scheduled the first weekend of the season.

2. Once scheduling is complete, submit your full schedule to the SAA Office (Clayton Felts,
[email protected]) to ensure their files are correct and the SAA website is up to
date.

3. Game times will be set in agreement between the competing teams. Suggested starting
times for Saturday-Sunday series are:
a. Saturday – 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
b. Sunday – 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

Consideration should be given to special pregame and halftime activities (Homecoming,

Parent’s Weekend, Senior Day, etc). Those activities should begin early enough so it
does not affect the starting times of games.

4. Game times may be adjusted to accommodate travel by the visiting teams or other
reasons pertaining to missed class time and campus activities for the home teams. Both
head coaches and school staff must be in agreement with the proposed change.

5. Teams should set pre-game clocks to end approximately 10 minutes prior to the
scheduled match time to allow for the National Anthem (when applicable) and starting
lineups. This protocol will allow for matches to start on time.

6. Game dates/sites may be adjusted for travel and financial reasons if both parties and
the conference office agree. It may be feasible for conference matches to be played at a
neutral site if it is agreeable with both teams and conference office.

7. In the event of inclement weather that adversely affects suitability of field conditions, the
following people will be involved in determining whether the field is safe for competition:
athletics director or senior woman administrator from the host school (required), facilities

www.SAA-Sports.com
 Page | 22

manager (recommended), umpire/(recommended), and/or athletics trainer

(recommended)

C. Postseason
1. Starting in the 2019 season, the coaches have approved the SAA conference
tournament will be played at a predetermined site. Host institutions are as follows:

2022: Centre
2023: Rhodes

2. In the event that seeding and/or the conference championship cannot be played to
completion, a tie-break system will be used to determine the champion
a. All ties will be broken by first measuring head-to-head conference play between
the tied teams.
b. In the event teams’ regular season conference standing are equal, then
head-to-head in-conference goal differential will be used. In the case of a three
way tie, after one team is selected, the remaining two teams shall ALWAYS revert
back to head to head.
c. Ties will be broken by conference goals allowed.
d. Ties will be broken by head to head okay between (out of region) in division
common opponents.
e. Ties will be broken by head to head play between out of region common
opponents
f. Ties will be broken by goal differential between in-division common opponents.
g. In the event of teams having equal records for regular season play, seeding of
the championship will be awarded using the same tie-break system. If a tie
remains, a coin flip by the commissioner will determine the seeding.

3. See Appendix B for Field Hockey Tournament Policies.

Section 2- Officials

A. Assignor
The assignor for the 2019 season is Chip Rogers.
Email: [email protected]
Cell: 434-825-2082

B. Two officials must be present at ALL conference games and will be provided by the host
institution.

C. The following compensation policy for officials/umpires will be adopted across the board
for all SAA member institutions sponsoring field hockey:

www.SAA-Sports.com
 Page | 23

a. All umpires are required to possess a current USFHA rating of Level II or III and
that they attend at least one USFHA sponsored umpires’ interpretation meeting
annually. Coordination with USFHA for a regional umpires clinic should take
place each calendar year.
b. All umpires are compensated $150 per match.
c. Officials that stay overnight for two or more games will be given a $25 per diem
for meals each day
d. Host institutions will compensate umpires’ travel expenses according to the
following:
i. $0.50 per mile driven OR flight and rental car, whichever option is
cheaper.
ii. Umpires who travel together will only be compensated for mileage one
time. Only the driver will receive the mileage reimbursement.
e. Umpires who need hotel accommodation will receive a complimentary hotel room
at a local hotel of good reputation.
f. For SAA Championships, at least four umpires will be reserved with one acting
as Umpire Manager for the event. The Umpire Manager must be a USFHA Level
III rated umpire who is up-to-date on his/her rating and interpretations.

Section 3- Scouting

Verbal/written scouts on conference opponents is not permitted to anyone in or out of

conference. Otherwise, scouting is permissible pending no additional cost to the institution.
During the postseason, scouting of tournament practices is prohibited.

Section 4- Gameday Operations

A. Film Exchange
The SAA coaches have agreed to use Team Xstream for film exchange. We are all in open
exchange. The expectation is that all home games (as well as neutral you are hosting) are
uploaded within 24 hours of game time. Should neutral games not be filmed (due to lack of
staffing), communication to the visiting team is expected in a timely (one week) fashion.

B. Ejections
A report on any ejections from athletics events involving conference teams must be reported to
the conference office within 48 hours after the contest by the host institution. If the contest is a
non-conference event, the member institution is responsible for notifying the conference office of
any ejections within 48 hours. An ejection could result in disciplinary action by the individual’s
institution and/or the commissioner. The Athletics Director's Advisory Council will serve to assist
the commissioner on any such rulings involving potential suspensions of student athletes and/or
coaches as it relates to potential violations of the SAA Code of Ethics.

C. Balls and Cones

www.SAA-Sports.com
 Page | 24

Per NFHCA rules, all home teams are to provide a minimum of 50 balls and a set of cones to
the visiting team.

Section 5- Awards

A. Regular Season Awards

1. Player of the Week
Every week along with conference statistics, there will be an offensive and defensive
Player-of-the-Week selected. Nominations for Players-of-the-Week should be submitted to
the conference office by 1pm EST each Monday and the conference office will name
Players-of-the-Week later in the afternoon each Monday.

2. Regular Season Champion

The conference will provide a championship trophy to the regular season conference champion.

B. Postseason Awards
1. Conference Champion
The conference will provide a championship trophy to the conference tournament champion.

The conference office will administer the selection process for the All-Conference Teams,
defensive and offensive Players-of-the-Year, Newcomer-of-the Year and Coach-of-the-Year.

2. All-Conference
Each coach is allowed to nominate up to six (6) of his/her own players to be placed on the final
ballot for All-SAA. Players will appear on the ballot with individual overall statistics and
conference statistics listed on the ballot. Players will also be selected without consideration to
position, except one goalkeeper per team. The online nomination platform opens at 6pm EST
on the final Sunday of regular season play and remains open until 8am EST on Tuesday.
Coaches voting will be conducted on-line from Tuesday at 9am EST until Wednesday at 6:30
pm EST the week prior to the conference tournament. Unless otherwise determined by the Field
Hockey sports council, the All-Conference teams will be announced by the following Tuesday.

Coaches will vote by ranking 11 players (10 field players and a goalkeeper) to comprise the
All-Conference team. A First Team of 10 field players and one goalkeeper will be named as well
as a Second Team of 10 field players and one goalkeeper. Those players not named to one of
the All-Conference teams but who received votes in the balloting for All-Conference shall be
recognized as honorable mention. If there are not enough players voted for two full teams, we
will fill the first-team and then the coaches will re-vote again for the second-team. All votes by
the coaches will be made public to all FH coaches by email from the conference office.

Should coaches fail to vote, the SAA Office will send a second notification to the head coach
and another individual at the institution, such as Sports Information Director, Athletic Director or
Senior Women’s Administrator, and at least one of the individuals will be required to send votes

www.SAA-Sports.com
 Page | 25

for their institution. This will ensure that the SAA field hockey student-athletes receive proper
representation.

3. Players of the Year

a. Defensive and Offensive POY: will be selected through the voting
process. You cannot vote for your own players. Players nominated as
Defensive and/or Offensive Player-of-the-Year should be ranked as the
top selection by the nominating school within their six nominees for SAA
All-Conference.
b. Newcomer: will be selected on a separate ballot. Coaches can nominate
one player from their squad to the Newcomer of the Year ballot.
Newcomer-of-the-Year will be a player in her first year at a conference
school (transfer, freshman, or someone playing in her first year as a
member of the team).

4. Coach of the Year

The SAA office will request Coach of the Year votes via email. Coaches may not vote for
themselves to select coach-of-the-year

5. All Sportsmanship Team

An All-SAA Sportsmanship team will be selected at the following the SAA championship
tournament. Each team will elect one member from their team who displays good
sportsmanship throughout the season to be a member of the All-SAA Sportsmanship team.
These individuals will be selected by the team and head coach, with the head coach sending
the selection to the conference office at the end of the season. Only one student athlete from
each team may be selected. The award will be publicized with other conference awards
following the conclusion of the season.

6. SAA All-Tournament Team

The All Tournament team is selected by the host institution SID and coaches following the SAA
tournament. The breakdown of awards is as follows:
Conference Champion: Four selections including one MVP
Conference Runner-Up: Three selections
3/4th Place Teams: Two selections
5th place Team: One selection

Appendix A
SAA Scheduling Matrix
2020:
Centre Concordia Rhodes Sewanee Transy

H A H A H A H A H A H A

www.SAA-Sports.com
 Page | 26

CUW RHO CEN CEN CUW RHO CEN CEN

SEW RHO SEW SEW CUW CUW RHO

TRA TRA TRA TRA SEW

SAA Tournament: @ SEWANEE

Appendix B

SAA Field Hockey Tournament Policies

Format: In 2019, the conference tournament will be a one weekend format. The tournament will
be structured as follows:

Friday Saturday Sunday

Quarterfinal 1: 4 v 5 1:00pm Semifinal: 2 v 3 11:00am Championship 1:00pm
Semifinal: 1 vs. winner 4/5 2:00pm

*The 1, 2, and 3 seeds will receive a bye and will automatically play in the semi-final games on
Saturday.

Site: See Section 1, part C.

www.SAA-Sports.com
 Page | 27

Requirements to host: The host institution must have an artificial surface and lights. If lights
are not available, the host institution 1) forfeits their right to host 2) must rent lights to allow for
game times to be reasonable in terms of missed class time. Multiple home events hosted by the
host institution should also be considered.

Practices: Each team is allowed one 1 hour slot on the host institution’s turf on the day prior
(Thursday) to the start of competition. Practice times will be determined by the host institution
with consideration given to teams’ arrival, travel distance, game time, and availability of proper
staffing by the host.

Officials: See Section 2 part C, line e.

Inclement Weather: If inclement weather is pending for tournament weekend, members of the
tournament committee (specifically the host institution admin and/or commissioner) will
communicate possible changes for the weekend. If a tournament game is suspended due to
weather, all coaches will be notified of the change via a group text message/email. Once a
game commences and new start times have been tentatively set, those will be communicated
via text/email to all coaches.

1. In the event that seeding and/or the conference championship cannot be played to
completion, a tie-break system will be used to determine the champion
a. All ties will be broken by first measuring head-to-head conference play
between the tied teams.
b. In the event teams’ regular season conference standing are equal, then
head-to-head in-conference goal differential will be used. In the case of a three
way tie, after one team is selected, the remaining two teams shall ALWAYS revert
back to head to head.
c.Ties will be broken by in conference goals allowed.
d. Ties will be broken by head to head okay between (out of region) in division
common opponents.
e. Ties will broken by head to head play between out of region common
opponents
f. Ties will be broken by goal differential between in-division common opponents.
g. In the event of teams having equal records for regular season play, seeding of
the championship will be awarded using the same tie-break system. If a tie
remains, a coin flip by the commissioner will determine the seeding.

www.SAA-Sports.com
 Page | 28

Football

Normal Fall Season Tiebreaker and Standings

I. Regular-Season Contest Regulations

1. The conference champion in football shall be determined by a single round robin. The team
with the best winning percentage against conference teams will be declared the conference
champion. The conference champion receives an automatic bid to the NCAA championship.

2. In the case of two or more teams tying for the conference championship, each team will be
declared a co-champion and receive a trophy. To determine the representative to NCAA
postseason competition and the recipient of the conference’s automatic bid, the following criteria
will be used as a tie-breaker:

A. Two teams – head-to-head result from conference game played.

B. Three teams – Using the following point system: (Normal Fall tiebreaker)
● Each team will be awarded two points for each victory against other conference
co-champions.
● Each team is awarded one point for each victory over other conference teams not
sharing the championship.
● In the event that both parts of Section B are applied and two teams are still tied,
the formula will revert back to Section A.

C. If Sections A and B cannot break the tie and there are still three teams tied, then the
team or teams with the fewest losses will be declared as the recipient of the conference’s
automatic bid to the NCAAs. If two teams have the equal number of losses, Section A is
applied.

D. If there are still three teams tied with the same number of losses, then the percentage
of each team’s opponents’ total overall record will be used.

E. The team whose opponents have the higher win/loss percentage will receive the
conference’s automatic bid to the NCAAs.

F. If two teams remain throughout any of these tie-breaking procedures. Section A is

applied.

www.SAA-Sports.com
 Page | 29

3. The official footballs of the conference are the Wilson F1001 NCAA, F1003 NCAA, or the
F1005 NCAA and must be used in all conference games.

4. Regular game clocks and functional scoreboards with each team’s score, down, yardage to go,
yard line and quarter are required. It is also the responsibility of the host school to have adequate
first-down markers and chains, down-marker and pylons marking the goal line and back and
corners of the end zone. The conference provides each school with chain-gang crew vests that
are to be worn by the crew during all home games. Schools are required to have 25-second
play-clocks in both end zones.

5. The host school is responsible for providing a minimum of two ball boys or girls with one
person on each sideline to ensure that each team is given their own game ball in adequate time.
Host schools should make sure enough towels, bags, etc., are available when inclement weather
is a factor to keep game balls dry and playable. Host schools are required to provide a kicking
net for the visiting team in all conference
games.

6. Each school is responsible for its own communications systems at any game. The host school
does not supply communications equipment for the visiting team. If the communications system
for one school is not functional, the other school does not have to shut down its system. The
home team will provide no back-up system for the visiting team.

7. The host school will provide locker room facilities. Adequate arrangements should be made
for the privacy of the visiting team for meetings, showers, dressing, etc. The visiting team is
responsible for its own shower towels.

8. The visiting team will also be provided adequate space in the press box or
spotting area for at least two people or equal to the host school’s number.
Consideration should be given to the privacy of this area and separate from the
main press box that includes statisticians, radio personnel, etc.

9. The host school will make every effort to accommodate requests by the visiting team for
adequate practice time on the actual game field on the day prior to the game.

10. The visiting team will be allotted no more than 60 minutes of actual on-field practice time.
Requests for practice time by the visiting team must be made at least five days prior to the actual
day of the game. Adverse weather conditions on the day prior to the game may prohibit either
team from practicing on the game field.

11. Pre-game warm-up areas are defined by the chart in this manual.

12. All conference games will be governed by NCAA rules.

13. Any new uniforms would require approval from the SAA office and SAA Coordinator of
Officials prior to purchase to insure they meet NCAA regulation.

www.SAA-Sports.com
 Page | 30

II. Scheduling

1. Prior to the beginning of the season, each head coach should send an information sheet
containing details pertaining to the opponents’ visit to their facility. This sheet should contain
information about hotel rates, local maps, restaurants, ground transportation, bus/van parking,
dressing and shower facilities, pregame warm-up areas, any pregame activities (time of playing
of National Anthem, Homecoming or Parents’ Day ceremonies, etc.), sports information
services, etc.

2. In the case of inclement weather or travel problems due to abnormal rain, cold or darkness,
administrators of the competing schools (presidents, athletics directors and head coaches) will
decide jointly as to when the game will be played. It is preferred that the game take place on the
same day or the following day. The host school should work with hotels, restaurants and even
automotive mechanics to ensure that the visiting team is accommodated in case of such delays or
problems.

3. Conference schools are responsible for scheduling games against conference opponents, based
on the rotation supplied by the commissioner’s office. The commissioner will assist member
schools on any conflicts in this scheduling process. The Football Council will advise the
commissioner regarding the schedule.

III. Officials

1. There will be a minimum of seven officials on the field plus one official clock
operator for all conference games.

2. The SAA coordinator of officials must assign the field officials and they must be recognized
intercollegiate officials.

3. Each institution will be responsible to send a copy of their final schedule to both the
Commissioner and the Coordinator by June 1.

4. The assigner fee is a one time fee for $1,000 per school per year. Total for officials for each
game would be $1,505.00 per game. Seven officials times $215 per game equals $1,505.00.

IV. Ejections

A report on any ejections from athletics events involving conference teams

must be reported to the conference office within 48 hours after the contest by the
host institution. If the contest is a non-conference event, the member institution is
responsible for notifying the conference office of any ejections within 48 hours. An
ejection could result in disciplinary action by the individual’s institution and/or the

www.SAA-Sports.com
 Page | 31

commissioner. The Athletics Directors Advisory Council will serve to assist the
commissioner on any such rulings involving potential suspensions of student athletes
and/or coaches as it relates to potential violations of the SAA Code of
Ethics.

V. Travel Squad Size

Travel squad size is limited to the NCAA maximum plus 10 percent rounded up for regular
season and conference championship games. Games that do not require an overnight stay or that
are played during institutional breaks are waived from this limitation.

VI. Scouting

1. There will be a videotape exchange through Game Tape Exchange Hudl or in lieu of
scouting. Each film exchange shall include ODK, Down, Distance, Yardline, Gain/Loss.

2. There will be no on-site scouting of conference teams by representatives of

conference member schools.

3. After Week 4 of the regular season, all end zone and wide copies will be uploaded
no later than midnight on Saturday following each game. If there are SAA games
before Week 4, each head coach will work out the film exchange so that the films
traded are equal. Coaches will trade a wide and end zone copy separately. There will
not be an interweave trade. Film exchange with an unequal amount of games: There will be an
equal amount of games exchanged and the corresponding weeks shall be used. Ex: Team A
plays weeks 1&2 Team B plays week 1 and has a bye week 2. They play each other week 3-
Only Week #1 will be exchanged.

4. If a team is traveling to a non-conference opponent that Saturday, the conference

member must download both end zone and wide copies of their game no later than
Noon the day after returning from the trip.

5. No exchanges will occur until both teams have downloaded both end zone and
wide copies.

6. Teams are responsible for downloading both end zone and wide copies for
exchange by Thursday (10 days) prior to the next game.

7. A play-by-play, depth chart, and complete roster must be sent via e-mail or fax to
arrive no later than Noon on Thursday (10 days) prior to the next game.

8. The commissioner will handle all exchange problems.

9. No videos of conference teams will be sent to non-conference opponents who

www.SAA-Sports.com
 Page | 32

play conference teams.

10. Every effort shall be made to produce quality videos. All teams must show the
entire scoreboard after each change of possession. It is the responsibility of the
team creating the video to contact the team receiving the video to explain any
discrepancy in missing plays or other complicated situations.

11. Conference members may not provide information on conference teams to

conference or non-conference members.

VII. Coaches Meeting

All coaches will meet annually at their annual national coaches convention in January or by SAA
conference call to make recommendations to the Athletics Directors Council for changes in
these policies.

VIII. Awards

1. The conference office will provide a championship trophy to the winning team of
the single round-robin format.

2.To select the All-Conference Teams, the following steps will be taken:

A. The coaches or SID representatives from each school will make nominations online by
noon on the Tuesday following the final game of the regular season. Nominations will
open at 8:00 a.m. following the last regular season game. They will remain open until
Tuesday at 11:59 p.m.

B. To achieve an 12-man First Team Offense and 12-man First Team Defense per the actual
positions on the field, players will be nominated per position and the coaches voting will
determine the top players at each position to set the All-Conference Teams. Coaches are
advised to rank their players within position during the nomination process to assist the
other coaches in voting. The offensive categories within which to nominate players are
QB, RB, WR, TE/H-Back, OL and K. The defensive players within which to make
nominations are DL, LB, DS and P. After voting by ranking players within position, the
First Team Offense will be the top QB vote-getter, the top-2 RB vote-getters, the top-3
WR vote-getters and the top 6 OL vote getters (or top 5 OL plus a TE/H-Back, or 5 OL
plus a third receiver, which the coaches may decide). The top vote-getting kicker will be
placed on the First Team. The Second Team Offense will be made up of the same
numbers by position of the next highest vote-getters in each category. After voting by
ranking players within position, the First Team Defense will be the top-4 DL vote-getters,
top-4 LB vote getters top-2 Safeties and top-2 Corners vote-getters. The top vote-getting
punter will be placed on the First Team Defense. The Second Team Defense will be made
up of the same numbers by position of the next highest vote-getters in each category.

www.SAA-Sports.com
 Page | 33

Players not making either the First or Second Team for Defense or Offense but who
received at least two points in the voting process will be named Honorable Mention.

C. A separate ballot for each of the All-SAA major wards will be constructed of the
following categories: Offensive Player of the Year; Defensive Player of the Year; Special
Teams Player of the Year; Newcomer of the Year (freshman or first
year transfer) and Coach of the Year. Each coach may nominate one player from their
squad for each of these ballots. The Coach of the Year vote will be conducted via email
between the coaches and the conference office. Coaches may not vote for themselves.

D. Coaches will conduct their voting by online ballot and there will not be a conference
call to conduct this voting. A coach may not vote for a player from his own school or
himself. If there is a tie for the last spot at a certain position, then those players who tie
for the final spot will both be named All-Conference. The voting timetable is as follows;
coaches may vote between Wednesday at 9:00 a.m. (EST) - Friday at 3:00 p.m. (EST).
All-SAA Teams will be announced publicly on the following Monday at 9:00 a.m. (EST).

E. The All-Conference selections will be announced and released by the conference

office within one week of voting being completed. A First Team, Second Team and
Honorable Mention will be selected.

F. There will be neither a selection of a preseason All-Conference team nor a predicted

order of finish.

G. During the regular season, the conference office will select an offensive, defensive,
and special teams Player of the Week each Monday. Nominations are due to the
conference office by Monday at 1:00 p.m. (EST) and the results will be publicized on the
conference website.

H. An All-SAA Sportsmanship team will be selected at the end of the SAA regular
season. Each team will elect one member from their team who displays good
sportsmanship throughout the season to be a member of the All-SAA Sportsmanship
team. These individuals will be selected by the team and head coach, with the head coach
sending the selection to the conference office at the end of the season. Only one
student-athlete from each team may be selected. All institutions will have one
representative, with final team choice selected by the head coach. The award will be
publicized with other conference awards at the end of the season.

www.SAA-Sports.com
 Page | 34

SAA Pregame Warm-Up Area Chart

IX. Southern Athletic Association Replay Policy and Purpose

The SAA has established a fundamental process for the video review of a targeting foul that has
been called and enforced in the first-half of football games played between two Southern
Athletic Association institutions. It can also be used for non-conference games if the home
school is a Southern Athletic Institution and both schools have mutual agreement. If either team
objects to exercising this option, it will not be used. The 2014 rule change for targeting fouls in
games without Instant Replay provides the option for the referee to review video of first-half
targeting fouls at halftime. The decision regarding whether to exercise this option must be made
at least one hour before the coin toss.

Purpose: Instant replay is a process whereby video review is used to confirm, reverse or let stand
certain on-field decisions made by game officials.

Philosophy: The instant replay process operates under the fundamental assumption that the ruling
on the field is correct. The referee may reverse a ruling if and only if the video evidence

www.SAA-Sports.com
 Page | 35

convinces him beyond all doubt that the ruling is incorrect. Without such indisputable video
evidence, the referee must allow the ruling to stand.
The protocol for the review process is as follows:
1. Assuming that the review option will be exercised, as a part of his pregame duties the Referee
will meet with a representative of game management to establish the following:

The source of the video to be used for review, as determined by this hierarchy of availability:

1. Television feed
2. Internet streaming (when there is no TV)
3. Coach’s video (when there is neither TV nor Internet streaming)
4. Other source (when none of the above is available)

● Only one source of video need be used, however the goal is to get the call correct. If the
visiting team has clear footage to be reviewed, the Head Referee may make a decision
using both sources.

● Only the referee and calling official will review the video of the call on the field being
displayed on a tablet no smaller than 9.7” diagonal tablet device. If a laptop or desktop
computer / monitor is to be used, the minimum screen size must be larger than 13”. No
cell phones may be used as a part of the review; nor should the screen of a video camera
be used for such review.

● The location of, and security arrangements for the secure area that will be made available
at halftime for the review must be clearly marked and articulated to the Head Referee as
part of the game prep process.

● There must be an Identification of the individual who will provide technical assistance to
the officiating crew for the review. It is recommended that this person not be a coach of
either team, if a coach must be the technical support person, they may not comment,
suggest, or in any way interfere with the halftime review process.

● The school technician will bring the video to review to the secured area for the officials
and will have the video ready to review no later than 10 minutes remaining in the half.
The video must be able to forward, reverse, advance in slow motion and pause during the
review process.

5. The Referee and calling official will conduct the review under the fundamental assumption of
Instant Replay: the ruling on the field is correct and may be reversed only on the basis of
indisputable video evidence.

6. The decision of the Referee is final and may not be appealed.

www.SAA-Sports.com
 Page | 36

7. Upon arriving at a decision, the Referee will inform each Head Coach as soon as possible of
the outcome of the review—i.e., whether the player in question will be allowed to return to the
game for the second half.
8. Prior to the second-half kickoff the Referee will announce to the stadium the outcome of the
review.

www.SAA-Sports.com
 Page | 37

Men and Women’s Soccer

I. Conference Championship and Regular-Season Contest Regulations

1. The conference champions will be decided by a postseason tournament. Seeding for the
postseason tournament will be decided by the order of finish determined in a single round-robin
regular season. A point system will be used to determine the conference champion. Three points
will be awarded for a win and one point for a tie. The conference tournament will be played over
the course of two weekends with the higher seeded squad hosting the quarterfinals (1 vs. 8, 2 vs.
7, 3 vs. 6, 4 vs. 5) in the first weekend. The highest remaining seed will host the semifinals
(Friday) and championship match (Sunday) on the second weekend. The winner of the
conference tournament receives an automatic bid to the NCAA championship.

2. In case two or more teams tie for the regular season championship, a tie-breaker system will
be used to determine the seeding of the tournament, but each will share the points for the
average of the two or more spots in the standings.

3. All ties will be broken in the order in which they occur, from top to bottom in the standings.
When comparing tied teams against positions lower in the standings which are also tied, those
lower tied teams shall be considered as a single position for purposes of comparison. (Example:
Team A and Team B, who tied for first place, would compare against Team X and Team Y, who
tied for third place as follows: Team A would compare its combined record against both
Team X and Y vs. Team B’s combined record against both X and Y.

Two-Team Tie:

A. Head-to-head-competition.

B. Points (3-win, 1-tie, 0-loss) earned against succeeding teams in

the standings.

C. Points (3-win, 1-tie, 0-loss) earned in away games (only if teams

play the same number of away games).

D. Fewest goals against in conference play.

E. Most goals scored in conference play (maximum three goals/game).

www.SAA-Sports.com
 Page | 38

F. If the two teams are still tied, the team that was the visiting team
receives the higher seed.

Multiple (Three or more teams) Tie:

a. Compare the combined record of each of the tied teams against

the other teams involved in the tie until an advantage is gained.
(Example: Team A’s combined record against both Teams B and
C, as compared to Team C’s combined record against Team A and Team
B).

b. If the multiple tie still exists, compare each of the tied teams’
records against succeeding teams in the standings until the tie is
reduced to a two-team tie, at which time revert to the two-team process
or until the tie is broken.

c. If multiple ties still exist, goals allowed versus teams involved in the
tie with the team allowing the fewest goals being awarded the highest
seed.

d. If multiple ties still exist, goal differential among tied teams will be
used to declare a top seed.

e. Goals allowed versus all SAA teams.

f. Goal differential versus all SAA teams.

(Note: Once ties are broken and only two teams remain tied, SAA policy mandates that we revert
back to head-to-head as the tie-breaker procedure.)

4. All uniforms, socks and equipment must be in compliance with NCAA rules and regulations.
The home team will wear the white or light-colored home uniform and socks on Friday and the
dark/away uniforms and socks on Sunday when teams are involved in two-game weekend series.
The visiting team should bring both sets of uniforms and socks for each two-game road trip.
Each visiting team should check with the home team prior to every game to ensure a mix-up
does
not occur.

5. Schools must follow NCAA guidelines for properly outlining fields of play. In order to host an
SAA Tournament contest, a minimum field size of 65 yards by 115 yards; and a maximum of 75
yards by 120 yards must be used by the host institution.

6. For conference contests, it is recommended that the visiting coach be given a printed copy of
the game statistics before departing from the opposing campus.

www.SAA-Sports.com
 Page | 39

7. Per NCAA guidelines, artificial noise-makers are not allowed at SAA Tournament contests.

8. Sunday conference game kick offs should be uniform with the first match at noon local time
and the second match at 2:30 p.m. or as soon thereafter (with the 20-minutes on field warm up
time still in effect). Sewanee stated that there would be an exception only in the case of Field
Hockey having a game on the same day since they share the field. Berry has indicated that they
are restricted to a 1:00 p.m. start and will comply with noon, 2:30 p.m. if approved by their
administration.

II. Scheduling

1. The commissioner will schedule all games between conference teams in direct consultation
with the Chair of the Soccer Council.

2. No conference games will be scheduled the first three weekends of the season, if possible.

3. The first draft of the conference schedule will be determined by the Commissioner and
returned to the coaches by August 1, one-year in advance. Remaining games will be scheduled
by the schools and submitted to the commissioner by February 1.

4. The final copy of the upcoming conference schedule will be presented by April 1. Any
changes after this meeting are subject to agreement by the respective coaches and commissioner.

5. Game times will be set in agreement between the competing teams. Sunday’s matches will be
played at 1:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. and follow the conference guidelines for that given year.
Recommended Friday starting times are 2:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m., but competing teams should
schedule those games as necessary to accommodate class schedules and/or the amount of
daylight available. Game times may be adjusted to accommodate travel by the visiting teams or
other reasons pertaining to campus activities, but only through consultation with the conference
office. A minimum of 20 minutes of warm-up on the game field will be allowed after the
conclusion of the first game and before the start of the second game as part of a SAA
doubleheader. Consideration should be given to special pregame and halftime activities
(Homecoming, Parent’s Weekend, Senior Day, etc.). Those activities should begin early enough
so it does not affect the starting times of games.

6. If an institution travels to a game site and weather (or other factors out of human controls)
occurs and prevents the completion of a series, the visiting team may not travel back to the
original site to make up games.  Once a team arrives on site and then departs, the games may not
be played.  Modifications and or changes made to game dates and/or times that both parties agree
to, and with the approval of the conference office may occur prior to departure, or once on the
game site. Both teams and both ADs must agree.

If a game is played and halted, that game may be continued the next day only if the continuation
occurs during the time that the visiting team had already planned to be there. Otherwise, the

www.SAA-Sports.com
 Page | 40

game will either be a shortened game and count in the standings if it meets the sport rules, or will
be a no contest. All reasonable efforts will be made to play all games, but the SAA supports a
policy to lessen the added cost and potential of classes missed that make ups create in a
conference as geographically challenged as ours.

III. Officials

1. The three-team official system with NISOA officials will be provided by the host institution
for all conference competition.

2. Four ball-chasers and four game balls must be provided by the host institution for all
conference competition and these individuals shall be appropriately positioned around the field.
ball-chasers shall wear a vest or jersey to distinguish them from the players, coaches and officials
and must at least 10-years-old.

3. The host institution shall provide nine soccer balls, including one being a game ball for
pregame warm-up to the visiting teams in conference matches. This shall be done at least 45
minutes prior to kickoff. The visiting team must return the practice balls bagged to the home
team just prior to kickoff.

IV. Ejections

A report on any ejections from athletics events involving conference teams must be reported to
the conference office within 48 hours after the contest by the host institution. If the contest is a
non-conference event, the member institution is responsible for notifying the conference office of
any ejections within 48 hours. An ejection could result in disciplinary action by the individual’s
institution and/or the commissioner. The Athletics Directors Advisory Council will serve to
assist the commissioner on any such rulings involving potential suspensions of student athletes
and/or coaches as it relates to potential violations of the SAA Code of Ethics.

V. Travel Squad Size

Travel squad size is limited to the NCAA maximum plus 10 percent rounded up for regular
season and conference championship games. Games that do not require an overnight stay or that
are played during institutional breaks are waived from this limitation.

VI. Scouting

1. Coaches are permitted to scout and provide information within the conference.

2. Conference members may not provide information on conference teams to non-conference

members.

VII. Match Video Sharing

www.SAA-Sports.com
 Page | 41

1. The host school must provide match film to the visiting conference team within 36 hours of
the match.

VIII. Coaches Meeting

1. All coaches will meet annually at the United Soccer Coaches national convention, or by
conference call, to make recommendations to the Athletics Directors Council for changes in
these operating manual policies. Coaches unable to attend will participate in the meeting via
conference call and the chair of the Soccer Council is responsible for making these
arrangements. Coaches are urged to join the United Soccer Coaches and use the college soccer
website (https://unitedsoccercoaches.org/).

IX. Awards

1. The conference office will provide a championship trophy to each conference champion and to
the regular season champions.

2. The conference office will administer the selection process for the All-Conference Teams, the
Players of the Year (Offensive and Defensive), Newcomer of the Year and the Coach of the Year.

3. The online nomination process for All-SAA opens on Monday following the final regular
season contests and will remain open until Wednesday at 6:00 p.m. (EST). Coaches voting will
be conducted online prior to the conference tournament starting. Players will appear on the ballot
grouped with players of similar position (GK, F, MF, D) with individual overall statistics and
conference statistics listed on the ballot.

Coaches will have until the following Wednesday at 6:00 p.m. (EST) after the quarterfinal round
of the SAA Tournament to vote. The Monday following the completion of the SAA Tournament
at noon, the league office will announce the All-SAA Teams.

4. Coaches may not vote for their own players (or themselves for Coach of the Year) on the final
ballot.

5. Coaches will rank players on each of the online positional ballots to determine the top players
at each position. The All-SAA First Team will consist of one goalkeeper, three defenders, three
midfielders, three forwards and one at-large honoree - can be any position) to the First Team, 11
players (one goalkeeper, three defenders, three midfielders, three forwards and one at-large
honoree - can be any position) to the Second Team. The voting process will determine the top 10
players for each and the at-large honoree (11th player) to each the First and Second Team will be
the player receiving the most points in the vote not making the First or Second Team. Players
receiving at least two points will be named to the Honorable Mention All-Conference Team

6. A separate ballot will determine the Defensive and Offensive Players of the Year, and
Newcomer of the Year. Each coach may nominate one player from their team for Offensive
POTY, Defensive POTY and Newcomer of the Year. The Newcomer of the Year will be a player

www.SAA-Sports.com
 Page | 42

in his or her first year of collegiate soccer. Coaches will email their vote for Coach of the Year to
the conference office.

A. Coaches must fill out ballots completely at every position. No exceptions.

Failure to do so could result in loss of all-conference awards.

7. Every week along with conference statistics, there will be a Defensive and Offensive Player of
the Week selected. Nominations for Player-of-the-Week should be submitted to the conference
office by 1:00 p.m. (EST) each Monday during the season. The conference office will name
Players-of-the-Week each for men and women.

8. An All-SAA Sportsmanship team will be selected after the end of the SAA season. Each men
and each women’s team will elect one member from their team who displays good sportsmanship
throughout the season to be a member of the All-SAA Sportsmanship team. These individuals
will be selected by the team and head coach, with the head coach sending the selection to the
conference office at the end of the season. Only one student-athlete from each team may be
selected. All institutions will have one representative, with final team choice selected by the head
coach.

10. Coaches are required to vote for All-Region and All-America awards (Note: Coaches must
be a member of United Soccer Coaches to vote for these awards.) Per current United Soccer
Coaches guidelines, coaches are prohibited from soliciting votes for any student athlete for
All-Region and/or All-America.

11. An All-Tournament team will be selected during the postseason conference championship
tournament and coordinated by the SIDs. The team will be comprised of six players in addition
to a most valuable player and will be selected in the following manner:

Each coach from the third and fourth-place teams will nominate one player each for
inclusion on the All-Tournament team. The first and second place team will nominate two
players each for the All-Tournament team. The first-place team will also nominate the
tournament MVP.. The coaches should communicate with the host institution’s SID to
make sure the All-Tournament Team selections are sent to the conference office.

www.SAA-Sports.com
 Page | 43

Volleyball

I. Conference Championship and Regular-Season Format

1. The conference champion in volleyball receives an automatic bid to the Division III
championship and is determined by a postseason conference tournament. Match format will be
conducted under NCAA, NAGWS and USVBA rules and consist of a three-out-of-five rally
scoring format to 25 points in Games 1 through 4 and rally scoring to 15 points in the deciding
Game 5.

2. The SAA will play a double round robin regular season schedule. Seeding for the tournament
and Commissioner’s Cup points will be awarded from the results of the regular season schedule.

The conference tournament format will be a single elimination bracket for Friday, Saturday,
and Sunday. Quarterfinals are played on Friday, semifinals on Saturday, and the
championship match on Sunday.

The host institution shall also provide necessary court help, a three ball-shagger system (two
ball-shaggers in addition to two linespersons) and music (if available) for SAA contests.

It is encouraged for the host school to live webcast all tournament matches. It is required that
the championship match be webcasted live.

3. The Molten IV58L-N Super Touch NCAA volleyball is the official volleyball of the
conference and will be used for all conference matches. A minimum of 15 practice balls must be
provided for each match.

4. All members of a team must wear identical school uniforms including warm-up uniforms.

5. The following warm-up format will be used for all conference matches:

Game Clock
:60 Court available – shared warm-up
:30 Coin toss
:19 Visiting team court
:15 Home team court
:11 Visiting team court
:06 Home team court
:01 Team huddle / announcements
:00 National Anthem / player intros
Begin match

www.SAA-Sports.com
 Page | 44

Game court availability for regular season matches should be uniform across the SAA. Game
courts must be made available at least two hours prior to match start time to accommodate
the home team’s serve and pass from two hours to one and one half hours before the match
and the visiting teams serve and pass from one and one-half hour before the match until one
hour before the match. Both teams should have sole access to the court during these periods.

II. Regular-Season Scheduling

1. Each team will play a double round-robin format using a travel partner format. Travel partners
are as follows:

BSC/Millsaps
Sewanee/Centre
Rhodes/Hendrix
Oglethorpe/Berry

2. Final regular season standings will be used to seed for the conference championship
tournament. The SAA Tournament will be held at the highest seed.

3. Hosts for conference tournaments must have a minimum of two regulation courts.

III. Regular-Season Tie-Breaker

1. Match record - total competition vs. conference opponents

2. Match results - head-to-head competition against tied teams
3. Set record - head-to-head competition against tied teams (sets won/sets played)
4. Set record - total competition vs. conference opponents (total sets won/total sets played)
5. Point differential of matches against tied teams
6. Total point differential vs. all conference opponents
7. Flip of a coin

IV. Officials

1. Host schools will provide two officials, two linespersons and two scorekeepers per court.
Linespersons and scorekeepers should be experienced in calling volleyball matches and schools
should arrange for a training session prior to the start of the season. Scorekeepers should view a
scorekeeping video prior to working any conference match. Team scorekeepers should be a
non-team member designated as the official scorekeeper for each team. Home team is mandated
to provide statistical support for all home contests and provide those statistics to the visiting SID
and conference office within three hours.

2. It is required that first and second referees have a minimum of state NAGWS certification,
USAV certification or PAVO certification for all conference competition.

www.SAA-Sports.com
 Page | 45

3. For all conference matches, it is recommended that linesmen and scorekeepers be non-students
and PAVO certified or any other recognized volleyball national certification (USAV, NFHS, etc.).

4. A committee consisting of the host school’s SWA, or designee, and match official will rule on
protests made no later than 10 minutes after the conclusion of the match. Each school shall
assign an on-site tournament director for conference competition and this person should be
visible and available at all sites during the competition. This person’s name and contact
information should be included in the pre-tournament packet sent to schools.

V. Ejections

A report on any ejections from athletics events involving conference teams must be reported to
the conference office within 48 hours after the contest by the host institution. If the contest is a
non-conference event, the member institution is responsible for notifying the conference office of
any ejections within 48 hours. An ejection could result in disciplinary action by the individual’s
institution and/or the commissioner. The Athletics Directors Advisory Council will serve to
assist the commissioner on any such rulings involving potential suspensions of student athletes
and/or coaches as it relates to potential violations of the SAA Code of Ethics.

VI. Travel Squad Size

Travel squad size is limited to the NCAA maximum plus 10 percent rounded up for regular
season and conference championship games. Games that do not require an overnight stay or that
are played during institutional breaks are waived from this limitation.

VII. Scouting

1. Coaches are allowed to scout opponents during on-site competition when two or more
conference teams are participating. This includes regular-season and postseason conference
tournaments and any other tournament in which conference teams are present. Travel to scout
conference opponents is still prohibited. Videotaping of other conference teams is prohibited.

2. Conference members may not provide information about conference teams to conference or
non-conference members.

3. Home team must video from the endline in such a way that you can see the entire court and
can see the ball in the frame at all times.

4. Schools must upload all matches to the film exchange site that is shared with all conference
opponents within 48 hours of the match being completed.

VIII. Coaches Meeting

The Volleyball Council will meet annually during the AVCA convention if all coaches are
present to make recommendations to the Athletics Directors Council for changes in these

www.SAA-Sports.com
 Page | 46

policies. If all coaches are not present, then the meeting will take place during the spring via
conference call. The meeting will be conducted by the chair of the Volleyball Council. All
coaches are encouraged to be members of the AVCA.

IX. Awards

1. The conference office will provide a championship trophy to the conference champion.

2. The conference office will administer the selection process for the All-Conference Teams, the
Players of the Year and the Coach of the Year.

3. The following selection process will be used for all-conference selection:

4. The online nomination process for All-SAA opens at 6:00 p.m. (EST) the Sunday of the final
regular season contests and will remain open until 8:00 a.m. (EST) on Tuesday. Coaches voting
will be conducted online from Tuesday at 9:00 a.m. (EST) until Thursday at 6:30 p.m. (EST) the
week prior to the conference tournament.

The SAA will release All-SAA awards on Tuesday following the conference at 9:00 a.m. (EST).

5. Coaches should only nominate athletes who they feel are worthy candidates of All-Conference
consideration but there is no limit of nominations per school.

6. The final ballot will include:

Player of the Year
Newcomer of the Year
Defensive Player of the Year
Coach of the Year
First Team All-SAA (nine positions)
Second Team All-SAA (nine positions)
Honorable Mention (all who received at least two votes)

7. The format for voting will be: Each coach will nominate and vote based on position. Those
position categories will be OH/RS, MB, S, Libero. Coaches will rank their choices when they
nominate.

8. A coach may not vote for a player from her/his own team or herself/himself. If there is a tie for
the last spot on the second team, then both players who tie for the final spot will both be named
Second Team All-Conference. The First-Team should have 3 OH / RS, 2 MB, 1 S, 1 Libero and
2 at-large. The second team will be voted on and decided using the same format. The SAA office
will then fill out both first team and second team based on the positions above and then take the
next two highest point recipients as the at-large selections. Honorable Mention will be all vote
getters receiving at least two votes. There will be separate ballots to determine Player of the
Year, Defensive Player of the Year and Newcomer of the Year. Each coach may nominate one
player from their squad for each of those awards. To qualify for the Newcomer award, a

www.SAA-Sports.com
 Page | 47

candidate must either be a freshman or a transfer competing in their first year. The Coach of the
Year vote will be conducted via email between the coaches and the conference office. Coaches
will conduct a conference call to discuss nominations prior to the All-Conference voting.

9. An All-Tournament team will be selected during the postseason conference championship

tournament and coordinated by the SIDs. The team will be comprised of six players in addition
to a most valuable player and will be selected in the following manner:

Each coach from the third and fourth-place teams will nominate one player each for
inclusion on the All-Tournament team. The first and second place team will nominate two
players each for the All-Tournament team. The first-place team will also nominate the
tournament MVP. The coaches should communicate with the host institution’s SID to
make sure the All-Tournament Team selections are sent to the conference office.

10. An All-SAA Sportsmanship team will be selected at the end of the SAA regular season when
All-SAA Nominations are received. Each team will elect one member from their squad who
displays good sportsmanship throughout the season to be a member of the All-SAA
Sportsmanship team. These individuals will be selected by the team and head coach, with the
head coach sending the selection to the conference office at the end of the season. Only one
student-athlete from each team may be selected. All institutions will have one representative,
with final team choice selected by the head coach. The award will be publicized with other
conference awards at the end of the season.

11. A weekly “Offensive Player of the Week” and “Defensive Player of the Week” will be
nominated by each school online and subsequently selected by the coaches online. Nominations
are due at 1:00 p.m. (EST) each Monday. Coaches are expected to cast their votes for Player of
the Week by 3:00 p.m. (EST) each Monday. As soon as a consensus has been reached though the
coaches voting, the conference office will announce the weekly winners.

X. In-Game Statistics

1. All SAA host institutions will provide statistics to both teams in-between each set of the
match.

www.SAA-Sports.com
 Page | 48

Men and Women’s Basketball

I. Conference Regular-Season Format

1. The conference champion will be determined by a postseason conference tournament featuring

all eight teams (seeded by regular season play) for men and women.

2. Regular season play will consist of a double round-robin format using the designated travel
partners set by the Conference. Travel partners will be:

Berry/Oglethorpe
Centre/Sewanee
Birmingham Southern/Millsaps
Hendrix/Rhodes

3. The conference champion will be determined by the winner of the postseason tournament and
the champion receives an automatic bid to the NCAA championship.

4. If a tie occurs in the final standings, the following tie-breaker system will be used to determine
the participants in the conference tournament:

1. Winning Percentage
2. Best record in head-to-head competition between the tied teams.
3. Record against top teams in descending order.
a. If more than two teams are tied in the standings, the record vs. combined teams
will be used
4. Home wins in descending order.
5. Toss of a coin by the SAA Office

If three or more teams are tied, the head to head records within the group will be compiled and
ties will be broken by the rank order of the head to head results. If the tied teams finish with the
same composite record, the method of working down through the remaining teams (third place,
fourth-place, etc.) until one team has a better record is used.

Then follow the criteria listed above. Once one school has been pulled out, revert back to
head-to-head. In case of multiple ties through the standings (e.g., tie for first and tie for fourth),
the highest tie is broken first and lower tie is broken second.

All contests shall be conducted under current NCAA rules.

II. Regular-Season Scheduling and Contest Regulations

www.SAA-Sports.com
 Page | 49

1. The conference schedule shall be conducted over the final nine weekends of the regular
season, with the exception of travel partner contests.

2. Each school will determine the order of play, with the default being the women play first, and
the men playing second in all conference games. Game times will be 6:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m.
local time on Friday and 1:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. on Sunday, unless changes are made to game
times to accommodate visiting teams’ travel schedules. Visiting schools may request to change
the game times to Noon and 2:00 p.m. on Sunday, but any change must be agreed upon by all
participating institutions.

Teams may propose giving each school the right to play Saturday games instead of Sunday if
both schools agree (both coaches, both athletic directors, conference office) to save money. The
SAA Commissioner will resolve any disputes regarding game time changes. Any changes in
game times for travel must be sent to the conference office and respective supervisor of officials
no later than November 15 before the start of each season.

Travel partners may schedule their games any time during the regular season. Schools must agree
on the date and time selected for each game. Game dates and times should be set no later than
October 1 prior to the beginning of the upcoming season. Men and women will play in a
double-header.

3. The following timetable must be used for all conference games during the
regular season:

Start clock at 30 minutes for pregame. The 30-minute pregame period

should conclude with at least five minutes of actual time remaining prior to tipoff to allow for the
National Anthem (when applicable).

Example – At 5:25 p.m., begin 30-minute pregame clock to end at 5:55 p.m., then play National
Anthem and introduce starting lineups. Game begins at 6:00 p.m.

Play or sing the National Anthem before the first game only when double-headers are played or
before the first game of the conference tournament. This should be done immediately before the
starting lineups are introduced.

- Visiting team and coaches introduced first, home team and coaches second.

4. Any conference games canceled due to weather or some unavoidable circumstance should be
rescheduled. Travel conflicts due to weather will not affect a travel partner’s schedule. The
athletics directors, in consultation with the SAA Commissioner, will handle arrangements and
decisions concerning play or postponement of games.

5. The home team will wear the white or light-colored home uniform on Fridays and the
dark/away uniforms on Saturdays or Sundays. Therefore, the visiting team should bring both sets

www.SAA-Sports.com
 Page | 50

of uniforms for each road trip. Each visiting team should check with the home team prior to
every game to ensure a mix up does not occur.

6. The host team shall provide practice and game balls. At least six practice balls shall be
provided and they shall be the Wilson Solution for men and women. It is required that
conference members use the Wilson Solution basketballs in all conference games. The host
school must provide for practice time and balls for the visiting team on the day prior to the
scheduled contest. However, the visiting team must confirm any arrangements with the host
institution by a reasonable time.

7. In the spirit of cooperation, the home team will provide time set aside for the
visiting team to practice – Friday morning shoot-around, Saturday morning shoot around or
Sunday morning shoot-around.

8. All schools will provide media timeouts for men’s or women’s basketball games. The media
timeouts will be standardized for all contests under the NCAA’s recommended full complement
and are used in NCAA Tournament play as outlined in the Men’s and Women’s Basketball Rules
Book. There will be media timeouts in SAA Tournament contests.

III. Officials

1. Each school should secure officials through the SAA Coordinator of Officials. Three officials
will work all games.

2. Coaches will use the referee rating system provided by the Coordinator of Officials. Any
issues with officials should be reported to the conference office and/or the applicable officials
Coordinator.

3. Conference schools will be responsible for paying the officials and coordinators for all
conference and non-conference games.

4. The SAA, in consultation with the Coordinators, will use the conference’s regulations on
game management and crowd control for men’s and women’s basketball.

5. If a player is ejected from a game and the official does not inform the official scorekeeper on
the exact nature of the ejection, the official scorekeeper shall have the official timer sound the
scoreboard horn and determine with the official the exact reason for the ejection. This shall be
done before play resumes. The official scorekeeper shall record all ejections and explicit reasons
for the ejections in the official scorebook and final box score. Both head coaches shall be notified
by an official of the exact nature of the ejection prior to the continuation of play.

6. The sports information director or person in charge of the scorer’s table (game manager) must
ensure that the final box score indicates the technical foul, subsequent ejection and reason for the
ejection. Any player or coach ejected from the game shall be completely removed from the
playing court and not be involved in the game. He or she shall remain in a closed locker room

www.SAA-Sports.com
 Page | 51

away from the court, or leave the arena. No contact with other team members shall be allowed to
relay instructions pertaining to the game.

7. A report on any ejections from athletics events involving conference teams must be reported to
the conference office within 48 hours after the contest by the host institution. If the contest is a
non-conference event, the member institution is responsible for notifying the conference office of
any ejections within 48 hours. An ejection could result in disciplinary action by the individual’s
institution and/or the commissioner. The Athletics Directors Advisory Council will serve to
assist the commissioner on any such rulings involving potential suspensions of student-athletes
and/or coaches as it relates to potential violations of the SAA Code of Ethics

IV. Travel Squad Size

Travel squad size is limited to the NCAA maximum plus 10 percent rounded up for regular
season and conference championship games. Games that do not require an overnight stay or that
are played during institutional breaks are waived from this limitation.

V. Scouting

1. Conference members may not provide information on conference teams to conference or

non-conference members.

2. There will be a videotape exchange through Synergy in lieu of scouting.

3. SAA members will have unlimited access to all the games played by conference members
through Synergy. Home teams are responsible for the uploading of all conference games and all
weekend conference games should be uploaded and accessible by Monday at 2:00 p.m. (EST).
All SAA games from the most recent weekend will be blocked from view (by Synergy) until
Monday at 2:00 p.m. (EST). Non-conference games shall be uploaded by the participating
conference team within
48 hours of completion of the game.

The following must be shown on all films as part of the exchange policy:
● Starting lineups
● Visual quality to ensure that jersey numbers and colors can be seen at all times.
● Scoreboard filming during timeouts and before free throws.
● Sound should be included.

4. The home team is responsible for filming each conference game and may provide the visiting
team on a jump drive with at least 16gb of memory. DVDs will not be accepted. Visiting
opponents will provide jump drives to host in the event that they would like a copy of film same
day as opposed to waiting for synergy release. Film must also be uploaded to the Synergy
website by midnight on the date the teams played.

www.SAA-Sports.com
 Page | 52

Road non-conference games should be uploaded within 24 hours of the time the team arrives
back home. Failure to comply with film uploading policy will result in a 1st time grace period for
offenders and a 2nd offense would result in that program’s Synergy account being limited to the
Video Express function only until the game is uploaded. Any instance of ‘failure to comply’ will
be determined by the league office and also recorded by the league office. It is understood that
there may be circumstances which affect the ability to upload that would not count as an offense
of ‘failure to comply’. The league office will notify the offending program’s Athletic Director
with each infraction.

5. There will be no on-site scouting of conference teams by representatives of conference

member schools. When participating in a tournament in which another conference member is
also playing, it is permissible to be in attendance during a game in which that conference team is
playing. However, no formal scouting can occur.

6. The host institution will provide the visiting team meeting space and gym time after 3:30 p.m.
on Saturday for a weekend series, and also must provide access to the women’s team to the game
floor at 11:00 a.m. (EST) on Sundays.

VI. Coaches Meeting

All coaches will meet annually in the spring via conference call to make recommendations to the
Athletics Directors Council for changes in these policies.

VII. Awards

1. The conference office will provide a championship trophy to the conference tournament
champion.

2. The conference office will administer the selection process for All-Conference Teams, Player
of the Year, Newcomer of the Year, Defensive Player of The Year, and Coach of the Year.

The online nomination process for All-SAA opens at 6:00 p.m. (EST) the Sunday of the final
regular season contests and will remain open until 8:00 a.m. (EST) on Tuesday. Coaches voting
will be conducted online from Tuesday at 9:00 a.m. (EST) until Friday at 6:30 p.m. (EST) the
week prior to the quarterfinal round of the conference tournament.

All-SAA awards will be released on the Monday after the conference tournament is concluded.
The announcement will go public at 9:00 a.m. (EST).

Each coach will nominate players with comprehensive statistics and rank his or her players in
ranking order rather than alphabetically. Coaches will rank players from one through 12 with a
first place vote worth 12 points, second-place worth 11, etc. Coaches may not vote for their own
players on the final ballot. The All-SAA Team will consist of the 15 players with the most votes
with the top-five being recognized as First Team, second five as Second Team and other vote
getters will be listed as Honorable Mention. Ties will not be broken. The player with the most

www.SAA-Sports.com
 Page | 53

points will be named Player of- the-Year. On separate ballots, the Newcomer of the Year and
Defensive Player of the Year will be selected through coaches voting. Each coach may nominate
one player from their squad to each Newcomer of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year
ballots. To qualify for Newcomer of the Year, a student-athlete must either be a freshman or
transfer playing their first year of eligibility.

4. The Coach of the Year will be voted upon by the basketball coaches after the season and
administered by the conference office. Coaches may not vote for themselves.

5. Conference awards will be announced prior to the quarterfinals of the conference

championship tournament.

6. An All-Conference Sportsmanship team will be selected during the All-SAA nominations and
voting.. Each men and women’s team will elect one member from their team who displays good
sportsmanship throughout the season to be a member of the All-Conference Sportsmanship team.
These individuals will be selected by the team and head coach, with the head coach sending the
selection to the conference office at the end of the season. Only one student-athlete from each
team may be selected. All institutions will have one representative, with final team choice
selected by the head coach. The award will be publicized with other conference awards at the
end of the season.

VIII. Conference Postseason Tournament

For a complete guide to the SAA Basketball Championship Tournament, refer to the SAA
Basketball Championship Manual.

1. General Guidelines

Saturday - Quarterfinals
2:00 p.m. - No. 8 at No. 1
2:00 p.m. - No. 7 at No. 2
2:00 p.m. - No. 6 at No. 3
2:00 p.m. - No. 5 at No. 4
               
The semifinals and championship games will be played at the highest remaining seed after the
quarterfinals. Both semifinals games will be played on Saturday and the championship game will
be played on Sunday. The quarterfinals games are scheduled for Sunday, however, upon the
agreement by both coaches, athletic directors, and school Presidents, quarterfinal games may be
moved to Saturday due to travel requirements and missed class concerns.

The following Saturday – Semifinals at the highest remaining seed

3:00 p.m. Winner of 1/8 vs Winner of 4/5
5:00 p.m. Winner of 2/7 vs Winner of 3/6

Sunday – Finals
2:00 p.m. Championship Game

www.SAA-Sports.com
 Page | 54

Note: If a host school ends up hosting both the men and women’s tournament semifinals and
championship, see championship manual for all game times adjustments.

3. The conference office will designate an assigning agency/supervisor of officials to assign

officials for all games in the conference tournament. If necessary, more than one assigning
agency/supervisor of officials can be used to assign officials. Any agency/supervisor of officials
designated by the conference office must be certified to assign officials to the NCAA Division III
Tournament. No team can have the same officials on the second day of the conference
tournament as they had on the first day. No official can work more than one game per day.

4. The Wilson Solution basketball is the official basketball of the conference and will be used in
all tournament games.

5. Game times may not be adjusted for any reason unless approved by the tournament director
and conference office, in consultation with the participating teams. Therefore, pregame protocol
before each game will be strictly enforced.

6. An all-tournament team consisting of at least five players, including a Tournament MVP will
be selected. The selection will be handled by the SAA Coaches, with the assistance of the SAA
SIDs.

7. Designation of team benches and uniforms for each game will be determined by the
tournament director and conference office. Higher seed wears its home uniform for all games. If
seeds are equal from opposite divisions for a game, a coin flip will determine the home team and
uniform. All teams, including the host school, are limited to 17 players in uniform for all
tournament games. Players not a member of the 17-player active roster may sit on the team
bench, but not in uniform. Players may wear a team warm-up or wind suit and sit on the team
bench as long as space is available.

8. The host institution will provide athletics trainers on site for all games, shoot around, and
practices.

9. Host Institutions will provide a list of hotels to all conference schools by Monday before the
tournament, but each participating team is responsible for securing its own accommodations.

10. Host Institution will staff all games. All games will be videotaped by staff from the host
institution working the games. The conference commissioner will oversee the sports information
operations for the tournament.

11. Scouting rules, including NCAA tournament rules and live scouting, will be enforced. Each
game during the tournament will be taped by the host institution and available to participating
teams following each game.

www.SAA-Sports.com
 Page | 55

12. Prior to the beginning of the competition each day, the National Anthem will be played or
sung before the first game and the American flag displayed. It will be announced that this is a
Southern Athletic Association event and the conference crowd control policy read before every
game.

13. Teams are permitted to use an auxiliary gym prior to the start of any game as long as that
facility’s administration approves.

14. The following shoot-around schedule will be used. Teams are required to contact the host
institution and tournament director if they are not going to utilize their scheduled practice times.
Teams may not switch scheduled shoot-around times for any reason unless approved by the
tournament director and conference office.

* - Pregame clock is set at 30:00 before remaining scheduled games and all games will utilize the
full pregame clock. Teams are not allowed on the floor until the 30:00 pregame clock is set. No
game will begin prior to its scheduled starting time. However, games that start later than the
listed starting time will be allowed the full 30:00 pregame time. The 30:00 pregame clock will
end approximately FIVE minutes prior to the published starting time.

Saturday shoot around times

9:00 - 9:55 a.m. - Worse Seed of Semifinal Game 1
10:00 - 10:55 a.m. - Best Seed of Semifinal Game 1
11:00 - 11:55 a.m. - Worse Seed of Semifinal Game 2
12:00 - 12:55 p.m. - Best Seed of Semifinal Game 2

Sunday - Finals
9:00 - 9:55 a.m. - Winner Semifinals Game 1
10:00 - 10:55 a.m. - Winner Semifinals Game 2
11:00 a.m. Arena cleared.
1:00 p.m. Arena available for finalists. Clock set at 55:00.

15. Should the Conference postseason tournament be cancelled or not played to completion, the
regular season top seed will be declared the SAA automatic qualifier for the NCAA tournament.

www.SAA-Sports.com
 Page | 56

Men and Women’s Swimming and Diving

I. Conference Championship - Swimming

Section 1A - Scoring and Participation

1. All conference men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams will compete in the
conference championship.

2. The team champions will be the teams with the highest point totals according to NCAA
scoring procedures. Ties will not be broken.

3. A “Sixteen Competitors Qualify” (Rule 7, Section 8, Article 4 in the NCAA Rule book) is in
place. The point system should be identical to NCAA rule, and the 8th and the 16th place
finish (when 7 teams were racing) will simply not be scored.

Section 1B - Location and management

1. The location will be determined at least 18 months in advance by the AD’s Council on advice
of the sport council.

2. The host school should hire a meet director to handle the administrative responsibilities for
the championships and it is recommended that a head diving official be selected to oversee
all diving events.

3. The host institution will coordinate with the SAA office to assure that results are posted to
the web after every session. Team scores will be announced and/or displayed at least three
times during each finals session.

4. The host head coach will send out information to conference members at least two months
prior to the championship.

5. Officials must be certified by a national governing body of swimming (CSCAA, USA

Swimming, or YMCA). Four officials must be present to judge the relay takeoffs in order to
ensure dual confirmation of false starts.

6. The meet director should go over the SAA rule book with meet officials and referees prior to
the meet. Officials and referees should check with the committee chair on any rules that are
not covered in the NCAA Swimming Rule Book or where there might be some conflict.

www.SAA-Sports.com
 Page | 57

7. Prior to the beginning of each nightly championship session, the following protocol is
recommended:

● The National Anthem will be played or sung, and the American and SAA flags displayed.
● It will be announced that it is a Southern Athletic Association championship.

8. Time trials can occur only before or after any session of the meet and during regularly
scheduled breaks.

9. The meet committee will consist of the head meet official and the head coach (who will serve
as chair) from last year’s championship. Two additional head coaches will be named
immediately prior to the competition on the first day of the meet, one who will serve as an
alternate when one of the committee coaches is directly involved with a decision.

10. All protests must be made no later than 15 minutes following the last participant to finish an
event and a majority vote from the committee will rule.

Section 1C - Facilities

1. The facility should be an eight-lane pool of at least 50 meters with 25 yards of competition
area and additional water space of eight lanes to conduct continuous warm-up and
warm-down activities.

2. It is preferred that the diving pool not be located over the competition course. Maxi-flex
boards for 1- and 3-meter competition are preferred.

3. Deck seating should be for at least 350 athletes and spectator seating for 400.

4. Automatic timing system with multiple lane readout timing board and Hy-Tek meet software
are necessary for hosting.

5. Seating locations for competing teams at off-campus facilities will be determined by

combined order of finish in previous year’s meet. When hosted at an on-campus facility, the
host institution has first choice followed by last year’s championships’ combined order of
finish. Conference members are not required to meet the seating minimums in hosting the
championships on-campus.

Section 1D - Relays

1. All relays will swim as timed finals.

2. The top 18 relay teams will be scored (44-38-36-34-32-30-28-26-24-

20-16-14-12-10-8-6-4-2), but only “A” relay teams can score in the final and “B” relay teams
can score in the consolation. “C” relay teams and below are for exhibition only.

www.SAA-Sports.com
 Page | 58

3. There will be an opportunity to swim relays during each prelim session as exhibition (Note:
this counts as a time standard trial for NCAA qualifying purposes).

4. If nine relay teams compete in a nine-lane pool, the slowest A relay will be assigned
ninth-place since no B relay can outscore it.

5. If an eight-lane pool is used, and there are more than 8 “A” relays, only the number of relays
exceeding eight will be moved to the “B” heat, and seeded according to NCAA Swimming
rules.

6. Judges’ decisions will be used to ensure no A relay is outscored by a B relay

7. Relay take-off pads will be used if available at the host facility

Section 1E - Entries, and Squad Size

1. Rules regarding entries, seeding, scoring and conduct of the meet shall be consistent with the
NCAA rule book and championship book guidelines and regulations. Exhibition swimmers
must be declared by the scratch deadline on Wednesday, February 16 (3 p.m.), and cannot
advance to the finals or score.

2. Entry deadlines will be established by the host institution and entries must be e-mailed using
Hy-Tek software.

3. Coaches must declare all athletes who are exhibition or non-scoring. If the current allowable
limit is 18, then the 19th athlete to compete would be declared exhibition.

4. An institution shall be allowed not more than 18 scoring competitors.

5. An entrant who swims will be counted as one competitor; an entrant who swims and dives
will be counted as one competitor; and an entrant who only dives will be counted as one-third
of a competitor in the total team limit.

6. Coaches may adjust “B” relay times. All times, other than “B” relay teams, must be achieved
in a bona fide competition and submitted to the conference office for top-times listing.

7. Should a squad size exceed the maximum allowed using that formula and should that coach
fail to declare the appropriate number of athletes exhibition by the scratch deadline, the
determination of which athletes are deemed exhibition shall be based on the following:

Based upon when the athletes actually compete or are scheduled to compete (in case of false
starts), all athletes that have exceeded the maximum allowable squad size limit will be declared
exhibition. If an athlete is entered in an event, but a false start occurs or a false start is declared,
that athlete is considered to have competed in that event. If an athlete is entered and not
scratched by the scratch deadline for that event but fails to compete, that is also counted as an

www.SAA-Sports.com
 Page | 59

event. Relay participation counts as an event, unless that particular relay has been declared
exhibition. Any individual events that have been declared exhibition by the scratch deadline do
not count as an event.

Section 1F - Scratches

1. The scratch deadline will be enforced.

2. After all scratches have been administered by meet management, the entry sheet for each
school will be printed and coaches will be allowed to make any corrections necessary as a
result of his/her oversight or meet management’s oversight. This list will be distributed
Wednesday night at the official coaches meeting.

3. The following scratch deadline will be followed.

● Thursday’s Swimming events – scratches are due at 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday.

● Friday’s Swimming events - scratches are due 60 minutes after the conclusion of the
Prelims on Thursday.
1. Saturday’s Swimming events - scratches are due 60 minutes after the conclusion of the
Prelims on Friday.

II. Conference Championship - Diving

1. All conference men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams will compete in the
conference championship.

2. The team champions will be the teams with the highest point totals according to NCAA
scoring procedures. Ties will not be broken.

Section 2A - Judging

1. There will be one judging panel for diving that will be comprised of a mix of coaches and
officials or just coaches. Also note Section 1B-3 recommendation to hire a diving director
who may also serve as a judge. It is recommended that these officials be different than the
swimming officials.

2. The head diving referee (neutral, i.e. not directly associated with SAA schools) will also be
compensated inline with that of other swimming officials.

Section 2B – Format

1. The men will dive 1-meter on Wednesday, the women will dive 1-meter on Thursday, the
men will dive 3-meter on Friday and the women will dive 3-meter on Saturday.

2. There will be a 10-minute break each day after six rounds.

www.SAA-Sports.com
 Page | 60

3. The top 18 divers will compete and complete their entire dive list.

4. If divers must be cut, they will be cut based on the optional list.

5. The diving order will start with the optional dive list if this format is used at the NCAA
championship.

Section 2C - Entries

1. Dive sheets are due for the Wednesday and Thursday diving events by 3:00 p.m. on
Wednesday.

2. Dive sheets for the Friday diving event are due at the start of diving competition on
Thursday.

3. Dive sheets for the Saturday diving event are due at the start of diving competition on Friday.

4. All student-athletes must have participated in a minimum of one swim / dive competition
prior to the SAA Championships in order to be eligible. If an injury or illness interferes with
this requirement, the coach of the athlete will be able to make a case in writing for that
athlete to be reviewed by the Meet Committee.

III. Conference Championship - Order of Events

Coaches Meeting - 4:00 p.m.

Day One – Wednesday (Night)

National Anthem
Event 1 Women’s Medley Relay 5:30 p.m.
Event 2 Men’s Medley Relay
20-minute break
Event 3 Women’s 800 Free Relay
Event 4 Men’s 800 Free Relay
10-minute break

Event 5 Men’s One Meter Diving 7:00 p.m. local

Day Two - Thursday (Morning)

Event 6 Women’s 500 Freestyle prelims 10:00 a.m.
Event 7 Men’s 500 Freestyle prelims
Event 8 Women’s 200 IM prelims
Event 9 Men’s 200 IM prelims
Event 10 Women’s 50 Freestyle prelims
Event 11 Men’s 50 Freestyle prelims

www.SAA-Sports.com
 Page | 61

Event 12 Women’s 200 Free Relay prelims

Event 13 Men’s 200 Free Relay prelims
Event 14 Women’s One Meter Diving 1:00 p.m.

Day Two - Thursday (Evening)

Awards Women’s One Meter Dive 6:00 p.m.
Men’s One Meter Dive
Women’s 500 Freestyle
Men’s 500 Freestyle
National Anthem
Event 15 Women’s 500 Freestyle Final
Event 16 Men’s 500 Freestyle Final
Event 17 Women’s 200 IM Final
Event 18 Men’s 200 IM Final
Awards Women’s 200 IM
Men’s 200 IM
Event 19 Women’s 50 Freestyle
Event 20 Men’s 50 Freestyle
20-minute break
Awards Women’s 50 Freestyle
Men’s 50 Freestyle
Event 21 Women’s 200 Freestyle Relay Final
Event 22 Men’s 200 Freestyle Relay Final
Awards Women’s 200 Freestyle
Men’s 200 Freestyle

Day Three - Friday (Morning)

Event 23 Women’s 400 IM prelims 10:00 a.m.
Event 24 Men’s 400 IM prelims
Event 25 Women’s 100 Butterfly prelims
Event 26 Men’s 100 Butterfly prelims
Event 27 Women’s 200 Freestyle prelims
Event 28 Men’s 200 Freestyle prelims
Event 29 Women’s 100 Breaststroke prelims
Event 30 Men’s 100 Breaststroke prelims
Event 31 Women’s 100 Backstroke prelims
Event 32 Men’s 100 Backstroke prelims
20-minute break
Event 33 Women’s 400 Medley Relay prelims
Event 34 Men’s 400 Medley Relay prelims
Event 35 Men’s One Meter Diving 1:00 p.m.

Day Three - Friday (Evening)

www.SAA-Sports.com
 Page | 62

Awards Men’s Three Meter Diving 6:00 p.m.

National Anthem
Event 36 Women’s 400 IM Final
Event 37 Men’s 400 IM Final
Awards Women’s 400 IM
Men’s 400 IM
Event 38 Women’s 100 Butterfly Final
Event 39 Men’s 100 Butterfly Final
Awards Women’s 100 Butterfly
Men’s 100 Butterfly
Event 40 Women’s 200 Freestyle Final
Event 41 Men’s 200 Freestyle Final
Awards Women’s 200 Freestyle
Men’s 200 Freestyle
Event 42 Women’s 100 Breaststroke Final
Event 43 Men’s 100 Breaststroke Final
Awards Women’s 100 Breastroke
Men’s 100 Breaststroke
Event 44 Women’s 100 Backstroke Final
Event 45 Men’s 100 Backstroke Final
Awards Women’s 100 Backstroke
Men’s 100 Backstroke
20-minute break
Event 46 Women’s 400 Medley Relay Final
Event 47 Men’s 400 Medley Relay Final
Awards Women’s 400 Medley Relay
Men’s 400 Medley Relay

Day Four - Saturday (Morning)

Event 48 Women’s 200 Backstroke prelims 10:00 a.m.
Event 49 Men’s 200 Backstroke prelims
Event 50 Women’s 100 Freestyle prelims
Event 51 Men’s 100 Freestyle prelims
Event 52 Women’s 200 Breastroke prelims
Event 53 Men’s 200 Breaststroke prelims
Event 54 Women’s 200 Butterfly prelims
Event 55 Men’s 200 Butterfly prelims
20-minute break
Event 56 Women’s 400 Freestyle prelims
Event 57 Men’s 400 Freestyle prelims

End of morning prelims

Event 58 Women’s 1650 Freestyle - Note

Event 59 Men’s 1650 Freestyle - Note

www.SAA-Sports.com
 Page | 63

Event 60 Women’s Three Meter Dive 1:00 p.m.

Note: The top-8 women and men’s swimmers will swim in the finals. The remaining swimmers
will compete in the morning following the break alternating between women and men’s heats
from fastest to slowest. Beginning start time to be determined after scratches have made.

Day Four - Saturday (Evening)

Awards Women’s Three Meter Diving 6:00 p.m.
National Anthem
Event 61 Women’s 1650 Freestyle Final
Event 62 Men’s 1650 Freestyle Final
Awards Women’s 1650 Freestyle
Men’s 1650 Freestyle
Event 63 Women’s 200 Backstroke Finals
Event 64 Men’s 200 Backstroke Finals
Awards Women’s 200 Backstroke
Men’s 200 Backstroke
Event 65 Women’s 100 Freestyle Finals
Event 66 Men’s 100 Freestyle Finals
Awards Women’s 100 Freestyle
Men’s 100 Freestyle
Event 67 Women’s 200 Breastroke Finals
Event 68 Men’s 200 Breaststroke Finals
Awards Women’s 200 Breaststroke
Men’s 200 Breastroke
Event 69 Women’s 200 Butterfly Finals
Event 70 Men’s 200 Butterfly Finals
Awards Women’s 200 Butterfly
Men’s 200 Butterfly
Event 71 Women’s 400 Freestyle Finals
Event 72 Men’s 400 Freestyle Finals
Awards Women’s 400 Freestyle
Men’s 400 Freestyle

Finals Awards
Women’s and Men’s High-Point Divers-of-the-Meet
Women’s and Men’s High-Point Swimmers-of-the-Meet
Women’s and Men’s Coaching Staffs-of-the-Year
Women’s Final Team Standings / Team Champion
Men’s Final Team Standings / Team Champion

IV. Team Travel

www.SAA-Sports.com
 Page | 64

1. Teams may leave after classes on Tuesday immediately before the championships to travel as
long as each conference school monitors its academic schedule and student-athletes attend
classes on Tuesday.

2. Teams may not practice at the facility until Wednesday as determined by the host facility and
conference office.

3. All costs and all arrangements for alternative practice sites (i.e., not the competition site since
that is prohibited) lie with the traveling school, not the host school.

V. Coaches meeting and leadership

A pre-championship coaches’ meeting will be held at a 4:00 p.m. by the host institution on
Wednesday prior to the championship. Coaches’ meetings will be held approximately 60
minutes before the start of each session (preliminaries and finals) throughout the
championship, and all coaches are required to attend all meetings.

The coaches will also meet via conference call during the spring for their annual Council
meeting to make recommendations to the Athletics Directors Council for changes in these
policies. Coaches also have the option of having their council meeting at their convention
with those who could not attend participating via a conference call.

The Chair of the Swimming and Diving Council serves a one-year term.

VI. Awards

1. The conference office will provide a championship trophy to each team champion.

2. The high-point swimmer for men and women will be selected by taking the individual point
total and adding one point for each NCAA “B” cut or and two points for each NCAA “A”
cut. If there is still a tie, meet records will be used as a criteria to break the tie. Swimming
relay leadoff does not count.

3. The high-point diver for men and women at the conference championships will be selected
by totaling scores on both the 1- and 3-meter boards (place points) and using event points as
a tiebreaker.

4. Coach of the Year for men and women will be named by a vote of the conference coaches.
Each coach will vote for only one place. Coaches may not vote for their own staffs. Voting
will take place on Saturday of the conference championships and recognized with the
individuals awards at the conclusion of the championships.

5. The All-SAA team will consist of the top- three finishers in each individual event and the top
three relay teams in each event.

www.SAA-Sports.com
 Page | 65

6. The top-eight swimmers and the top relay team in each event will be recognized during the
championships’ awards ceremonies as established by the Swimming and Diving Council.
Awards will be handed out immediately after the conclusion of each full event (i.e. -
Women’s 200 IM final, awards for Women’s 200 IM, Men’s 200 IM final, awards for Men’s
200 IM). The top eight divers in each event will be recognized in awards ceremonies during
the swimming finals each night. Wednesday’s divers will be recognized on Thursday.

7. A Swimmer of the Year and Diver of the Year for each gender will be determined by the high
point getters for swimming and diving at the championship meet. A Newcomer of the Year
for each gender will be determined by the high getter of a freshman or first year transfer at
the Championship meet.

8. A Male and Female Swimmer of the Week and male and female Diver of The Week will be
selected as outlined by the coaches and conference office. When submitting nominations,
coaches must submit places and times for swimmers in any competition, places and total
points for divers in any competition. Coaches may vote for their own athlete(s) for swimmer
and diver of the week.

9. Host institutions will coordinate with the SAA office to provide for awards stand
photography.

10. An All-SAA Sportsmanship team will be selected the week following the SAA
Championship meet. Each men and each women’s team will elect one member from their
team who displays good sportsmanship throughout the season to be a member of the
All-SAA Sportsmanship team. These individuals will be selected by the team and head
coach, with the head coach sending the selection to the conference office at the end of the
season. Only one student-athlete from each team may be selected. All institutions will have
one representative, with final team choice selected by the head coach. The award will be
publicized with other conference awards at the end of the season.

VII. Records and Statistics

1. The conference office will maintain a list of top-20 times for each event. Coaches and/or
SIDs must report all times listed as meet results, not best times, from the previous week’s
competition to the conference office or their designee no later than each Wednesday at 4:00
p.m. (EST). This list will also be updated after the conference championships and NCAA
championships. The conference office will use the Hy-Tek team statistics manager to
maintain swimming and diving times and scores on the conference website and coaches are
required to submit all times and entries using Hy-Tek software. Coaches must report all times
to the conference office or there designee. Any times not reported cannot be used as entry
times for the conference championship. All times must be achieved in bona fide competition.

2. Coaches must post all meet results on their school’s website or they must send the results to
all conference schools within seven days.

www.SAA-Sports.com
 Page | 66

3. Additionally, coaches have one week to correct times on the top-time list to ensure accuracy
as the season progresses.

4. All teams will be coded as follows: RHO - Rhodes College; CEN - Centre College; SEW -
Sewanee-U. of South; HDX - Hendrix College; BER - Berry College; BSC –
Birmingham-Southern

5. Both conference “open” and “meet” records will be listed on programs, psych sheets, heat
sheets and results at the championships. Lead-off swims on relays count as “meet” or “open”
records and do not count towards Swimmer-of-the-Year (meet) honors.

6. The Council will keep the SAA championship meet records, which can be accomplished only
at the conference championship. SAA open records, which can be accomplished by any
current conference school during at any meet in school history, shall be maintained. An
all-time conference record will be added, which will be a record set at any meet while the
school has been and is a current conference member. This would include all years, beginning
with 1999.

www.SAA-Sports.com
 Page | 67

Baseball

I. Conference Championship

1. The SAA tournament champion receives an automatic bid to the NCAA championship.

2. Nine-inning games will be played in the conference championship tournament. The 10-run
rule is used in all games with the exception of the final contest at each site used to determine our
championship series finalists and at the best two out of three final championship series.

3. Regular season standings are determined by winning percentage.

4.The seeds will be determined by regular season play. The highest remaining seed after the first
round will be the host institution for the baseball championship. For the first round of SAA play,
seeds #1 and #2 will host. The first round will each be a four team double elimination format
tournament with 1, 4, 5, and 8 playing at the top seed and 2, 3, 6, and 7 playing at the second
seed.  The higher seed will always be the home team in the first round.  The higher seed will be
the home team in games 1 & 3 in the championship round.

5. The main championship weekend for all sports will be the last weekend in April. If the last
day of April falls on either Friday or Saturday, that weekend will be the main championship
weekend. Exceptions will be made for sports championships that play their quarterfinals,
semifinals, or baseball tournaments during that main weekend. In that case, and with only two
teams remaining, those teams can decide an appropriate day and time to play their championship
contest(s). If those teams cannot determine a time to play, the default day and time will be the
day of NCAA selection at noon.

6. The host institution must schedule and provide practice time (if requested) for each of the
competing teams on the tournament playing field at least one day prior to the tournament.
Following the start of the tournament, no batting practice will be allowed on the field but an
alternate site or batting cages may be utilized. Regular pregame infield practice on the playing
field will be allowed as part of the normal warm-up format by both teams before each game.
Each team should be scheduled for infield practice prior to the game according to the format.
The home team should be scheduled first for infield practice.

7. The host of the conference championship will secure an extra playing field with lights in case
inclement weather causes the baseball championship to become backed up and games need to be
played simultaneously. If the host institution does not have a lighted field, then two fields will be
used to conduct the tournament.

www.SAA-Sports.com
 Page | 68

8. At least 3 1/2 hours shall be allowed in the schedule between starting times for tournament
games.

9. The Rawlings FSR1NCAA is the official baseball of the conference and should be used for all
SAA play.

10. A rules interpretation committee will be formed and composed of the host school’s primary
athletics administrator (or designee), the umpire-in-chief and one baseball coach. At least two of
these individuals will attend all times. Three-person umpire crews will work all conference
tournament games for all rounds of play. The host institution is responsible for the cost of the
umpires for all games. A committee to make decisions and adjustments for the conference
championship tournament will consist of the commissioner, current Baseball Council chair and
the previous chair.

11. All games will be conducted according to NCAA rules. The halted game rule will be utilized
in the conference championship as outlined in the NCAA Baseball Rules Book. If Day 1 is
rained out, the tournament will begin on Day 2 and proceed as planned. If the entire tournament
is rained out, the rules committee will meet to decide upon the best representative of the
conference for the NCAA championship.

12. Teams must have mandatory home and away uniforms for the championship.

13.Travel rosters for all SAA tournament games for all teams are standardized to the NCAA
allowable, plus 10%, rounded up

II. Regular-Season Scheduling and Contest Regulations

1. The regular season series between schools are played in a round robin format. Games will be a
doubleheader on Saturday (9-7 innings) and a single game on Sunday. If either game or both
games on Saturday are rained out a 9-7 doubleheader will be played on Sunday, if possible.
Teams can agree, with approval from the conference office, to play a Friday single
game/Saturday doubleheader (9-7) to accommodate class issues or religious holidays. The
standard series schedule will be Sat/Sun unless ADs from both institutions agree to a
modification of Friday/Saturday. Both must agree and the SAA Office must approve. Sunday
contests must start at noon for travel reasons unless the 2 schools and ADs agree on a different
time.

2. If an institution travels to a game site and weather (or other factors out of human controls)
occurs and prevents the completion of a series, the visiting team may not travel back to the
original site to make up games.  Once a team arrives on site and then departs, the games may not
be played.  Modifications and or changes made to game dates and/or times that both parties agree
to, and with the approval of the conference office may occur prior to departure, or once on the
game site.  Both teams and both ADs must agree.

www.SAA-Sports.com
 Page | 69

If a game is played and halted, that game may be continued the next day only if the
continuation occurs during the time that the visiting team had already planned to be there.
Otherwise, the game will either be a shortened game and count in the standings if it meets the
sport rules, or will be a no contest. All reasonable efforts will be made to play all games, but the
SAA supports a policy to lessen the added cost and potential of classes missed that make ups
created in a conference as geographically challenged as ours.

Teams are required to have the following:

1. A full infield tarp to cover the entire infield.

2. Fields must be fully enclosed by fences with the proper usage of foul poles, etc.

3. To determine standings in case of a tie, the following guidelines shall be used in this
order: Regular season standings are determined by winning percentage first.

● Head-to-head record during the conference series between the two teams that are tied. If
more than two teams are tied, use the tie breaking procedure detailed in B below.

● Record vs. highest seeded team in the conference continuing in a descending manner
until tie is broken. If three teams are tied, we use the same procedure until one team is
pulled out, then we return to head to head first, before using any other tie-breaker.

● Coin flip by the commissioner.

4. The SAA schedule will be organized by the baseball chair and approved by the
Commissioner in the fall each year for the season that would begin in the spring of the
following year. (Approximately 15 months).

5. The 10-run rule will be used in every game, except the tournament as described above.

6. Each school will provide the same standard for batting practice times.

7. For regular season conference contests, home teams may dress and play as many players
as they desire.

8. Standardized Batting Practice Times for all Regular Season SAA Games (Any change in
the visiting team(s) times should be communicated and agreed upon with the visiting
coach.)

1:00 p.m. game:

10:55 – 11:35      Home team BP
11:35 – 12:15      Visiting team BP
12:20 – 12:30      Home In & Out
12:30 – 12:40      Visiting In & Out
12:40 – 1:00        Field Maintenance, umpire meeting and national anthem

www.SAA-Sports.com
 Page | 70

1:00                     First pitch

This is an example of the standard BP times, everyone should adjust depending on game time.

III. Inclement Weather Protocol:

1. If both sites are not available to play at all, the SAA tournament winner will be the SAA
Regular season champion. If only one site is available to play, then the winner of the site will
play the highest seed from the regular season in the tournament that did not get to play.

2. If day one is started, but cannot be completed during the tournament, then #1 still applies.

3. If day one can be completed, then the winner of the tournament will be the highest seeded
team that is undefeated.

4. If day two is completed, then the tournament winner will be the highest seeded team still
undefeated.

5. If only one game can be played on day three, then the tournament champion will be the
highest seeded team still in the tournament.

6. If the tournament has to be played in one day, then the tournament becomes a single
elimination tournament.

III. Officials

Umpires will be assigned by the home team for all conference games and series. Umpires shall
be approved for intercollegiate contests by a recognized assigning agency. Two-person umpiring
crews will be used for all regular season conference series.

IV. Ejections

A report on any ejections from athletics events involving conference teams must be reported to
the conference office within 48 hours after the contest by the host institution. If the contest is a
non-conference event, the member institution is responsible for notifying the conference office of
any ejections within 48 hours. An ejection could result in disciplinary action by the individual’s
institution and/or the commissioner. The Athletics Directors Advisory Council will serve to
assist the commissioner on any such rulings involving potential suspensions of student-athletes
and/or coaches as it relates to potential violations of the SAA Code of Ethics.

V. Travel Squad Size

Teams are permitted to travel to away games that don’t require an overnight stay or during break
periods with an unlimited travel squad. The council wishes, for the sake of competitive equity to

www.SAA-Sports.com
 Page | 71

restrict the eligible roster size to the standard of NCAA allowable, plus 10 percent, rounded up as
the permissible competition size.

VI. Scouting

There will be no on-site scouting of conference teams by representatives of conference member

schools. When participating in a tournament in which another conference member is also
playing, it is permissible to be in attendance during a game in which that conference team is
playing. However, no formal scouting can occur. Scouting is permissible at the conference
championship tournament. Conference members may not provide information on conference
teams to non-conference members.

VII. Coaches Meeting

All coaches will meet annually via conference call to make recommendations to the Athletics
Directors Council for changes in these policies.

VIII. Awards

1. The conference office will provide a championship trophy to the winner of the conference
tournament. The conference office will administer the selection of all-conference teams and
awards.

2. There will be an All-Conference First Team and Second Team selected. Each team is
comprised of the following:

● One first baseman

● One second baseman
● One shortstop
● One third baseman
● Three outfielders
● One designated hitter
● Three pitchers
● One relief pitcher
● One catcher
● One utility player

Players will be grouped on the ballot by position and coaches will rank players within each
positional category. The top vote getters among the infielder positions will be placed on the First
Team with the next highest vote getter at each position making the Second Team. The top three
outfielders will make the First Team and the next three the Second Team. The top designated
hitter will be placed on the First Team with the second vote-getter making the Second Team. The
top catcher will make the First Team and the next will be placed on the Second Team.

www.SAA-Sports.com
 Page | 72

There will be a separate ballot to determine the Player of the Year, Pitcher of the Year, and
Newcomer of the Year (freshman or first-year eligible transfer). Each coach may nominate one
player from their squad for each of these awards. The Coach of the Year will be selected via
email vote to the conference office.

3. Any players nominated and receiving any votes or points in the selection process will be
named honorable mention. Each school will also be allowed to move one player up from either
Honorable Mention to the Second Team. These players will be included in addition to the actual
players voted on to the team. The conference office will notify each coach of any member of his
team who is selected to one of the All-Conference teams and then let the coach pick which
player to promote.

4. Coaches may not vote for themselves or their own players on the final ballot.

5. The online nomination process for All-SAA opens at 6:00 p.m. (EST) the Sunday after
opening round tournaments of the SAA Championship and will remain open until 8:00 a.m.
(EST) on Tuesday. Coaches voting will be conducted online from Tuesday at 9:00 a.m. (EST)
until Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. (EST) the week prior to the conference tournament opening pods.
The conference office will compile the SAA All-Conference Baseball Team (including each
coach’s automatic promotion of one player up from Honorable Mention to the Second Team or
up from the Second Team to the First Team) and will be announced at the completion of the SAA
Tournament.

The announcement of the All-SAA awards will be released on the Tuesday following the SAA
Championship final round.

6. During the regular season, the conference office will select a Player and a Pitcher of the Week
each Monday. Nominations are due to the conference office by Monday at 1:00 p.m. (EST) and
the results will be publicized on the conference website. A minimum of half the conference
programs must complete for the award to be awarded that week. If less than half of the
conference programs complete, all games played prior to the next weekly award may count in the
nomations.

7. An All-Tournament Team will be selected at the conference championship tournament by the

four head coaches participating and the host school’s head coach (if the host school is not
participating). The host SID can assist the coaches in assembling the team. The coaches should
work with the host SID to ensure the team is formed and the conference office is alerted. The
team will be made of one player from the six teams that didn’t move to the championship round,
two players from the teams in the championship round plus the MVP from the championship
team.

8. An All-SAA Sportsmanship team will be selected the week following the end of the SAA
regular season. Each team will elect one member from their team who displays good
sportsmanship throughout the season to be a member of the SAA All-Conference Sportsmanship

www.SAA-Sports.com
 Page | 73

team. These individuals will be selected by the team and head coach, with the head coach
sending the selection to the conference office at the end of the season. Only one student-athlete
from each team may be selected. All institutions will have one representative, with final team
choice selected by the head coach. The award will be publicized with other conference awards at
the end of the season.

www.SAA-Sports.com
 Page | 74

Men and Women’s Golf

I. Conference Championship - General Overview

1. All conference men’s and women’s golf teams will meet for the SAA Golf Championship to
compete for the conference championship during the last full weekend of April.

2. The conference Men’s and Women’s golf tournaments will be 54 holes played over three days
(Friday, Saturday and Sunday) with 18 holes attempted each day - with allowances for more or
less holes per day based on weather. The Games Committee will take into account Sunday night
travel distances home when setting the Sunday tee times.

3. Men’s SAA Conference Championship - six-person teams with the best four scores will be
counted and scored for each round. For the Women’s Championship - six players may play, but a
team must declare which five players will count prior to the first tee. Teams must have at least
four golfers to count a team score. To receive the conference AQ, you must meet the NCAA
minimum standards. If the winning team does not meet that standard, the second-place team will
receive the conference AQ.

a) The NCAA currently allows Women’s golf teams to play six---declare which five they are
scoring before the event—and count four of those five. The only format the NCAA currently
recognizes for scoring Women’s NCAA Golf is 5-4. We will allow teams to bring six women
and declare their five on paper at the Thursday night coaches meeting and make known to all
who the sixth player is. If a change is made after the coaches meeting, but before the team’s
initial player tees off the next morning/afternoon, due to illness, injury or circumstances
necessitating that late change must be documented by the three person SAA Games Committee.
Once play has begun the sixth player will be indicated by the Games Committee on the
scoreboard and in the Golfstat lineup as an individual for the women.

b) The NCAA rule allows for line-up changes right up until the first player on your team takes a
swing to start play of your team. It is recommended that the player not counting in the lineup for
the tournament be listed in the six spot on the scoreboard but it is NOT required. In case of an
injury or a late illness before the first round it may not be possible to use the sixth slot on the
scoreboard.

c) There are no qualifying scores for SAA golf with regards to the number 1-5 competitors. In
regard to the 6th player there will be parameters placed on that position. In order to bring a
number six competitor that player has to have competed in a minimum of six rounds during the
fall and/or spring season and have a Golfstat documented scoring average of 110 or lower in at
least five rounds in order to play in the six position. We are committed to growing the game of

www.SAA-Sports.com
 Page | 75

women’s golf in the SAA but not at the expense of wearing out our welcome with the host
courses.

d) When a scoring tent or table is unavailable for every group (at the conclusion of a shotgun
start), scorecards are not official until they are gathered and turned in by the coach to the
tournament director/Golfstat inputter, or such an official. The scoring area for a shotgun finish
will be designated by the Games Committee.

4. Additional Information

A. The Games Committee will establish parameters calculated based on travel distance, daylight,
weather forecast, etc. in establishing and adjusting tee times to accommodate delays. The Games
Committee will make daily decisions on the number of holes attempted to be played Friday,
Saturday and Sunday to ensure a maximum number of holes can be completed for the
Championship. Every effort will be made to complete 54 holes.

B. The established “start time” is a sliding scale that can be adjusted to accommodate the
number of holes needed to finish 54 holes, 45 holes, 36 holes or 27 holes for the men’s field. The
start time will be set on or before Thursday night at the coaches meeting for the championships
each year. It will be re-evaluated daily throughout the tournament weekend.

C. In the women’s SAA Championship, the NCAA mandates completing rounds in sets of 18
hole increments. It is conceivable on a Sunday the men would start a final 9-hole push for a total
of either 27 or 45 holes while the women may finish just 18 or 36 holes if daylight only allows
for less than a full 18.

D. The SAA Games Committee may meet via phone/email before the event for championships
discussion. The committee should meet as often as needed throughout the extent of the
Championship to address any issues with weather or other delays.

5. Contestants, including the designated coach, are recommended to wear uniforms of the same
color during competition or practice at the SAA Championship. Walking or Bermuda shorts are
permitted, provided they are team shorts and are of the same color. Slacks or shorts may be worn
at the individual’s discretion, provided they are of the same color and are considered the team
uniform. If a student-athlete wears headgear during competition, it must display only an
institutional, conference or NCAA logo, or no logo. If there is no logo, a coach’s or team
members’ headgear must be of an institutional color. A manufacturer’s logo may appear on the
side or back of the item as long as it conforms to NCAA Bylaw 12.5.3. In the best interest of
intercollegiate golf and the championships, participants must wear appropriate golf attire at the
tournament site. Please refer to the host institution’s pre-tournament mailing for the definition of
appropriate attire at the golf course.

6. The host institutions will notify all conference golf coaches by November 1 of each year on all
tournament specifics and logistics. To qualify for NCAA standards, the Women’s yardage must

www.SAA-Sports.com
 Page | 76

be at least 5,800 yards. The recommended yardage for Men is a minimum of 6,500 yards for a
par 72 to around 7,000 yards.

7. The host coach, host course and the Games Committee will assign practice round times using
arrival time information collected several weeks in advance.

8. First-round pairings will be drawn by the tournament Games Committee / Host Institution
based upon the head-to-head rankings from Golfstat on the Wednesday the week prior to the
championship. The three highest ranked teams on Golfstat will play last on the day one.

Second-round pairings will be based upon first-round results with the highest individual scores
playing first and lowest individual scores playing last. No playing group will include more than
one player from each team in either round if at all possible. A shotgun start may be implemented
on any day to accommodate potential weather delays or travel schedules. The Men’s or Women’s
Games Committee may elect to alter the pairings as they see fit for pace of play. Ties for teams’
pairing positions will be broken by the fifth score after Day One and the two-day totals of the
dropped scores for the Championship. If still tied, fourth score is used descending down to
number one.

10. When available, a scoreboard will be used to record all team and individual scores as rounds
are completed. Results will be calculated and forwarded to all coaches and SIDs using Golfstat.

11. All eight SAA member institutions will be responsible for splitting equally all fees associated
with the tournament. Primarily the golf course and driving range fees will be the bulk of the
shared expense. Any ancillary fees associated directly with the tournament would be included.
(i.e., rules officials, scoring and scoreboard personnel, Golfstat operator.) Volunteers are
encouraged whenever possible at SAA Championship events.

12. Carts or caddies may not be used by participants in the SAA Championships, unless required
by the course and approved in advance by the SAA Tournament Committee. Golf carts will be
provided for members of the committee, selected tournament officials, rules officials and
coaches. The only exception to these policies would be if the participant is permanently disabled.
Then written approval from the NCAA Golf Committee must be submitted to the SAA
Conference Games Committee requesting the use of an electric golf cart two weeks prior to the
start of the championships.

A. Pull Carts for competitors in Women’s and Men’s NCAA golf have been approved for
play for regular season, SAA Championship and NCAA play. It is up to the institution to
secure the non-motorized push / pull cart.

B. Spectator carts have been approved for ALL spectators at SAA Championships. The host
club and the host institution may set the price at their discretion. The host course has the
final say on carts for spectators on a daily basis at their discretion.

www.SAA-Sports.com
 Page | 77

13. Unsportsmanlike Conduct (i.e. profanity, club tossing or throwing, willful acts of defacing
the golf course.). In addition to the following policies, coaches, administrators and
student-athletes shall be subject to the misconduct policies described in the Division III General
Section and Bylaws 31.02.3, and 31.1.8 through 31.1.9. During the round, defined as from the
time the player makes his first stroke until the scorecard is submitted in the box, for the first
offense of any act of unsportsmanlike conduct (i.e., willful acts of defacing the golf course, club
throwing or breaking, abusive language, violation of the tobacco policy, or any acts contrary to
the spirit of the rules of golf) during the championships, the student-athlete and coach will be
notified immediately on the golf course and provided a warning. The offending institution’s
director of athletics could receive a letter from the SAA informing the institution that one of its
student-athletes had been warned for unsportsmanlike conduct during the championships. The
second offense of unsportsmanlike conduct will result in disqualification for that round and any
further unsportsmanlike conducts will result in disqualification for the championships. However,
the committee shall have the right, without warning, to disqualify an individual for that round (or
championships) for any flagrant act of unsportsmanlike conduct. Notwithstanding any penalty
assessed during the round, the golf committee may impose other penalties that it deems
appropriate pursuant to Bylaw 31.1.9.1 as described in the Division III General Section.

A. Any player disqualified or withdrawing from any round will not be allowed to count his
or her individual score towards his or her team’s score for that round. If a major breach of
the rules occurs the Games Committee and Rules Committee may disqualify at their
discretion. The tournament Rules Committee will address further participation. If the
player were allowed to continue, the player’s subsequent rounds would be allowed to
count towards his or her team daily score.

14. Per NCAA Bylaw 17.29, member institutions shall conduct all of their intercollegiate
competition in accordance with the playing rules of the Association in all sports for which the
NCAA develops playing rules. For those sports in which the Association follows rules that are
developed by other governing bodies and modified by the governing sports committee, the
adopted playing rules shall be used. The governing sports committee will not consider any
results for selection purposes that are not played in accordance with NCAA rules, or those rules
adopted by an outside organization. The NCAA Division III Men’s Golf Championships shall be
conducted according to the USGA Rules of Golf with the exceptions listed below. Rules of Golf
decisions shall be final and cannot be appealed. The NCAA rule sheet shall be used during the
championships. Advice – In accordance with the Note to Rule 8 of the Rules of Golf, each team
may appoint two coaches, whom may give advice to members of that team provided that:

A. A designated coach is defined as a member of the institutions coaching staff and is a

recognized member as by institution’s athletic department and/or an employee of the
institution to perform coaching duties and who serves in that capacity on a volunteer or
paid basis; and must be identified to the committee before giving advice; and must wear
the identification band, when provided. Note: Such person is considered an outside
agency and not part of his player’s side. They should give advice in a private manner that
does not unduly delay play. They should give advice to, and receive advice from, only
competing members of their team and not from any other representative of their team,

www.SAA-Sports.com
 Page | 78

any other team’s players or coaches or any other outside agencies. If, during a stipulated
round, such person does not act in accordance with the Note to this Condition, his
appointment is subject to revocation and he would be required to leave the course for the
remainder of the round.
B. Prior to each round the head coach for the Women’s and Men’s team(s) from each
institution must submit to the Tournament Director/host the name(s) of designated
coaches for each respective team. A maximum of two coaches may be listed and utilized
as “designated coaches” and there may not be any substitutions of coaches during a
round. The Tournament Director/host will be given a designated wristband to wear during
the round.
C. It is permissible for a coach to be listed as a “designated coach” for their women’s and
men’s teams and to move back and forth between their teams and offer advice. This
coach will wear two wristbands to identify they coach both teams. It is permissible to
change the name(s) of who are the “designated coaches” from round to round. But not
during a round.
D. A maximum of two carts per institution for schools sponsoring two teams. Fans, parents,
or players (acting as fans) cannot drive a “coach cart.” A coach is not considered part of
the player’s side and therefore is not directly subject to the Rules of Golf; nevertheless,
there are certain actions that a coach could take that might result in a penalty — e.g., if a
coach’s actions were sanctioned tacitly or otherwise by the player, he might be penalized.
Some examples of actions by his coach that could result in a penalty to the player would
be: improving a line of play; moving loose impediments or obstructions in violation of
the Rules; disregard for the provisions of Rule 14-2, assistance and violation of putting
green and flagstick restrictions. Responsibilities of a competitor in this regard are
supported by Decisions 13-2/4, 13-2/33 and 13-2/36 of the Decisions on the Rules of
Golf. In the best interest of the competition, and in an effort to minimize any difficult
situations, the golf committee trusts that all competitors, coaches and officials respect the
principle of obeisance to the Rules, proper conduct and fair play in the spirit of the game.

E. At the championships, the two designated coaches must be recognized institutional

representatives. Neither of the two designated coaches may be a current student-athlete or
a parent who is not also employed by the institution. A single cart will be assigned to
each institution’s designated coaches and individuals during practice and competition
rounds. The cart is to be used by the designated coaches only and should not be used to
transport spectators, team personnel, athletics administrators, student-athletes, golf clubs
or golf bags during competition rounds. Institutions will be responsible for the expense of
a second coach if they choose to send one to the championship.

15. Electronic measuring devices calculating distance and slope are permitted for use during the
practice rounds. During the competitive rounds, devices that measure other variables are
permissible and long as the slope feature is turned off.

16. Cell phone usage. Coaches may use cell phones. Players may use cell phones for calls in
dangerous situations when their group needs immediate assistance. They can call a coach, the
clubhouse, a rules official, etc to report a dangerous situation with an animal, lightning, damage

www.SAA-Sports.com
 Page | 79

to the course, etc. The advent of “live player entry scoring” now has the players (one in each
group) with their phones in their hands for a few seconds after each hole. There is no texting,
social media, personal calls or any general abuse of the privilege of entering scores allowed for
the live scoring tournament enhancement for our SAA Championship. During the SAA
Tournament the First Offense: Warning; 2nd offense: 2 stroke penalty. A third offense would
result in a DQ from that round and any subsequent rounds as well.

II. Conference Championship - Procedures for Delays

In women’s SAA golf championship only:

1. If a hole-by-hole playoff is not possible, a tie for the overall team championship will be
resolved by a match of scorecards. The overall team champion will be determined on the basis of
the best total team score (using only the scorecards from the four scores that count as a part of
the “daily team score”) for the last nine holes played during the final round of the competition.
If the tying teams have the same score for the last nine holes played, the winner will be
determined on the basis of the best total score for the last six holes played. If the tying teams
have the same score for the last six holes played, the winner will be determined on the basis of
the best team score for the last three holes played. If the tying teams have the same score for the
last three holes played, a winner will be determined on the basis of their final hole played.

If the tying teams are still tied, the tiebreaker will revert back to the first nine holes played. If the
tying teams are still tied, the tiebreaker will revert back to the first six holes played. If teams are
still tied, the tiebreaker will be the first three holes played. Finally, if ties have not been broken,
the winner will be determined by total score on the first hole played. If the final round is played
as a shotgun start. Holes 10-18 are deemed to be the last nine holes played unless otherwise
noted in or before the coach’s meeting. The SAA Golf Games Committee may declare the final
nine holes to be different for the Men’s and Women’s championship if it is deemed more
practical. If it is not noted before the first round begins, holes 10-18 will be deemed the last nine
holes.

*NOTE: Make sure to designate in the Coaches Meeting the “final nine holes” for both the
men’s and women’s Championships. ** Designate playoff hole order if possible in the coaches
meeting.

If possible the host institution, the Games Committee and the course Director of Golf should
“try” to preset the playoff holes in advance at the Coaches Meeting. As coaches we are aware
delays, weather, member-play behind our event can force changes to playoff holes. Depending
on number of teams or players the course head professional and/or Director of Golf (or his
designee) will have final say where we start our playoff hole sequence.

Important Note: If a team or teams involved in the tie-breaker have their fourth and fifth scores
tied for the final round, making it difficult to determine who would be the fourth score for the
“daily team score” the procedure will be as follows. The player, in a tie, who started the final
round in the lower position (closest to the number one position in the lineup), will be deemed to

www.SAA-Sports.com
 Page | 80

be the fourth score for purposes of putting together the daily team four scores. If the two or more
teammates are tied from the second round, revert back to the first round and if they are still tied
the committee will revert back to the original starting position before the tournament began. It is
mandatory for the teams’ lineup to be reshuffled according to scores with ties amongst
teammates deferring to the previous days position in the lineup. If we are unable to re-pair for
the second and final rounds due to weather, daylight, etc. the fourth player will be determined by
score, not the position he or she is currently paired in due to delays.

If after using the eight different tie-breaker procedures after the final round, and the two or more
teams are still tied, the SAA will award the NCAA Automatic Qualifier to the highest ranked
team according to the GolfStat NCAA head-to-head rankings from the previous Wednesday
morning directly before the SAA Championship weekend.

III. Conference Championship - Procedures for Playoffs

It will be important to complete the SAA Championship on Sunday and award the AQ. Factors
not limited to darkness, weather and distance to travel back to our campuses that particular year
for the playoff teams all will be carefully measured by the Games Committee.

1. Tie Breaker Policy - If the tie is broken with “actual play” on the course the winner of the
playoff will be the sole SAA Conference Champion and receive the SAA Conference AQ. The
SAA office will award points for the All-Sports Trophy based on the results at the conclusion of
the on course playoff. Points will be dispersed on the final results. If a tie has to be settled by any
stage of the “non-golf” tie breaking system in place at the current SAA championship the two, or
more, teams involved will both/all be declared Co-Conference champions. A second, third or
more championship trophies will be provided by the SAA office to all teams tied for
the championship. They will each receive full recognition as conference champions. The SAA
Conference AQ will be awarded to the winner of the tie-breaker in place for the championship. *

NOTE: Currently, the men and women’s event use DIFFERENT tie- breaker methods voted on in
April 2014 in Atlanta.

Non-playoff team tie breaker procedures for men:

1. Cumulative total of the non-counting scores from each playoff team’s fifth score. (The
only time we default to using the sixth score is if the fifth score is unavailable)

2. Highest cumulative individual total. (Which means: the fifth highest cumulative
individual total on your scoreboard)

3. Second highest cumulative individual total. (Which means: the fourth highest cumulative
individual total on your scoreboard)

4. The third highest cumulative individual total. (Which means: the third……)

www.SAA-Sports.com
 Page | 81

5. The fourth highest cumulative individual total. (Which means: the second…..)

6. The fifth highest cumulative individual total. (Which means: the lowest cumulative
individual total)

7. If still tied, the men’s champion would be decided by reverting back to the women’s SAA
procedure of matching scorecards in sets of nine-six-three-one, etc. See Appendix A for
format.

Non-playoff tie breaker procedures for women

A.
The women’s coaches were concerned about injury, illness or SAA Tournament roster
size making the fifth score impractical. The women are using the USGA non-playing
scorecard match. The men voted in April 2014 to use the fifth score (of the six) knowing
if a fifth score was unavailable due to illness, injury, WD, etc. the team would be allowed
to count their sixth score against the other(s) fifth scores in a non-playoff tie-breaker –
matching scorecards.

B. If the weather cooperates for the final round, and assuming a mid-afternoon finish,plenty
of time will remain to conduct a playoff to determine the conference team champion and
the NCAA automatic qualifier. The player positions may not be changed for the playoff.
Each group will have a marker or a rules official or a member of the Games Committee to
officiate. This official may be a Conference coach not involved in the playoff

C. If two teams are tied the SAA Games Committee will use the NCAA Championship
approved playoff procedures and pairings. SEE APPENDIX A. The groups will play one
hole at a time and settle the scores comparing the low four scores. If teams are still tied,
in the same pairings and order, the next playoff hole will be started.

D. If three or more teams are in a playoff, the teams will be spread over the appropriate
number of holes to accommodate simultaneous play. After each hole scores are gathered
and tabulated for the teams and a winner is declared or play continues in the same format
at the next hole. SEE APPENDIX B for multi-team NCAA playoff procedures. The
number one players are on 18, the number two players on 17, the number three player is
on number 16, and so on…The Director of Golf at the course has the final say in holes
used for the actual playoff.

E. Golfstat does not recognize ties broken in playoffs for individuals. The SAA Games
Committee will make every effort to complete the individual playoff for medalist and
SAA Individual Tournament Medalist on the course. If time or travel restrictions or
weather does not permit a playoff, Co-Tournament Medalists will be recognized.

F. If the men or women’s SAA Player of the Year or SAA Newcomer of the Year are tied
after the Championship, per 2018 decision, the tie will be broken with their Golfstat

www.SAA-Sports.com
 Page | 82

ranking. The highest ranked player according to GolfStat PRIOR to the SAA
Championship shall break the tie.

IV. Officials

1. The Games Committees will be appointed by the Men’s and Women’s Golf Councils and each
committee will consist of a minimum of three coaches from member institutions, including the
host institution if possible for both championships. This committee will be appointed one year in
advance at the conference championships at the regular meeting of the SAA Golf Council. All
golf championship decisions are to be decided by this committee, in cooperation with the
Commissioner.

2. A minimum of one certified tournament rules official on course per day is recommended and
should be provided by the host school. If possible this head rules official should attend the
coaches meeting prior to the start of competition. A Rules Committee will be created at each
SAA Championship site. It is recommended that it be made up of, but not limited to, rules
officials, selected coaches, host golf professionals, etc.

1. USGA Rule 6-7 states, in part: “The player shall play without undue delay and in
accordance with any pace of play guidelines that the committee may establish “and there
after prescribes penalties for slow play. Allotted Time — When play is in groups of
three, groups will be required to play at the pace of play established by the committee.

2. The type of equipment (i.e., balls, clubs) to be used shall be determined by the
individual team and must be acceptable under USGA rules. The USGA one-ball rule
(brand) will NOT be in effect. Golf bags should have the name or logo of the school on
them. Players and coaches will be required to use nonmetal spiked shoes during SAA
championships competition.

V. Travel Squad Size

1. Travel squad size is limited to six players in uniform. Selected institutions may use playing
markers to balance the pairings and even the field.

VI. Coaches Meeting

1. All Men’s and Women’s coaches will meet annually at the SAA Golf Championships to make
recommendations to the conference for changes in policies. Men’s and Women’s coaches are
encouraged to meet separately to discuss matters pertaining to their respective championship.
Then both groups will meet in a combined meeting. Every effort will be made to conduct the
coaches meetings prior to the beginning of each championship. It is recommended to be held on
the Thursday, the practice round day.

VII. Awards

www.SAA-Sports.com
 Page | 83

1. The conference office will provide championship trophies to the championship teams and an
individual plaque for both the Men’s and Women’s Player of the Year, Coaches of the Year and
Newcomers of the Year.

2. If the championships are completely canceled due to weather, the Pre-Tournament Golf
Committee will select golfers to an All-Conference team, based largely on GolfStat performance.
A First Team made up of five players, a Second Team made up of five players and an Honorable
Mention Team of five players would be selected.

3. The medalist of the conference championship will be declared Tournament Individual

Medalist. If there is a tie between two or more players, and a sudden death playoff is not
played, the tied players will be declared Co-Tournament Individual Medalists.

A. In addition, a SAA Pre-Tournament Team is selected by the three-member SAA

Pre-Tournament All-Conference Committee. If any of those players do not finish within
the top 10 and ties, they will be named either First Team or Second Team at the post
round awards ceremony. The pre-tournament players are ranked according to their
GolfStat ranking as First Team, Second Team, or Honorable Mention before the
tournament begins and adjusted after the championship for the post-round awards.

B. Commemorative SAA Conference All-Tournament flags (15 for Men and 15 for Women
is recommended) and will be purchased by the host school for the awards ceremony for
the All SAA All-Conference Teams.

C. The host institution will contact Prestige Flags at 800-876-5155 or www.prestigeflag.com

and re-order commemorative SAA Flags for the men and women’s: Player of the Year,
Coach of the Year, Newcomer of the Year and the two individual medalists.

D. If two or more players are tied for SAA Player of the Year and/or SAA Newcomer of the
Year the tie will be broken by using the lowest GolfStat previous individual ranking.

4. The same pre-tournament SAA All-Conference committee will also compile a list of
nominees for SAA Newcomer-of-the-Year. Coaches may nominate their freshman/transfer
on the same form as the pre-tournament All-Conference team nominees are made. The
committee will rank the nominees for the Newcomers prior to the tournament and the committee
will name the Newcomer-of-the-Year at the conclusion of the championship based on their year
long performance with some emphasis on play at the conference championship, if necessary.

5. The conference Coach-of-the-Year will be managed by the head coaches and a decision will
be made pre or post Tournament. Coaches may not vote for themselves.

6. An awards ceremony featuring the team champions, team orders of finish and top individual
finishers and ties for men and women along with Honorable Mention will take place at the golf
course immediately following the conclusion of play. The SAA Men’s and Women’s
Players-of-the-Year, Men’s and Women’s Individual Tournament Medalist, Men’s and Women’s

www.SAA-Sports.com
 Page | 84

Coach of the Year and the SAA Newcomer-of-the-Year and all 16 All-Sportsmanship recipients
will also be recognized. Teams are encouraged to remain for this ceremony. The host institution
or Chairman of the Games Committee is responsible for alerting the SAA office of the individual
winners for each award.

7. The SAA office will also administer a conference Golfer of the Week award. The Golfer of
the Week will be administered in the spring. Nominations are due by noon (Eastern) on
Wednesday weekly and the winners announced by Thursday at noon (Eastern). A minimum of
half the conference programs must complete for the award to be awarded that week. If less than
half of the conference programs complete, all rounds played prior to the next weekly award may
count in the nomations.

9. An All-SAA Sportsmanship team will be selected the week following the end of the SAA
regular season. Each team will elect one member from their team who displays good
sportsmanship throughout the season to be a member of the All-SAA Sportsmanship team. These
individuals will be selected by the team and head coach, with the head coach sending the
selection to the conference office at the end of the season. Only one student athlete from each
team may be selected. All institutions will have one representative, with final team choice
selected by the head coach. The award will be publicized with other conference awards at the
end of the season.

VIII. Sportsmanship and Crowd Control

1. All coaches, student-athletes and spectators shall observe the conference policy on crowd
control and sportsmanship, which should be distributed at the conference championship and
published in the conference championship program.

2. Spectators should remain on cart paths or in the rough, and approximately 15 yards from the
players. There may be no communication between players and spectators that could be deemed
advice of any nature for the duration of the 18 holes. All institutional personnel, including
assistant coaches, with the exception of the designated coach, are considered spectators.

APPENDIX A

Tiebreaker

Sudden Death Tie Breaking Procedures

Team ties shall be broken by a sudden-death playoff counting the low four scores of six relative
to par on each hole. Play shall continue with new scoring on each successive hole until a winner
is determined. The games committee will determine the starting holes. If a playoff involves more
than two teams, a shotgun format shall be used. The team playoff will be conducted first, with
the playoff for individual spots to follow immediately after the conclusion of the team playoff.
Once the shotgun sudden-death format is started, that format shall be used until a winner is
determined.

www.SAA-Sports.com
 Page | 85

The games committee reserves the right to start a two-team playoff in a shotgun, five-hole format
if weather or daylight reduce the time remaining.

Sudden Death Playoff Procedures

Teams will draw for positions. For a two-team playoff, the winner of the draw shall have the
option of the A or B positions set forth below. For a playoff involving more than two teams, the
teams shall assume the drawn letter position (A, B, C, etc.) set forth below:

Two teams (A & B; tee off alternately)

#5A, #5B, #4A, #4B, #3A playoff hole #1 #3B, #2A, #2B, #1A, #1B playoff hole #1

Three Teams
A #6 B #6 C #6 playoff hole 6
A #5 B #5 C #5 playoff hole 5
A #4 B #4 C #4 playoff hole 4
A #3 B #3 C #3 playoff hole 3
A #2 B #2 C #2 playoff hole 2
A #1 B #1 C #1 playoff hole 1

Four Teams
A #6 B #6 C #6 D #6 playoff hole 6
A #5 B #5 C #5 D #5 playoff hole 5
A #4 B #4 C #4 D #4 playoff hole 4
A #3 B #3 C #3 D #3 playoff hole 3
A #2 B #2 C #2 D #2 playoff hole 2
A #1 B #1 C #1 D #1 playoff hole 1

Players will play the numbered position they held at the start of the final round.

Women’s Sudden Death Playoff Procedures

Teams will draw for positions. For a two-team playoff, the winner of the draw shall have the
option of the A or B positions set forth below. For a playoff involving more than two teams, the
teams shall assume the drawn letter position (A, B, C, etc.) set forth below:

Two teams (A & B; tee off alternately)

#5A, #5B, #4A, #4B, #3A playoff hole #1 #3B, #2A, #2B, #1A, #1B playoff hole #1

APPENDIX B

Women’s Sudden Death SHOTGUN FORMAT (Women using five players count four)

For a playoff involving more than two teams, the teams shall
assume the drawn letter position (A, B, C, etc.) set forth below:

Three Teams

www.SAA-Sports.com
 Page | 86

A #5 B #5 C #5 playoff hole 5
A #4 B #4 C #4 playoff hole 4
A #3 B #3 C #3 playoff hole 3
A #2 B #2 C #2 playoff hole 2
A #1 B #1 C #1 playoff hole 1

Four Teams
A #5 B #5 C #5 D #5 playoff hole 5
A #4 B #4 C #4 D #4 playoff hole 4
A #3 B #3 C #3 D #3 playoff hole 3
A #2 B #2 C #2 D #2 playoff hole 2
A #1 B #1 C #1 D #1 playoff hole 1

Five Teams
A #5 B #5 C #5 D #5 E #5 playoff hole 5
A #4 B #4 C #4 D #4 E #4 playoff hole 4
A #3 B #3 C #3 D #3 E #3 playoff hole 3
A #2 B #2 C #2 D #2 E #2 playoff hole 2
A #1 B #1 C #1 D #1 E #1 playoff hole 1

Players will play the numbered position they held at the start of the final round.

The format in pairings for a playoff of six teams or more shall be consistent with the foregoing
format as determined by the games committee.

www.SAA-Sports.com
 Page | 87

Men Lacrosse

I. Regular Season Contest Regulations

1. The conference champion will be determined by a postseason conference tournament featuring

all eight teams seeded from the regular season. Conference members sponsoring Men’s lacrosse
shall compete in a single round-robin schedule (7 games) developed by the conference office
using the modified travel partner system.

Travel partners are:

Berry/Oglethorpe
Centre/Sewanee
Birmingham Southern/Millsaps
Hendrix/Rhodes

2. The conference champion will be determined by the winner of the postseason tournament and
the champion receives an automatic bid to the NCAA Championship. However, a regular season
champion will be named and the All-Sports points awarded for final standings in the regular
season.

3. If a tie occurs in the final standings, the following tie-breaker system will be used to
determine the participants in the conference tournament:

1. Head-to-head play
2. Goals surrendered vs. league opponents
3. Coin flip
[note: if more than two teams are tied once the above tie-breaker protocol is used and only two
teams remain, we will revert back to head-to-head to resolve the final tie]

All uniforms and equipment must be compliant with NCAA rules and regulations. The home
team will wear the white or light-colored home uniform. Visiting teams should check with the
home team prior to every game to ensure a mix-up does not occur.

5. Schools must follow NCAA guidelines for properly outlining field of play.

II. Scheduling

1. No conference games will be scheduled the first two weekends of the season.

2. Consideration should be given to special pregame and halftime activities (Parent’s Weekend,
Senior Day, etc.). Those activities should begin early enough so it does not affect the starting
times of games.

www.SAA-Sports.com
 Page | 88

3. Game times may be adjusted to accommodate travel by the visiting teams or other reasons
pertaining to missed class time and campus activities for the home teams, but only through
consultation with the conference office. A noon away game is the option for the opposing team
to eliminate teams from returning to campus late at night Sunday or early the morning Monday.

4. Teams should set pre-game clocks to end approximately five minutes prior to the scheduled
match time to allow for the National Anthem (when applicable) and starting lineups. This
protocol will allow for games to start on time.

5. If an institution travels to a game site and weather (or other factors out of human controls)
occurs and prevents the completion of a series, the visiting team may not travel back to the
original site to make up games.  Once a team arrives on site and then departs, the games may not
be played. Modifications and or changes made to game dates and/or times that both parties agree
to, and with the approval of the conference office may occur prior to departure, or once on the
game site.  Both teams and both ADs must agree.

If a game is played and halted, that game may be continued the next day only if the continuation
occurs during the time that the visiting team had already planned to be there. Otherwise, the
game will either be a shortened game and count in the standings if it meets the sport rules, or will
be a no contest. All reasonable efforts will be made to play all games, but the SAA supports a
policy to lessen the added cost and potential of classes missed that make ups create in a
conference as geographically challenged as ours.

III. Officials

Three officials must be present at all conference games (regular season and postseason) and will
be provided by the host institution.

IV. Ejections

A report on any ejections from athletics events involving conference teams must be reported to
the conference office within 48 hours after the contest by the host institution. If the contest is a
non-conference event, the member institution is responsible for notifying the conference office of
any ejections within 48 hours. An ejection could result in disciplinary action by the individual’s
institution and/or the commissioner. The Athletics Directors Advisory Council will serve to
assist the commissioner on any such rulings involving potential suspensions of student-athletes
and/or coaches as it relates to potential violations of the SAA Code of Ethics.

V. Travel Squad Size

Travel squad size is limited to the NCAA Championship maximum plus 10 percent, rounded up
for players in uniform for regular season and conference tournament games. Games that do not

www.SAA-Sports.com
 Page | 89

require an overnight stay or that are played during institutional breaks are waived from this
limitation.

VI. Scouting

1. Coaches are permitted to scout and provide information within the conference, as long as no
recording devices are used.

2. Conference members may request any two games from fellow conference members prior to
their scheduled contest. It is mandatory that all conference members comply with the tape
exchange policy.

3. The home team is responsible for filming each conference game for the visiting team and is
also responsible for supplying film exchange to the visiting team as quickly as possible at the
conclusion of game, unless otherwise agreed upon by the visiting coach.

4. Conference members may not provide video on conference teams to non-conference members.
SAA teams may provide any other form of scouting to opposing teams.

VII. Coaches Meeting

1. All coaches will meet annually by conference call to make recommendations to the Athletics
Directors Council for changes in these policies. Coaches are encouraged to join the USILA and
attend the annual convention.

VIII. Conference Postseason Tournament

1. Format
Quarterfinals - 3-seed hosts 6-seed; 4-seed hosts 5-seed
Semifinals - 1-seed hosts – 1-seed vs 4/5 winner; 2-seed hosts 3/6 winner
Championship, Saturday or Sunday – winner of two semifinal matches.

2. It is the responsibility of the host school to designate an agency/supervisor of officials to

assign officials for all games in the conference tournament.

3. The higher seed will wear its home uniform for all games.

4. The Conference Championship host will staff all games. All games will be videotaped by staff
from the host institution working the games. The host institution is responsible for the sports
information operations for the tournament. All schools are encouraged to travel with at least one
NATA certified trainer to the conference tournament.

5. During the Championship Weekend the host team provides film of the first game played to the
winning team of the second game played in the final four, so they have the opportunity to watch
film prior to the Sunday championship game.

www.SAA-Sports.com
 Page | 90

IX. Awards

1. The conference will provide a championship trophy to the conference postseason tournament
champion.

2. The conference office will administer the selection process for All-Conference Teams,
Defensive and Offensive Players of the Year, Newcomer of the Year and Coach of the Year.

3. The online nomination process for All-SAA opens at 6:00 p.m. (EST) Monday after the final
regular season contests and will remain open until 8:00 a.m. (EST) on Wednesday. A conference
call will take place during the week to discuss voting. Coaches voting will be conducted online
from Wednesday at 9:00 a.m. (EST) until Thursday at 6:30 p.m. (EST) the week prior to the
conference tournament. Each coach will nominate players from his own team based on order of
finish, to be placed on the final ballots.

First Place Team (12)

Second Place (11)
Third Place (10)
Fourth Place (9)
Fifth through Eighth (8)

Players will appear on the ballot grouped with players of similar position with individual overall
statistics and conference statistics listed on the ballot. A coach may rank his own players in order
if he desires to assist the other coaches in the voting process. Coaches may not vote for
themselves or for their own players on the final ballot.

4. Each First, Second Team and Honorable Mention All-SAA will be composed of 13 players
(one goalkeeper, three attack men, three midfielders, three defensemen and one long stick
midfielder, one short stick defensive midfielder, and one faceoff specialist. To select the
All-Conference Teams, each position will have a separate ballot where the coaches rank the
players. The highest point-getting goalkeeper will be named to the First Team with the next
highest being placed on the Second Team and the third highest Honorable Mention. The top three
point-getting attack men make the First Team, the next three the Second Team and the next three
Honorable Mention, etc. to fill out the 13-member First Team,13-member Second Team and
13-member Honorable Mention All-Conference Teams.

5. Defensive and Offensive Players of the Year and the Newcomer of the Year will be selected
through coaches voting on separate online ballots. Each coach may nominate one player from
their squad for each of these awards. The Newcomer of the Year will be a player in his first year
at a conference school (freshman or someone playing in his first year as a member of the team).
Voting for Coach of the Year will be handled via email to the conference office. Coaches may not
vote for themselves.

www.SAA-Sports.com
 Page | 91

6. Coaches will discuss the nominees and vote for every All-SAA award on a conference call
with their peers.

7. The conference will announce All-SAA Conference selections the week following the SAA
Championship.

8. Every week along with conference statistics, there will be an Offensive and Defensive Player
of the Week selected. Nominations for Players of the Week should be submitted to the
conference office by 1:00 p.m. (EST) each Monday. The conference office will announce the
SAA Players of the Week later in the day each Monday. A minimum of half the conference
programs must complete for the award to be awarded that week. If less than half of the
conference programs complete, all games played prior to the next weekly award may count in the
nomations.

9. An All-Conference Sportsmanship team will be selected the week following the SAA
championship tournament. Each team will elect one member from their team who displays good
sportsmanship throughout the season to be a member of the All-SAA Sportsmanship team. These
individuals will be selected by the team and head coach, with the head coach sending the
selection to the conference office at the end of the season. Only one student-athlete from each
team may be selected. All institutions will have one representative, with final team choice
selected by the head coach. The award will be publicized with other conference awards at the
end of the season.

www.SAA-Sports.com
 Page | 92

Women’s Lacrosse

I. Regular Season Contest Regulations

1. During the season, conference members sponsoring Women’s lacrosse shall compete in a
single round-robin schedule. There will be a conference championship tournament hosted by the
top seed institution. Every effort shall be made to play all tournament games on the scheduled
day. Should it become necessary (due to unplayable conditions - e.g. inclement weather, etc.), a
higher seed may advance to the next round in order to complete the tournament. If the
tournament has started and cannot be completed, the highest remaining seed shall be declared the
winner of the conference tournament.

2. In the event of a tie for any place in the standings, the following procedures shall be used to
break the tie. In the case of ties among three or more teams, the criteria shall be applied in order
until a team is pulled out. At that point, the procedure reverts back to step No. 1 to continue
ranking the remainder.

1. Head-to-head competition between the tied teams (official SAA games only, if teams
play each other more than once)

2. Goal differential between the tied teams with a maximum of a six-goal differential.
The team with the lowest goal differential will be pulled into the lower seed for the tied
teams.

3. Conference goal differential with a maximum of a six-goal difference.

4. Coin toss or draw by the conference commissioner

3. All uniforms and equipment must be compliant with NCAA rules and regulations. The home
team will wear the white or light-colored home uniform. Visiting teams should check with the
home team prior to every game to ensure a mix-up does not occur.

4. Schools must follow NCAA guidelines for properly outlining the field of play.

5. If an institution travels to a game site and weather (or other factors out of human controls)
occurs and prevents the completion of a series, the visiting team may not travel back to the
original site to make up games.  Once a team arrives on site and then departs, the games may not
be played. Modifications and or changes made to game dates and/or times that both parties agree
to, and with the approval of the conference office may occur prior to departure, or once on the
game site. Both teams and both ADs must agree.

www.SAA-Sports.com
 Page | 93

6. If an institution travels to a game site and weather, or other factors out of human control occur,
and prevent the completion of a contest, the visiting team is not allowed to return to the original
site to make up games. Once a team arrives on site and then departs, the games may not be
played. Modifications to game dates and/or times that both parties agree to and are approved by
the conference office may occur prior to departure or once on the game site. Both teams and both
ADs must agree with the modified plan.

If a game is played and halted, the game may be continued the following day only if the
continuation occurs during the time the visiting team had planned to be at the game site.
Otherwise, the game will either be shortened and count in the standings if it meets the sport
rules, or it will be a no contest.

All reasonable efforts will be made to play all games, but the SAA supports this policy and
practice that lessens added cost and the potential of missed classes.

II. Scheduling

1. The conference championship will be a six-team tournament. The No. 1 seed will host the No.
4 vs. 5 quarterfinal game and then play the winner of that game at home in the semifinals. The
No. 2 seed will host the No. 3 vs. 6 quarterfinal game and then play the winner of that game at
home in the semifinals.

1. The quarterfinal and semifinal games will take place on a Friday and a Sunday unless
affected by a holiday.
2. The remaining top seed will host the championship match.
3. The main championship weekend for all sports will be the last weekend in April. If the
last day of April falls on either Friday or Saturday, that weekend will be designated as the
designated main championship weekend. Exceptions will be made for sports
championships that play their quarterfinals and semifinals during that main weekend. In
that case, and with only two teams remaining, those teams can decide an appropriate day
and time to play their championship contest(s). If those teams cannot determine a time to
play, the default day and time will be the day of NCAA selection at noon.

2. The first draft of the conference schedule will be determined by the commissioner and
returned to coaches no later than September 1. Remaining games will be scheduled by individual
coaches and submitted to the commissioner no later than February 1 one year in advance.

3. Consideration should be given to special pregame and halftime activities (Parent’s Weekend,
Senior Day, etc.). Those activities should begin early enough so it does not affect the starting
times of games.

www.SAA-Sports.com
 Page | 94

4. Game times may be adjusted to accommodate travel by the visiting teams or other reasons
pertaining to missed class time and campus activities for the home teams, but only through
consultation with the conference office.

5. Pre-game clocks will be set in accordance with the IWLCA and NCAA pregame protocols.

6. Game dates and sites may be adjusted for travel and financial reasons if both parties and the
conference office agree. It may be feasible for conference matches to be played at a neutral site if
it is agreeable with both teams and conference office.

7. In the event of inclement weather that adversely affect the suitability of field conditions, the
following people will be involved in determining whether the field is safe for competition:
athletics director or senior woman administrator from the host school (required), both coaches
(required), facilities manager (recommended), umpire/officials (recommended), and/or athletics
trainer (recommended).

III. Officials

Three officials must be present at all conference games and will be provided by the host
institution.

The SAA office will hire an official assignor for women’s lacrosse. This will help secure the best
rated officials for the SAA Tournament and regular season.

COA certified Collegiate rated officials to be used as field officials for all SAA Tournament
games:

IV. Ejections

A report on any ejections from athletics events involving conference teams must be reported to
the conference office within 48 hours after the contest by the host institution. If the contest is a
non-conference event, the member institution is responsible for notifying the conference office of
any ejections within 48 hours. An ejection could result in disciplinary action by the individual’s
institution and/or the commissioner. The Athletics Directors Advisory Council will serve to
assist the commissioner on any such rulings involving potential suspensions of student-athletes
and/or coaches as it relates to potential violations of the SAA Code of Ethics.

V. Travel Squad Size

Travel squad size is limited to the NCAA Division III Championship roster maximum plus 10
percent rounded up for all regular season and conference tournament games. Games that do not
require an overnight stay or that are played during institutional breaks are waived from this
limitation.

VI. Scouting

www.SAA-Sports.com
 Page | 95

1. Coaches are permitted to scout and provide information within the conference, as long as no
recording devices are used.

2. Mandatory that all teams use the service designated for the IWLCA open exchange as well as
subscribing to the conference breakdown library. All coaches are responsible for communicating
any difficulties uploading their game film in accordance with the IWLCA Film Exchange
Guidelines.

Any delays need to be reported to all SAA coaches for any game issues (conference or
non-conference) as soon as possible. The main concern is ensuring that games go to both the
open exchange as well as being submitted for breakdown to the conference exchange
simultaneously. Any issues should be brought to the attention of the offending coach as soon as
possible so they are aware of the issue.

3. The home team is responsible for filming each conference game for the visiting team.

4. Conference members may NOT provide video or scouting reports on conference teams to
non-conference members.

VII. Coaches Meeting

All coaches will meet annually by conference call to make recommendations to the Athletics
Directors Council for changes in these policies. Coaches are encouraged to join the IWLCA,
keeping in mind that membership is a requirement for All-Region/All-American honors.

VIII. Awards

1. The conference will provide a championship trophy to the conference champion.

2. The conference office will administer the selection process for All-Conference Teams,
Defensive and Offensive Players of the Year, Newcomer of the Year, and Coach of the Year.

3.) Coaches will nominate players via the league’s online awards system. Coaches may nominate
up to eight players for the All-Conference Team, while the top two finishers may each nominate
10 players.

In addition, coaches will follow current All-American restrictions regarding listing previous
year’s accolades. Player position should also follow the IWLCA Positional Definitions as
defined for All-Region /All-American.

4.) Players will be separated on each ballot by position. A conference call will take place during
the week to discuss voting. Coaches will vote for three attackers, five midfielders, three
defenders, one goalie, and two at-large players for the first-team and the same for the

www.SAA-Sports.com
 Page | 96

second-team in order to form two 14-player teams. Each coach will have the opportunity to name
2 players to Honorable Mention forming, at most, a 14-player honorable mention team.

5.) Coaches will vote via a conference call for All-SAA Teams. The SAA chair will lead the call.
Voting will begin with all major awards followed by placement of teams. The call will end with
the naming of Honorable Mention. The SAA chair will turn in the selected teams by email to the
conference office.

6.) Major awards: Defensive and Offensive Players of the Year, and Newcomer of the Year will
be selected via coaches. Each coach may nominate one player from their squad for each of these
awards. The Newcomer of the Year will be a player in her first season of collegiate lacrosse. The
Coach of the Year selection will be handled by email to the conference office. Coaches may not
vote for themselves or their own players. Major awards will be discussed and voted on in the
coaches conference call.

7. The conference will announce All-SAA Teams the week following the conference
championship.

8. Every week, along with conference statistics, there will be an Offensive and Defensive Player
of the Week selected. Nominations for Players of the Week should be submitted to the
conference office by 1:00 p.m. (EST) each Monday during the season. The conference office will
name Players of the Week later in the day each Monday. A minimum of half the conference
programs must complete for the award to be awarded that week. If less than half of the
conference programs complete, all games played prior to the next weekly award may count in the
nomations.

9. An All-SAA Sportsmanship team will be selected the week following the SAA championship
tournament. Each team will elect one member from their team who displays good sportsmanship
throughout the season to be a member of the All-SAA Sportsmanship team. These individuals
will be selected by the team and head coach, with the head coach sending the
selection to the conference office at the end of the season. Only one student-athlete from each
team may be selected. All institutions will have one representative, with final team choice
selected by the head coach. The award will be publicized with other conference awards at the
end of the season.

10. All teams eliminated from the tournament must notify the conference office and the SID of
the championship host university of their All-Tournament team selections within 24 hours of
elimination. Teams playing in the championship would notify the host SID at the conclusion of
the game so the host SID can announce the All-Tournament team at the championship site during
the post-game awards presentation and include it in post-game championship releases.

All-Tournament Team Selections determined by team coach:

1st – 4 (one is MVP)

www.SAA-Sports.com
 Page | 97

2nd – 3
3rd – 2
4th – 2
5th – 1
6th – 1

www.SAA-Sports.com
 Page | 98

Softball

I. Conference Championship

1. A conference tournament will determine the Automatic Qualifier. Tournament will be hosted
at Warner Park in Chattanooga. The cost of the tournament is the responsibility of the host
institution. Umpires, game balls, the championship website, live video streaming, live stats and
athletic training services will be the responsibility of the host school.

2. Seven-inning games will be played in the conference championship tournament. In all SAA
Championship games, games will be played to completion and eight-after-five run limit will be
used.

3. Higher seeds will be the home team in the first-round games of the tournament games. In
subsequent games, teams will alternate as home team. If this is not possible, the following
guidelines will be used:

A. The home team will be the team that has been the home team the fewest number of times
in that tournament, or if that is a tie, then the team that has been visitor the fewest times
will be the visitor.
B. If both teams are tied after A., the team that was home team in the last game will be the
visitor unless it is still a tie. In that case, the team that was the visitor in the last meeting
between the two teams will be the home team.
C. If the aforementioned criteria cannot determine home team, then it will be decided by a
coin flip in the presence of the commissioner or umpire in-chief.

4. The host institution must schedule and provide practice time (if requested) for each of the
competing teams in the tournament playing field at least one day prior to the tournament.
Practice shall be a maximum of 60 minutes for each of the seven teams. Following the start of
the tournament, no batting practice will be allowed on the field; however, an alternate site or
batting cages can be utilized. Regular pregame infield practice on the playing field will be
allowed as part of the normal warm up format by both teams before each game. Each team
should be scheduled for 10 minutes of infield practice before each game. The visiting team
should be scheduled first for infield practice. Forty-five (45) minutes of batting-cage time shall
be allotted for each team if only one cage is available.

Additionally, host schools need to inform visiting teams when the training rooms will be open
and available.

5. The host institution will secure an extra playing field in case inclement weather causes the
softball championship to become backed up and games need to be played simultaneously. At
least one of the fields must have lights.

www.SAA-Sports.com
 Page | 99

The host school is required to have a full infield tarp. The field for the championship is expected
to meet NCAA tournament requirements and guidelines.

6. At least two hours shall be allowed in the schedule between starting times for tournament
games.

7. A rules interpretations committee will be formed and comprised of the host school’s primary
athletics administrator (or designee), the umpire-in-chief and one softball coach. At least two of
these individuals must be in attendance at all times. Three-person umpire crews will work all
conference tournament games, with a minimum of six umpires assigned for the entirety of the
tournament.

8. All games will be conducted according to NCAA rules. Optional speed-up and substitution
rules will not be utilized for tournament games. The halted game rule will be utilized in the
conference tournament.

9. Should weather become an issue, the following inclement weather tournament format will be
used:

Tie-Breaker Format (for use with inclement weather tournament format):

1) Head to Head (All SAA games including tournament play)
2) Record against each conference opponent in descending order starting with the highest seeded
team.
3) Run differential between tied teams (six run maximum per contest).
4) Run differential against each team within the conference in descending order.
5) Overall record based on winning % (NCAA opponents only).
6) Coin toss by the commissioner

10. The tournament schedule will take place over four days.

Thursday
Games 1 and 2 will be at 12:00 p.m.
Games 3 and 4 at 2:00 p.m.
Recognition banquet at 6:00 p.m.

Friday
Games 5 though 9 will be played TBD

Saturday
Games 10 and 11 will be played TBD

Sunday
Game 12 will be played at 12:00 p.m.
and if necessary game 13 at 2:00 p.m.

www.SAA-Sports.com
 Page | 100

A. If the softball conference tournament is scheduled the weekend before the NCAA
tournament selection takes place (typically the first weekend in May) and weather causes
a cancellation, the automatic qualifier will be the highest remaining seed regardless of
what bracket that team is in.

B. If the tournament takes place two weeks before the NCAA tournament selection and rain
causes cancellation, plans should be made to continue the tournament the following
weekend at a location conducive to the remaining teams.

11. An SAA All-Tournament team will be selected and announced on site following the
conference championship. The All-Tournament team will be comprised of 12 position players,
including a designated hitter, and the top 12 in the voting results will be selected and announced.
Ties will not be broken.

11. The official softball of the conference is Rawlings NCAA NC12L and will be
used for all regular season and conference tournament games.

12. The SAA Championship tournament may be held at a neutral site located in the central
portion of our geographic footprint. The site must be approved by the Chair and the
Commissioner. The host institutions will rotate on an annual basis for this neutral site location.

13. A required coaches meeting on Thursday night prior to the start of the SAA Championship
Tournament.

II. Regular-Season Scheduling and Contest Regulations

1. Seven weekends will be used for conference competition, with schools playing a conference
schedule of 18 games. A doubleheader will be played on Saturday and a single game on Sunday,
unless travel-partners agree to play on other consecutive days and no overnight travel are
involved, or spring break is used with no missed class times. All games are seven innings.
Fifteen minutes shall be allowed between games of doubleheaders. Weekend conference games
will start at Noon and 2:30 p.m. If a team requests a change in game time due to travel
arrangements, games may start no earlier than 10 a.m., unless mutually agreed upon by both
coaches. If complications occur on game times, the SAA commissioner shall rule on the matter.
The regular season format will change from a 4-game series to a 3-game series. This will go in
affect for the 2016 season. In order to replace the 6 conference games eliminated by the format
change, a schedule was developed so every institution would have one weekend off during their
respective spring breaks. This will give each team the ability to play additional games during
that time frame.

2. To determine conference standings in case of a tie, the following guidelines will be used in
this order:

1. Record based on winning percentage.

www.SAA-Sports.com
 Page | 101

2. Head-to-head record during conference play.

3. Record vs. other teams in the conference by working down through the standings until
the tie is broken.

4. Run differential (eight-run maximum) in conference games between tied teams.

5. Home record.

6. Coin flip by the commissioner.

3. Teams will finalize their next year’s conference schedule within their division two years in
advance by January 15th of the current year for the next two seasons.

4. The host institution must schedule and provide practice time (if requested) for the visiting
team. Regular infield practice will follow the normal warm-up format for both teams. Each team
shall be allowed 30 minutes of batting-cage time if only one cage is available. Additionally, host
schools need to inform visiting teams when the training room will be open and available. The
week of a contest against a conference opponent, both coaches should touch base either by phone
or email to go over game day procedures of what time the visiting team can have the cages,
trainer needs, and other information that would be helpful.

5. Schools are required to have a full one-piece infield tarp to cover the home plate area and
pitching mound. Playing fields should meet NCAA regulations and measure between 190 and
225 to the foul poles and 200 to 225 to center field.

6. The following uniform standard will be recognized and followed for all conference regular
season competition. On Day 1 of competition, the home team will wear white (or light-colored)
jerseys and the visiting team will wear dark jerseys. On Day 2, the uniform colors are reversed.

7. Prior to the beginning of each day’s games, the following protocol is recommended:

● The National Anthem will be played or sung before the first game of a double-header,
and the American flag displayed (if feasible, but not required).

● It will be announced each contest is a Southern Athletic Association game and the crowd
control statement read or distributed.

8. All regular season conference games will be conducted according to NCAA rules.

9. If an institution travels to a game site and weather (or other factors out of human controls)
occurs and prevents the completion of a series, the visiting team may not travel back to the
original site to make up games.  Once a team arrives on site and then departs, the games may not
be played.  Modifications and or changes made to game dates and/or times that both parties agree

www.SAA-Sports.com
 Page | 102

to, and with the approval of the conference office may occur prior to departure, or once on the
game site.  Both teams and both ADs must agree.

If a game is played and halted, that game may be continued the next day only if the continuation
occurs during the time that the visiting team had already planned to be there. Otherwise, the
game will either be a shortened game and count in the standings if it meets the sport rules, or will
be a no contest. All reasonable efforts will be made to play all games, but the SAA supports a
policy to lessen the added cost and potential of classes missed that make ups create in a
conference as geographically challenged as ours.

III. Officials

Umpires will be assigned by the home team for regular-season games and the host institution for
the conference championship. Umpires should be approved for intercollegiate contests by a
recognized assigning agency. The home team should correspond with their assignor and make
every effort to secure a different pair of umpires each day for conference weekends. Two-person
umpiring crews will be used for all regular-season games and three-person crews for the
conference tournament.

IV. Ejections

A report on any ejections from athletics events involving conference teams must be reported to
the conference office within 48 hours after the contest by the host institution. If the contest is a
non-conference event, the member institution is responsible for notifying the conference office of
any ejections within 48 hours. An ejection could result in disciplinary action by the
individual’s institution and/or the commissioner. The Athletics Directors Advisory Council will
serve to assist the commissioner on any such rulings involving potential suspensions of
student-athletes and/or coaches as it relates to potential violations of the SAA Code of Ethics.

V. Travel Squad Size

Travel squad size is limited to the NCAA Championship travel maximum plus 10 percent,
rounded up for all regular season and postseason conference games that require an overnight
stay. Games that do not require an overnight stay or that are played during institutional breaks
are waived from this limitation.

VI. Scouting

No travel for on-site scouting of conference teams by representatives of conference member

schools is allowed. When participating in a tournament in which another conference member is
also playing, it is permissible to be in attendance during a game in which that conference team is
playing. However, no formal scouting can occur. Formal scouting is allowable at the conference
championship. Conference members may not provide information on conference teams to
conference or non-conference members.

www.SAA-Sports.com
 Page | 103

VII. Coaches Meeting

All coaches will meet annually via conference call to make recommendations to the Athletics
Directors Council for changes in these policies.

VIII. Awards

1. The conference office will provide a championship trophy to the winner of the conference
tournament. The conference office will administer the selection process of All-Conference teams
and awards.

2. Only stats from conference games will be under consideration for the All-Conference ballot.
The guidelines for nominating and voting for the All-Conference award winners should mirror
that of the NFCA All-Region Teams. Each team will consist of: 2 pitchers, 1 catcher, 1 first base,
1 second base, 1 shortstop, 1 third base, 3 outfielders, 1 utility player, 1 designated player and 3
At-large selections.

The At-large spots will only be used if the conference office determines that there was a
particularly close vote at one position on the First Team only. If there was a clear separation in
votes, no At-Larges will be used.

The following guidelines will apply for each position:

Pitchers
• Pitching stats are first consideration.
• Defensive stats are second consideration.
• Offensive stats are third consideration.

Defensive Positions — MUST HAVE PLAYED THE MAJORITY OF THE TOTAL GAMES
THAT THE TEAM PLAYED AT THE NOMINATED POSITION.

• Defensive and offensive statistics will have equal weight.

• For catchers, stats include the number of stolen base attempts (SBA) and the number of
times caught stealing (CS). A catcher will be credited with an SBA every time a runner attempts
to steal a base. If the runner is caught stealing as a result of a throw, it is a CS. Pickoffs are a
separate category.
• Concerning baserunner statistics, the stats include stolen bases to stolen base attempts
(SB/SBA) and on base percentage (OB%), which is anytime a player reaches base safely
following an appearance at the plate.

Designated Player — MUST HAVE PLAYED THE MAJORITY OF THE TOTAL GAMES
THAT THE TEAM PLAYED AT THE NOMINATED POSITION
• Only offensive stats will be considered.

www.SAA-Sports.com
 Page | 104

Utility Player — MUST HAVE PLAYED AT LEAST TWO OR MORE POSITIONS WITH
NOT MORE THAN 60 PERCENT OF PLAYING TIME AT ONE POSITION
• All statistics must be included.
• Breakdown should be indicated on the nominating form (Example: 10/SS, 12/OF, 14/DP;

Summary: 36 games, three positions played).

• Defensive stats for each position played must be provided.

If there is a tie, the coaches re-discusses the individuals involved in the tie and re-vote until the
tie is broken. Exception: If there is a tie at the Honorable Mention level, all players are awarded.

A Coach of the Year, Player of the Year, Pitcher of the Year, and Newcomer of the Year will also
be named. The Pitcher of the Year will be the highest point-getter in the positional ballot for
pitchers. A separate ballot will be created and voted on for the Player of the Year and Newcomer
of the Year. The coaches may nominate one player from their squad for each of those awards.
The Newcomer will be a freshman or first-year transfer student. The Coach of the Year selection
will be handled via email to the conference office.

3. Any player voted as Player or Pitcher of the Year will automatically be named First Team
All-SAA at her position. No player voted First Team All-SAA will be bumped from that team -
the player in question (the POTY honoree) will be added as a member of the First Team for that
position. Any players nominated who receive at least one vote in the selection process, but
don’t make First or Second Team will be named Honorable Mention. Ballots will be submitted
via the league’s online award’s system.

4. Coaches may not vote for themselves or their own players on the final ballot.

5. The online nomination process for All-SAA opens at 6:00 p.m. (EST) the Sunday of the final
regular season contests and will remain open until 8:00 a.m. (EST) on Tuesday. Coaches voting
will be conducted online from Tuesday at 9:00 a.m. (EST) until Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. (EST)
the week prior to the conference tournament. Each coach will nominate players from their own
team for the All-Conference awards.

6. An All-SAA Sportsmanship team will be selected the week following the end of the SAA
regular season. Each team will elect one member from their team who displays good
sportsmanship throughout the season to be a member of the All-SAA Sportsmanship team. These
individuals will be selected by the team and head coach, with the head coach sending the
selection to the conference office at the end of the season, Only one student-athlete from each
team may be selected. All institutions will have one representative, with final team choice
selected by the head coach. The award will be publicized with other conference awards at the
end of the season.

7. Each week during the season coaches may nominate a player and pitcher of the week to be
selected by the conference office. Nominations are due by 1:00 p.m. (EST) each Monday and the
winners will be announced later in the day on Monday. A minimum of half the conference

www.SAA-Sports.com
 Page | 105

programs must complete for the award to be awarded that week. If less than half of the
conference programs complete, all games played prior to the next weekly award may count in the
nomations.

Men and Women’s Tennis

I. SAA Conference Play

1. The SAA will play men’s and women’s tennis as a spring sport with annually alternating
home and away matches for a regular season and culminating with a conference
tournament. The regular season results will be used primarily to help determine seeds for
the conference tournament. The champion and order of finish will be decided at the
conference tournament.

2. Regular season matches will be played with travel partners and scheduled by the
conference with the exception of the travel partner’s match. Coaches should agree to a
date with their travel partners or consult with the AD’s of the participating schools to help
schedule it.

3. Regular season conference matches will be played on Saturday and Sunday as determined
by the conference with an exception made for Easter weekend where a Friday and
Saturday schedule may be used. The conference tournament will be played as scheduled
by the conference.

4. The format for regular season conference matches Will be 3-6-3 eight game pro-set
doubles matches followed by 6 singles matches using the 2 out of 3 set scoring.

5. Matches will be scheduled for 9:00 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. with the second matches subject
to court availability.

6. The second matches of the day shall be able to use courts to warm-up as they come
available. The visiting team shall have access to the first court that comes available and
shall have a minimum of one hour from that point to warm-up. Additional open courts
will be assigned alternately. Coaches and players need to be respectful of the ongoing
match when assigning and conducting warm-ups.

7. The choice to play the match to decision or completion shall be made by the visiting
coach after consulting the host coach.

8. The men’s matches will be played first in odd (2013) years and the women’s matches will
be played first in even years (2014).

www.SAA-Sports.com
 Page | 106

9. Due to the differences in available facilities, the possibility or occurrence of bad weather,
the variety of possible travel situation, and any other special situation that may arise, the
participating coaches have the flexibility to alter the format as they deem reasonable and
appropriate upon agreement between the coaches involved. Changes in the format should
be in the spirit of fairness to all teams and predicated on the safety of all participants, the
desire to complete team matches, and the specific travel situation involved.

10. In cases of inclement weather the coaches may agree to cancel matches as they deem
reasonable under the circumstances. If no matches have begun by 3:00 pm, it will be at
the discretion of the visiting coach to cancel that match. Likewise, interrupted or delayed
matches that do not appear to have an imminent decision by 6:00 pm may be cancelled at
the discretion of the visiting coach. Results of partially completed team matches may be
used by the Tournament Committee to assist in seeding teams for the tournament.

11. An ITA Official will be present at all conference matches.

12. If an institution travels to a game site and weather (or other factors out of human
controls) occurs and prevents the completion of a series, the visiting team may not travel
back to the original site to make up games.  Once a team arrives on site and then departs,
the games may not be played.  Modifications and or changes made to game dates and/or
times that both parties agree to, and with the approval of the conference office may occur
prior to departure, or once on the game site.  Both teams and both ADs must agree.

13. If a game is played and halted, that game may be continued the next day only if the
continuation occurs during the time that the visiting team had already planned to be there.
Otherwise, the game will either be a shortened game and count in the standings if it meets
the sport rules, or will be a no contest. All reasonable efforts will be made to play all
games, but the SAA supports a policy to lessen the added cost and potential of classes
missed that make ups create in a conference as geographically challenged as ours.

II. Championship Tournament

1. The conference tournament will be alternately hosted by travel partners as determined

by the conference. Host schools shall provide necessary personnel to run the tournament
including qualified USTA officials, trainers, SID, and desk workers.

2. All schools will share evenly in the cost of conducting the tournament including the cost
of officials, facility rental, and tennis balls with an expense report produced following
the tournament by the hosts.

3. Tiebreak Procedure
A. Head to Head results
B. Won/ Loss Record against highest team in descending order
C. NCAA Rankings if applicable
D. ITA Rankings if applicable

www.SAA-Sports.com
 Page | 107

E. Coin flip by Commissioner

4. The tournament will be played as team matches following the format used during the
regular season- (3-6). Team matches will be played to determine all position of finish if
possible. Teams will have access to the courts one hour before their match to warm-up.
Teams must have a minimum of 4 players in uniform to participate. All matches will be
played to conclusion unless the tournament committee alters the format. 10-point
tie-breakers will be used for 3rd sets for all matches that have a team decision.

5. The order of play for the tournament will follow the format of the regular season with
men playing at 9:00 am and women at 1:00 pm in odd years and the opposite during
even years. Coaches must check in at the tournament desk with line-ups at least 15
minutes prior to the scheduled match time.

6. The coaches must submit the order of their singles line-up to the current years host
coach on the Tournament Committee by Monday at noon (CST) prior to the tournament.
That coach will distribute all lineup’s to all coaches by email for review. Coaches may
challenge another coach’s line-up to the tournament committee by Wednesday at noon
(CST).

III. Officials

1.For the conference championship, the host institution will be responsible for securing a
certified ITA tournament referee to oversee the rules of play. It is recommended that a site
referee be assigned to all venues used if more than one site is needed to conduct the competition.
Roaming officials will be provided as needed, with a minimum of one official for every six
courts.

2. The host teams are strongly advised to retain a head official to coordinate the matches and
ensure the flow of matches. This is encouraged since the host head coach is also involved with
coaching duties during the championships. A site director should be assigned to each venue.

3. The referee will rule on defaults relating to tardiness or conduct and assign umpires as needed
to matches.

4. Players are responsible for calling lines during matches.

5. The referee will ensure that the tournament is conducted according to USTA and ITA rules and
regulations and modifications adopted by the NCAA Tennis Committees.

IV. Travel Squad Size

Travel squad size shall be the NCAA Championship travel squad maximum plus 10 percent
rounded up for all SAA matches (Regular season and championship tournament play). Teams

www.SAA-Sports.com
 Page | 108

must have at least four players to participate. Games that do not require an overnight stay or that
are played during institutional breaks are waived from this limitation.

V. Scouting

1. Onsite scouting of conference teams by representatives of conference member schools in

allowable. When participating in a tournament in which another conference member is also
playing, it is permissible to be in attendance during the contest in which the conference member
is playing and scouting can occur. Teams may scout at the conference championship.

2. Conference members may not provide information on conference teams to conference or

non-conference members.

VI. Coaches Meeting

All coaches will meet annually via conference call to make recommendations to the Athletics
Director’s Council for changes in these policies. A pre-championship meeting can be held on
site and conducted by the host head coach to review the conference championships. However,
this is not a mandatory meeting.

VII. Awards

1. The conference office will provide a championship trophy to each conference champion.

2. The conference office will administer the selection process for the All-Conference Teams,
Player of the Year, Newcomer of the Year, and Coach of the Year.

3. An All-Conference Teams will be selected and administered by the conference office. The
online nomination process for All-SAA opens at 6:00 p.m. (EST) the Sunday of the SAA
Tournament finals and will remain open until 8:00 a.m. (EST) on Tuesday.

Coaches voting will be conducted online from Tuesday at 9:00 a.m. (EST) until Wednesday at
6:30 p.m. (EST) the week after the conference tournament. Each coach will nominate players
from their own team for the all-conference awards. A total of 12 players will be selected by a
vote of the coaches on the final ballot. Each first-place vote is worth 12 points, second-place vote
worth eleven points, etc., down to a 12th place vote worth one point. The 12 players with the
high point totals will be named to the All-Conference team.

The player with the highest point total will be named Player of the Year.

The top six athletes will be named to the First Team All-Conference, the next six top finishers
will be named to the Second Team All-Conference. Players not finishing in the top-12 in the
voting process who received at least one point will be named Honorable Mention.

Coach of the Year will be selected via email to the conference office.

www.SAA-Sports.com
 Page | 109

There will be a separate ballot for the Newcomer of the Year (freshman or transfer playing their
first year of eligibility) selection. Each coach may nominate one player from their squad for
Newcomer of the Year. Coaches may not vote for themselves or their own players on the final
ballot.

4. Immediately following the conference tournament, the coaches on site and host institution’s
SID will designate the All-Tournament team at each singles and doubles position based on the
best records in the conference championship. These players will comprise the All-Tournament
Team. Ties will not be broken for all tournament consideration when there has not been any
head-to-head competition during the championship. Any player who goes through the conference
championship undefeated and played in at least two matches will be automatically named to the
All-Tournament team. It is the responsibility of the host head coach to work with the host SID to
make sure the All-Tournament Team is distributed to the conference office for promotion.

5. An All-SAA Sportsmanship team will be selected the week following the end of the SAA
regular season. Each team will elect one member from their team who displays good
sportsmanship throughout the season to be a member of the All-SAA Sportsmanship team. These
individuals will be selected by the team and head coach, with the head coach sending the
selection to the conference office at the end of the season. Only one student-athlete from each
team may be selected. All institutions will have one representative, with final team choice
selected by the head coach. The award will be publicized with other conference awards at the
end of the season.

6. Each Monday during the season coaches may nominate a player of the week to be voted on by
the coaches and announced by the conference office. A designee of the coaches receives the
nominations and passes them on to the conference office. The conference office returns the
nominees to the coaches for voting. Winners are announced on Wednesdays. Awards include a
men’s singles player of the week, a men’s doubles team of the week, a women’s singles player of
the week, and a women’s doubles team of the week. A minimum of half the conference programs
must complete for the award to be awarded that week. If less than half of the conference
programs complete, all games played prior to the next weekly award may count in the
nomations.

VIII. Conference Championship - Site Preparation Procedures

1. Preparation for hosting championships at a single site consists of the following:

1. Secure the site very early.

2. Forward to coaches a list of convenient recommended hotels early preceding fall term. It
is not necessary to block rooms because many schools make their own selection outside
of recommendations.

3. Secure team of officials early preceding fall term.

www.SAA-Sports.com
 Page | 110

4. Order tournaments balls to assure on site a week or so before tournament. (20 cases)

5. Using a blank bracket from SAA office (showing only seeds by #’s and “match a, b, c”
etc) assign match times for all three days.

6. Assign each match to specific grouping of courts, with times, so teams know where to go
in advance, can warm up on those courts as available and for ease of coaching the
matches. Where possible assign six courts for each match. If you must assign a match or
two to fewer courts, assign obvious mismatches to minimize time required.

7. Provide coaches in advance a layout of courts by number (bird’s eye view).

8. In advance provide coaches and officials with list of participating coaches, their cell
numbers, their hotels, and hotel numbers.

9. The host institutions will provide volunteers to work the tournament.

10. Have at least one administrator dedicated to the oversight of the championship on site at
all times.

11. Have at least one sports information director on site or one sports information director
designated to handle the dissemination of results (via the championships website).

12. Have at least one trainer and a full-time SID is onsite at all times.

13. Make sure the format of play is given to the tournament desk each day (example: rain
delays, playing to decision, shortened sets etc.).

www.SAA-Sports.com
 Page | 111

Track and Field

I. Conference Championship

1.All conference schools shall meet on the last full weekend in April for the SAA Track and
Field Championships unless it conflicts with institutional exams.

2. The team champions will be the men’s and women’s teams with the highest point total
according to NCAA scoring procedures for an outdoor championship meet.

3. An all-weather eight-lane or nine-lane track must be used for the championships; however, the
track does not need to be on the host’s campus, and schools need only have access to a suitable
facility in order to host. Hosting order is determined by the SAA office. Institutions may pass
on the right to host, given two-year advance notice.

4. The championships schedule will be set by the Track and Field Coach’s Committee at the
annual meeting, modifications will not take effect until the following year. Schedule
accommodations for facility reasons may be determined by the Games Committee for that year’s
championship and should be completed by the end of February.

II. Meet Personnel

1. The host institution shall arrange for officials and timers. They should be experienced,
knowledgeable, and preferably certified in the event area to which they are assigned.
Non-official event workers do not need to be formally trained but should be adequately briefed
on the operation of the event.

2. The Games Committee shall consist of the Head Coach of the hosting institution, along with
the Head Coaches of the previous host and future host. Two alternates should be randomly
selected and ordered in case a protested infraction should occur between two student-athletes of
the members of the Games Committee. The Games committee assists the meet director with
meet administration, including final decisions on competition due to inclement weather or other
problems delaying or postponing competition.

III. Entry/Seeding

1. All athletes must be seeded at their best mark for the current outdoor season (no indoor marks
are allowed), entrants without a qualifying mark are allowed to participate, but will be given no
seed mark for the event. (NT, NM, ND) The TFRRS/DirectAthletics system will be used to
verify performances.

www.SAA-Sports.com
 Page | 112

2. For seeding purposes, all times will be converted to automatic using the conversion factor
published in the NCAA rules book. However, events shorter than 800m (not including) MUST
be electronically timed.

3. There shall be no travel squad restriction. Schools are limited to five entries per individual
events, and one entry per relay.

4. Event seeding shall follow the NCAA Track and Field Rule Book, with the following
clarifications:

A. In events with no preliminary round, seeding shall be based on seed marks.

B. Seeding for all preliminary track events shall be done using serpentine seeding with
random lane assignments.

C. Seeding for all preliminary throwing and horizontal jump events shall be worst to best
between flights and random within flights. Seeding for all final field events shall be
from worst to best. Special exceptions may be made to adequately accommodate athletes
in two concurrent field events and will be valid only for the preliminary round. Seeding
for High Jump and Pole Vault will be ranked order from worst to best.

D. Events with waterfall starts (1500m, 3000m Steeplechase, 5000m, and 10000m) shall be
seeded best to worst, with the top seed having position #1 on the inside. It is
recommended that the 800m and 1500m be conducted in at least two heats, with 12
athletes running in the fastest section. The fastest section should be the final section.

5. In relays with more entrants than the track has lanes, sections shall be broken up into two heats
contested by time. The three slowest seeds shall be placed in section one and the remainder of
the teams shall run in section two.

6. Advancement for field events in which prelims are conducted will be nine as determined by
best mark in the prelims. Advancement for track events shall be equal to the number of lanes at
the facility. Heat winners are guaranteed to advance, followed by the next fastest times to fill the
field.

IV. Meet Administration

1. The host institution should maintain an SAA Meet Championship website on their athletics
page with all pertinent information for the championship, including the schedule, registration
information, travel information, and a link to the performance list.

2. A performance list should be maintained by Direct Athletics using TFRRS databases.

Registration for the meet shall be available at Direct Athletics starting two weeks prior to the
championship. Entries will be available until Wednesday at 6:00 p.m. (local time), prior to the
meet. The host shall post heat sheets by 9:00 pm (Local Time) on Wednesday.

www.SAA-Sports.com
 Page | 113

3. The meet director shall designate a time and place for the measurement and certification of
implements. Certification should occur on both days.

4. Protests must be made to the Meet Referee no later than 15 minutes following the posting of
event results. Coaches may appeal the decisions of the Meet Referee to the Games Committee,
majority decisions by the Games Committee will be final.

5. It is highly recommended that a second meet official be utilized to verify measurements for all
throwing events and all horizontal jumps.

6. Starting heights for the championships shall be

High Jump - Women 1.32m/Men 1.68m
Pole Vault – Women 2.13m/Men 3.04m

7. The schedule of events to be followed at the SAA Championship is as follows:

Track Events
Day One
TBA Men’s 100m Final
TBA Women’s 100m Hurdle Final
TBA Men’s 400m Finals
TBA Women’s 200m Final

Field Events
Day One
TBA Men’s Long Jump Final
TBA Women’s High Jump Final
TBA Men’s Shot Put Final
TBA Women’s Shot Put Final
TBA Men’s High Jump Final
Track Events
Day Two
TBA Men’s 110m Hurdle Final
TBA Women’s 800m Final
TBA Men’s 1500m Final

Field Events
Day One
TBA Men’s Discus Throw Final
TBA Women’s Long Jump Final
TBA Men’s Pole Vault Final
TBA Women’s Javelin Throw Final
TBA Men’s Javelin Throw Final

www.SAA-Sports.com
 Page | 114

*2020 Shall be a Combined Events Exhibition year with full addition to the SAA Championship
scoring in 2021.

8. The schedule of events to be followed at the SAA championship is as follows:

Track Events
Day One
9:00 a.m. Women’s 10k Final
10:00 a.m. Men’s 10K Final
12:00 p.m. Women’s 100m Hurdle Trials
12:20 p.m. Men’s 110m Hurdle Trials
12:40 p.m. Women’s 400m Trials
1:00 p.m. Men’s 400m Trials
1:20 p.m. Women’s 100m Trials
1:40 p.m. Men’s 100m Trials
2:20 p.m. Women’s 400m Hurdle Trials
2:40 p.m. Men’s 400m Hurdle Trials
3:00 p.m. Women’s 200m Trials
3:20 p.m. Men’s 200m Trials
3:40 p.m. Women’s 3000m Steeplechase Final
4:00 p.m. Men’s 3000m Steeplechase Final

Day Two
12:00 p.m. Women’s 4x100 Relay Finals
12:10 p.m. Men’s 4x100 Relay Finals
12:15 p.m. Women’s 1500m Finals
12:30 p.m. Men’s 1500m Finals
12:50 p.m. Women’s 100m Hurdle Final
1:00 p.m. Men’s 110m Hurdle Final
1:10 p.m. Women’s 400m Final
1:15 p.m. Men’s 400m Final
1:25 p.m. Women’s 100m Final
1:30 p.m. Men’s 100m Final
1:40 p.m. Women’s 800m Finals 1:50 p.m. Men’s 800m Finals
2:10 p.m. Women’s 400m Hurdle Final
2:20 p.m. Men’s 400m Hurdle Final
2:30 p.m. Women’s 200m Final
2:35 p.m. Men’s 200m Final
2:40 p.m. Women’s 5000m Final
3:05 p.m. Men’s 5000m Final
3:30 p.m. Women’s 4x400 Relay Finals
3:35 p.m. Men’s 4x400 Relay Finals
3:45 p.m. Awards

Field Events

www.SAA-Sports.com
 Page | 115

Day One
9:00 a.m. Women’s Pole Vault Trials/Finals
Men’s Long Jump Trials/Finals
Men’s Shot Put Trials/Finals
Women’s Hammer Trials/Finals
11:30 a.m. Women’s Long Jump Trials/Finals
Women’s Shot Put Trials/Finals
Men’s Pole Vault Trials/Finals
Men’s Hammer Trials/Finals

Day Two
9:00 a.m. Women’s Javelin
Men’s Discuss
Women’s High Jump Trials/Finals
Men’s Triple Jump
11:00 a.m. Women’s Triple Jump Trials/Finals
Women’s Discuss Trials/Finals
Men’s High Jump Trials/Finals
Men’s Javelin Trials/Finals

V. Coaches Meeting

1. A coaches meeting shall be held by the host institution the one hour before the first event on
the first day of the SAA Championship, to attend to any details about meet administration.
However, team packets will be available on the day before the championships. All final
scratches will be due by 5:00 p.m. (local time) on the day before the championships.

2. The annual track and field council (coaches) meeting will take place each year per telephone
conference call. The purpose of the meeting is to propose changes to the cross country operating
manual, as well as to select/approve the championship site for two years out. It is the
responsibility of the host coach from the previous academic year’s championship meet to
schedule this conference call. The specific date/time of the conference call should occur at
the end of the Spring semester and before July 1st

VI. Awards

1. The conference office will supply a championship trophy to each conference team champion.

2. The first, second, and third-place finishers in each individual event will be named to the
All-SAA All-Conference Teams and recognized in the awards ceremony immediately following
the final day of competition as established by the Track and Field Council. Athletes should wear
appropriate attire to the awards stand.

www.SAA-Sports.com
 Page | 116

3. Athletes in the top three relay teams will be named to the All-Conference team and recognized
in the awards ceremony immediately following the final day of competition as established by the
Track and Field Council. Athletes should wear appropriate attire to the awards stand.

4. The athlete with the highest point total in the conference championship will be named Athlete
of the Meet and recognized in the awards ceremony at the end of the second day as established
by the Track and Field Council. One-quarter of a team’s relay points will be counted towards an
individual’s total if he or she is a member of a scoring relay team.

5. The coaches will also vote on the following awards - following the SAA Championships:

Men’s Track Athlete of the Year

Women’s Track Athlete of the Year
Men’s Field Athlete of the Year
Women’s Field Athlete of the Year
Men’s Newcomer of the- Year
Women’s Newcomer of the Year

Coaches will nominate athletes on-line and vote on each ballot the week following the
Championship. Individuals may not vote for their own student-athletes in the voting process.

6. A male and female Athlete of the Week will be selected each week during the regular season.
One athlete will be selected for track events and one for field events. Coaches will submit their
nominations via e-mail to the SAA office by 1:00 p.m. (EST) each Tuesday. All weekly
nominees will be emailed back to the coaches for a vote to select the winners. The SAA office
will release the winners by 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday on the SAA website and by email to the
institution. No minimum number of institutions participating in competition that week is needed
for a nomination to be proposed. Coaches may vote for their own athletes in the voting.

7. An All-SAA Sportsmanship team will be selected the week following the end of the SAA
regular season. Each team will elect one member from their team who displays good
sportsmanship throughout the season to be a member of the All-SAA Sportsmanship team. These
individuals will be selected by the team and head coach, with the head coach sending the
selection to the conference office at the end of the season. Only one student-athlete from each
team may be selected. All institutions will have one representative, with final team choice
selected by the head coach. The award will be publicized with other conference awards at the
end of the season.

8. Recognition of senior student-athletes who have participated in four individual track and field
conference championship competitions. The host institution shall list the athletes by school
before the beginning of the individual and team awards.

VII. Sportsmanship and Crowd Control

www.SAA-Sports.com
 Page | 117

All coaches, student-athletes, and spectators shall observe the conference policy on crowd
control and sportsmanship, which should be distributed at the conference championship or
published in the conference championship program and read over the public address system each
day.

VIII. Future Championship Host

Rhodes - 2021 - April 22-23
BSC - 2022
Berry - 2023
Centre - 2024
Hendrix - 2025
Millsaps - 2026
Oglethorpe - 2027

www.SAA-Sports.com