MINUTES ATLANTIC 10 CONFERENCE 2017-18 BASEBALL SPORT COMMITTEE MEETING CONFERENCE CALL DECEMBER 12, 2017

Those in attendance were: DAVIDSON Dick Cooke DAYTON FORDHAM GEORGE MASON Bill Brown GEORGE WASHINGTON LA SALLE MASSACHUSETTS Matt Reynolds RHODE ISLAND , co-chair RICHMOND ST. BONAVENTURE Larry Sudbrook SAINT JOSEPH’S ; Jim Brown, co-chair SAINT LOUIS VCU COORDINATOR OF UMPIRES Tony Thompson ATLANTIC 10 Lucas Feller, Tom Jacobs

1. Welcome Lucas Feller welcomed the group to the call at 2:00 p.m. and introduced new A-10 head coaches Jayson King, David Miller and Matt Reynolds. Feller reviewed the Conference’s governance process for policy recommendation and briefed the coaches on the newly formed A-10 Sport Competition Committee.

2. Umpires A-10 Coordinator of Umpires Tony Thompson updated the group on the A-10 umpire roster, game assignments, fees for the 2018 season. Games fees will remain at $1,100 (all-inclusive) per umpire per series. Coaches were reminded they must watch the 2018 NCAA Baseball Rules video prior to the start of the season. The A-10 office will distribute a link to the online video to the coaches in January. The NCAA misconduct penalties chart was distributed to the coaches. The coaches were encouraged to register on ArbiterSports Home Plate to keep up to date with umpire news and rules interpretations throughout the season.

A-10 Baseball policy 12.05 was referenced regarding appropriate locker room facilities, security, transportation and hospitality for umpires. The A-10 Sport Competition Committee proposed implementing mandatory bat testing beginning in 2019, one year prior to the NCAA mandate (2020). The proposal will be reviewed by the A-10 athletic directors in January 2018.

3. Conference Schedule a. 2018 Schedule The 2018 A-10 baseball schedule was briefly reviewed. The group was asked to notify the Conference office of any requests for changes to the schedule due to Easter, exams, or graduation. Any requests for changes must be submitted by the home institution’s program administrator.

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b. 2019 Schedule The 2019 A-10 baseball schedule was briefly reviewed. The schedule was previously distributed in December 2016. Any requests for changes to the schedule due to Easter, exams, or graduation must be submitted to the Conference office by the home institution’s program administrator by September 1, 2018.

c. 2020 Schedule Discussion took place on the A-10 regular season schedule format for 2020. The group debated whether to move to a 30-game schedule (11 weeks, 10 series) or remain with the current 24-game format (9 weeks, 8 series). There was no motion to move to a 30- game schedule format. The coaches expressed a desire to move back to a three-year rotation of playing each conference opponent twice in three years (once at home, once on the road and one year off). The coaches also discussed a goal of advancing two teams to the NCAA Championship. Feller informed the coaches the A-10 Sport Competition Committee is currently reviewing non-conference and conference scheduling standards for baseball. Recommendations by the Sport Competition Committee may be forwarded back to the baseball sport committee for feedback and assistance.

Brief discussion took place on potentially adding an additional criteria in the tie- breaker procedure for qualification in the A-10 Championship to avoid a potential coin flip or draw as the final seeding criteria. The A-10 office will research other conferences’ policies for recommendations. The coaches were asked to submit suggestions to the A-10 office for future discussion.

4. A-10 Championship a. 2018 Championship The 2018 A-10 Championship will be held May 23-26. George Washington will serve as the host school.

b. 2019 Championship The 2019 A-10 Championship will be held May 22-25. Fordham will serve as the host school.

c. Championship Sites Feller updated the coaches on the two proposals from the 2016-17 Baseball Sport Committee meeting that were reviewed by the athletic directors in May 2017. The revised A-10 championship format was deferred to the A-10 Sport Competition Committee for review. The proposal to move the A-10 Championship to a neutral-site facility was voted down by the athletics, reconfirming their commitment to keep A-10 championships on campus. The A-10 Sport Competition Committee is currently reviewing facility hosting standards for championships held on campus.

d. Participant Gifts The coaches were informed of the new procedure for selecting and distributing participant gifts for the A-10 Championship. Each member of a team’s official travel party will be able to select a gift from five offerings via an online suite portal beginning with the 2018 championship. Teams will work with their on-campus gift coordinator to order the gifts after the championship.

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5. Sport Committee Items a. Inclement Weather Policy The A-10 office will conduct a conference call with the baseball program administrators prior to the start of the 2018 Conference season to review A-10 inclement weather policies. Coaches are welcome and encouraged to participate on the conference call.

b. Rawlings Contract The Conference office has renewed the A-10’s ball sponsorship agreement with Rawlings for an additional four years, expiring after the 2021 season. All schools are required to use the Rawlings baseball for home non-conference and conference games throughout the 2018 season. Full details of the agreement were distributed to the head coaches in June 2017. Coaches should contact the A-10 office if they need assistance working with Rawlings.

c. A-10 Member Resources Website Coaches and administrators may access previously distributed A-10 documents and baseball specific manuals and schedules using the Member Resources link on the A- 10 website, www.atlantic10.com. The user name and password to log in to the private website will be distributed to the coaches.

6. 2018 ABCA Convention Items No discussion took place.

7. Sport Committee Meeting Schedule The 2018-19 A-10 Baseball Sport Committee meeting will be held in person at a location to be determined in summer 2018. Since the 2019 ABCA Convention will be held in Dallas, TX, the sport committee meeting will likely be conducted at a location within the A-10 geographical footprint. The 2019-20 sport committee meeting will be conducted via a conference call.

There being no further business to discuss, the call was ended at 3:35 p.m.

Minutes recorded by Feller. Minutes distributed to the A-10 Baseball Sport Committee on December 18, 2017.