NEW JERSEY ATHLETIC CONFERENCE POLICIES AND PROCEDURES MANUAL

PREFACE NOTE: This manual has been designed to create an organized, fair and effective system for conducting conference operations and activities. Changes to this manual may only be made by majority vote of the NJAC Board of Athletic Administrators. The Commissioner is responsible for issuing interpretations regarding the spirit, intent, and/or application of these policies and procedures. Any situation not covered in this manual shall be decided at the discretion of the Commissioner in consultation with the President of the Board of Athletic Administrators and relevant committee chair(s). Any such decision shall be subject to appeal as per the process outlined in Section 7 of this manual.

It is the responsibility of each Director of Athletics to educate his/her staff on the contents of this manual. The Director of Athletics is ultimately responsible for ensuring that staff members abide by conference policies and procedures. Failure to abide by these policies and procedures may result in disciplinary action by the conference.

SUMMARY OF CONTENTS Page Introduction: History and Philosophy ………………………………………………..… 3

Section 1: Conduct of Competition …………………………………………………… 4 A. Standard Rules of Conducting Competition B. Standard Championships Regulations Form: 1. Conference Championship Income/Expense Statement…………… 8

Section 2: Medicine and Competitive Safeguards ……………………………. 9 A. Standard Medical Care Practices B. Drug, Alcohol and Tobacco Policy C. Lightning

Section 3: Eligibility and Waivers ……………………………………………………… 10 A. Eligibility Rosters B. Normal Progress C. Grade Point Average D. Normal Progress/GPA Waiver E. Transfer/Non-Participation F. Medical Hardship Waiver Forms: 1. Student-Athlete Eligibility Statement……………………………… 14 2. Conference Transfer Request……………………………………… 15 3. Medical Hardship Waiver Form…………………………………… 16

Section 4: Awards ……………………………………………………………………… 17 A. Awards Committee B. Publicity C. Team Awards D. All-Conference Teams E. Coach-of-the-Year Awards F. Conference Athlete-of-the-Year Awards G. All-Academic Teams H. Conference Award-Naming I. All-Sports Cup Forms: 1a. Athlete of the Year (Male)…………………………………………. 21 1b. Athlete of the Year (Female)……………………………………….. 22 2a. First-Team Academic All-Conference (Male)…………………… 23 2b. First-Team Academic All-Conference (Female)………………… 24 2c. Second-Team Academic All-Conference (Male)………………… 25 2d. Second-Team Academic All-Conference (Female)……………… 26 2e. Honorable Mention Academic All-Conference List…………….. 27

Section 5: Code of Conduct …………………………………………………………… 28 Form: 1. Code of Conduct Statement ……………………………………… 29

Section 6: Disciplinary Procedures …………………………………………………… 30 A. Reasons for Disciplinary Action B. Filing a Complaint C. Investigation Process D. Appeals E. Sanctions Appendix 1: Timetable

Section 7: Appeals Procedures ………………………………………………………… 33 A. Appealing Decisions of the Commissioner B. Appealing Decision of the Executive Committee/Board of Athletic Administrators Appendix 2: Appeals Committee Rotation

Section 8: Sports Information .………………………………………………………… 35 A. Statistical Preparation B. Facility Set-Up C. Conference Responsibilities D. Miscellaneous

Section 9: Commissioner’s Job Description …………………………………………. 37 Section 10: Assistant Commissioner’s Job Description ………………………………. 38 Section 11: NJAC Organizational Structure …………………………………………. 39 Section 12: Officers and Committee Assignments …………………………………… 40

Section 13: Guidelines A. Fall Sports 1. Women’s Tennis………………………………………………………. 42 2. Women’s Volleyball…………………………………………………… 45 3. Football………………………………………………………………… 49 4. Field Hockey…………………………………………………………… 54 5. Women’s and Men’s Cross Country…………………………………… 59 6. Men’s Soccer…………………………………………………………… 61 7. Women’s Soccer……………………………………………………….. 66 B. Winter Sports 1. Men’s Basketball…………………………………………………………. 71 2. Women’s Basketball…………………………………………………...... 76 3. Women’s and Men’s Indoor Track and Field…………………………….. 81 4. Women’s and Men’s Swimming and Diving……………………………. 83 C. Spring Sports 1. Women’s and Men’s Outdoor Track and Field…………………………... 86 2. …………………………………………………………………… 88 3. Softball……………………………………………………………………. 94 4. Women’s Lacrosse……………………………………………………….. 101

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NJAC Policies and Procedures Manual Introduction: History and Philosophy

The New Jersey Athletic Conference originated in 1957 (then called the New Jersey State Athletic Conference) when founding institutional members Glassboro State College (now Rowan University), Montclair State College (now Montclair State University), Jersey City State College (now New Jersey City University), Newark State College (now Kean University), Trenton State College (now The College of New Jersey) and William Paterson College (now William Paterson University) collectively partnered to compete in intercollegiate competition. The conference operated strictly as a men’s sport athletic league until 1985, when the league members merged with their corresponding institutions in the Jersey Athletic Conference, a women’s sport athletic conference. Since 1985, the New Jersey Athletic Conference has sponsored a wide array of intercollegiate championships for both women and men. Throughout its evolution, the conference has been guided by the following operating principles: • To legislate through bylaws, policies, procedures, and ethical guidelines the administration of the intercollegiate athletic programs of conference members. • To promote intercollegiate athletics as an integral part of the total education program. • To protect the welfare of the student-athlete. • To foster and uphold the highest standards of athletic competition and academic integrity. • To support the principles and practices of Title IX and gender equity. • To encourage allied membership in appropriate state, regional and national organizations. • To cooperate with other amateur athletic organizations in promoting intercollegiate athletics. Championships were originally offered in 1985 in 12 sports. Today, the NJAC hosts 19 championships, 11 for women (soccer, field hockey, volleyball, tennis, cross country, swimming & diving, basketball, indoor track & field, softball, outdoor track & field, and lacrosse) and eight for men (football, soccer, cross country, swimming & diving, basketball, indoor track & field, baseball, and outdoor track & field) The conference ranks as one of the strongest in NCAA Division III, with member schools capturing 63 national championships since the creation of NCAA Division III. In 1999-2000, the New Jersey Athletic Conference hired its first Commissioner in Donna Ledwin. The conference also amended its constitution to allow affiliate members on a sport-by-sport basis and accepted the State University of New York at Cortland as its first affiliate member for the sport of football. In 2002-03, the conference named its second Commissioner in Terry Small. In 2003-04, historical changes included the expansion of the conference’s women’s and men’s soccer to six-team fields; the implementation of divisional play in women’s and men’s basketball; and the expansion of both postseason basketball tournaments to six-team fields. In 2004-05, the conference added its second affiliate football member in Western Connecticut State University. Other historical changes included the withdrawal of New Jersey City University as a full member; the return to a single-division format for women’s and men’s basketball; and the expansion of the conference baseball to a six-team field. In 2005-06, the conference welcomed the return of New Jersey City University back as a full member. In addition, the league softball tournament was expanded to a six-team field. In 2006-07, the conference added its third affiliate football member in Buffalo State College. In addition, the league returned to divisional play in women’s and men’s basketball. In 2008-09, the conference added Morrisville State College and The College at Brockport as its fourth and fifth affiliate football members. In addition, the conference sponsored women’s and men’s swimming & diving as varsity sports for the first time since 2003 and 1995 respectively. The conference also sponsored women’s lacrosse as a varsity sport for the first time in league history. In 2009-10, the conference launched its new web site: www.njacsports.com . In 2011-12, the conference added Farmingdale State College and St. Joseph’s College-Long Island as affiliate members in the sports of women’s and men’s indoor & outdoor track & field. The conference also sponsored a league tournament in field hockey for the first time. In 2012-13, the conference returned to a single-division format for both women’s and men’s basketball. In addition, the league football membership was reduced to nine institutions following the withdrawal of Buffalo State College as an affiliate member. In 2013-14, Kate Clawson was named Assistant to the Commissioner, a newly implemented intern position funded partially through the NCAA Ethnic Minority and Women’s Internship Grant. The conference also sponsored a league tournament in women's lacrosse for the first time, with the tournament champion receiving an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The league football membership was reduced to eight institutions following the withdrawal of Western Connecticut State University as an affiliate member. In 2014-15, Southern Virginia University was added as an affiliate football member. The league football membership remained at eight institutions following the withdrawal of The College at Brockport as an affiliate member. In 2015-16, Michelle Serabian will serve as the league’s Assistant Commissioner, a newly implemented position funded partially through the NCAA Strategic Alliance Matching Grant. The conference will also create a new class of membership deemed as associate membership. Associate members will receive two Board of Athletic Administrator votes in the sport for which they hold membership in the same manner as full-member institutions. Christopher Newport University, Frostburg State University, Salisbury University, and Wesley College will become the first associate football members in the history of the conference. Southern Virginia University will become the first institution in league history to transition from affiliate football membership to associate football membership. The league football membership will consist of 10 institutions with the addition of the new associate members and the withdrawal of both SUNY Cortland and Morrisville State College as affiliate members. The conference will also establish and award an all-sports cup for overall athletic program excellence for the first time in league history.

3 NJAC Policies and Procedures Manual Section 1: Conduct of Competition

A. STANDARD RULES OF CONDUCTING COMPETITION 1. Championship Sponsorship a. The conference will sponsor a championship in every sport in which a minimum of five schools (full-members, associate members, or affiliate members) sponsor a varsity level program i. If a season starts with the minimum number of teams and one or more teams discontinue their participation prior to the conclusion of the season, a champion will still be declared from among the remaining teams. b. Each sport committee will be responsible for recommending to the Board the method by which the conference champion is determined (i.e., through regular season play or through an end-of-season tournament). The conference champion will earn the automatic qualifier designation for the NCAA tournament. c. The annual retreat is the deadline for declaring participation in a sport for the following academic year, i.e. declare in June 2016 for the 2017-18 season. The retreat deadline for declaration may be extended as per consent of the Board. Should a school choose to field a team after the retreat declaration deadline without a Board extension, they would not be eligible for the conference championship that year, they would not be eligible for individual awards, and members would not be obligated to schedule them. d. Any institutional sport program that incurs a postseason ban shall be automatically excluded from that season’s conference standings. e. Any institutional sport program that incurs an NCAA postseason ban prior to the start of a season, shall be excluded from that season’s conference statistics, and its student-athletes and coaches will not be eligible for the league’s all-conference team or any other conference awards that season.

2. Scheduling a. Scheduling of in-conference play shall be given priority over non-conference play. b. Regular season conference scheduling shall be done by the Commissioner for the following sports: football, men’s soccer, women’s soccer, field hockey, women’s volleyball, women’s basketball, men’s basketball, baseball, softball, and women’s lacrosse. For those sports where conference competition is conducted on both weekdays and weekends, every effort shall be made to schedule shorter travel on weekdays and longer distance travel on weekends. Most schedules will be developed in two-year cycles, and the order of opponents shall be shuffled every two years. Consideration will also be given to balancing the sequence of consecutive home and away games wherever possible. Changes to the master schedule made by mutual administrative agreement must approved by both the sport chair and the Commissioner. c. Any rescheduling of conference contests due to inclement weather or other unforeseeable circumstances must be done within three business days following the postponed contest. (Refer to individual sport guidelines with regard to specifics of reschedule dates). The Commissioner must be notified of both the postponement and the new date. If the two schools involved cannot agree on a new date within three business days, the matter will be automatically referred to the Commissioner who will assign a date. d. In the event that an institution is faced with the temporary loss of its home facility, negotiation shall be conducted at the institutional level, including who shall cover the expenses related to hosting the contest and the relevant, sport-specific rules and procedures affected by home or visiting team status. If the institutions involved are unable to reach agreement, the matter will be determined by the full Board of Athletic Administrators. The future scheduling cycle shall remain unchanged, regardless of where the game is played. e. The changing of any final league contest to a date which delays final conference standings and thus tournament seeding and/or the determination of all-conference nomination limits, may only be done with permission of both the Commissioner and the appropriate sport chair.

3. Halted/Interrupted Contest a. For all sports, the host institution is responsible for determining the safety of playing conditions prior to the start of a contest. b. Once a contest has begun, halting or interrupting a contest shall be at the discretion of the officials. c. If any institution involved in the competition believes it is unsafe to continue, a representative of that institution may make their assessment known to the officials. If the officials disagree with the assessment and rule that the contest should continue and an institution chooses not to continue participation in the contest, it will be ruled a conference forfeit against that institution. Conference 4 records and standings will reflect a loss for the institution and a win for its conference opponent. As the NCAA statistical staff does not recognize forfeits, it shall be considered a “no contest” for all institutions involved with regard to overall record, with neither a win nor a loss credited.

4. Forfeit Policy Should an institution forfeit a conference contest or have fewer competitors than specified by the rules which the conference has declared govern that sport to be counted as a contest, the following procedure will take place: a. The sport chair shall first determine if it is appropriate and/or viable to reschedule the contest. b. If it is neither appropriate nor viable to reschedule, the chair shall make a report of the incident and a recommendation to the Commissioner. The recommendation will take into consideration such circumstances as: i. travel safety ii. act of God iii. facility disaster c. The Commissioner shall decide whether the offending institution will be placed on “forfeit probation.” This means that if a forfeit occurs by that institution in the same sport within the next two academic years, the following sanctions shall apply: i. The institution receiving the forfeit shall have the option of not scheduling the offending institution the following year. ii. The offending institution shall be ineligible for the conference championship or for individual awards in that sport for that year. iii. In addition, the forfeiting team will be credited with a loss for that conference contest in the conference standings, and the team which they were to have played will be credited with a win in the conference standings. iv. If the reason for the forfeiture is failure to field a minimum number of participants, and the offending institution declares that it will field a full squad for the year following the probation, the team will be reinstated into the conference with full privileges. d. If a school declares prior to the start of the season that they are unable to field a team, they will be granted a one-year grace period before being placed on forfeit probation.

5. Scouting a. Sharing game tapes or scouting reports on conference member schools with non-conference schools is strictly prohibited. b. Conference member coaches who wish to scout conference opponents shall be admitted free of charge to any regular season or conference championship event upon presentation of a conference scouting pass. c. Videotaping of conference competitions by representatives (i.e., staff) or affiliates (i.e., family members, friends, alumni/ae) of institutions not participating in the contest is strictly prohibited.

6. Contest Management a. The conference minimal medical care standards (Section 2), as established by the conference committee on Sports Medicine and Competitive Safeguards, shall be followed for all conference competitions. b. The conference code of conduct (Section 5) shall be in effect for all conference competitions. c. The host institution is responsible for providing locker rooms and meeting space for each team as well as for officials (as requested). Private, separate spaces should be provided whenever possible. d. The home team shall be responsible for following the minimum standards for sports information (Section 8) established by the Sports Information Committee. e. The home team is not responsible for providing the visiting team with any complimentary tickets for any conference contest. f. Access to team benches, sidelines, dugouts, and all other areas adjacent to the playing area are restricted to only enrolled students and/or employees of the institutions.

7. Crowd Control a. It is the responsibility of the home team to provide proper crowd control. b. Crowd control measures should include fencing or roping off of field areas whenever possible, and providing security officers or designating departmental staff as event supervisors. c. It is recommended that a pre-game announcement be made regarding proper conduct of coaches, staff, student-athletes, and spectators (See Section 5: (3) NJAC Code of Conduct for sample announcement). 5 8. Officiating a. The sport chair, assisted by the Commissioner, is responsible for coordinating regular season and postseason officiating assignments for all conference schools in the following sports: football, men’s soccer, women’s soccer, field hockey, women’s volleyball, women’s basketball, men’s basketball, baseball, softball, and women’s lacrosse. b. Member institutions are responsible for making arrangements for officials on an individual basis for the following sports: women’s cross country, men’s cross country, women’s tennis, women’s indoor track and field, men’s indoor track & field, women’s swimming & diving, men’s swimming & diving, women’s outdoor track & field, and men’s outdoor track & field. c. No referee/umpire will be permitted to work an NJAC league contest who is: • a current employee of an NJAC institution, or • a current student at an NJAC institution, or • a close relative (e.g., parent, spouse, child) of a current student-athlete or athletic department staff member, or • a recent alumna/us (e.g. within the past four years) of an NJAC institution shall be assigned or accept an assignment to an NJAC contest involving that affiliated institution. It is incumbent upon the assignor to notify all officials on his/her roster who may be assigned to an NJAC contest of this policy, and it is the duty of the official to self-identify any noted affiliation. The Commissioner shall be responsible for communicating this policy to the conference assignors on an annual basis. d. A coach who is ejected from a conference contest must immediately remove himself/herself from the contest facility, allowing no visual or oral (speaking/hearing) contact with team members, coaching staff or officials for the remainder of the contest. (Exception: In volleyball, per NCAA rules, coaches are only ejected for one game of the match at a time, and may return to the venue to coach in any subsequent remaining games in the match.) 9. Equipment a. The ball required for use in conference competition in all conference-sponsored team sports shall be the official NCAA championship ball, unless exceptions have been made by the NJAC Board of Athletic Administrators.

B. STANDARD CHAMPIONSHIPS REGULATIONS 1. Determining and Announcing Conference Champions a. The Commissioner is responsible for verifying and announcing conference tournament seeding and/or conference champions, per the guidelines set forth for each sport. i. The higher seed in a given pairing will host each round of the championship unless otherwise stipulated in the sport’s guidelines. b. Throughout the season, member SIDs are expected to review the results and standings as posted on the NJAC web site on a daily basis for accuracy with regard to their institution. Any inaccuracies should be reported immediately to the Commissioner for correction. This will be particularly emphasized in email communication to the SIDs during the week immediately prior to the last contest of the regular season. c. Within 24 hours following the completion of the last regular season conference contest, the Commissioner and the sport chair will review together the final contest results, perform a final update of the standings, and determine tournament seeding and pairings. d. Tiebreaker procedures and criteria will be followed as noted in the individual NJAC sport guidelines. In the event that 3 or more teams are tied for any place in the standings, the following tiebreaker procedure shall apply to all sports: i. Begin by evaluating the 3 or more teams among each other in each category of criteria. ii. When a given criteria results in a clear ranking of a first, second and third place team among the tied teams, the teams shall be seeded in the tournament bracket in that rank order. For example, three teams are tied for first place in the standings. Using the criteria of head-to-head competition, Team A is 3-1, Team B is 2-2 and Team C is 1-3. Team A will get the #1 seed, Team B the #2 seed, and Team C the #3 seed. iii. When a given criteria results in a clear ranking of one (or more) teams above or below two (or more) tied teams, the teams clearly above or below shall be slotted accordingly, and evaluation of the remaining tied teams shall revert to the criteria for a for that particular place. For example, four teams are tied for first in the standings. Using the criteria of goal differential, Team A is +10, Team B and Team C are both +8, and Team D is +7. Team A will get the #1 seed and Team D will get the #4 seed. Team B and Team C will then be evaluated as if they were in a two-way tie for second place.

6 iv. Ties are broken from the top down in regard to record vs. teams place-by-place in conference standings. However, the approved tiebreakers in each sport should be used to determine any possible standings place in the event that multiple ties occur in the conference standings.

e. During the week immediately prior to the last conference contest of the regular season, the Commissioner will contact all potential host institutions to determine likely contest times. As soon as the final pairings are determined, the Commissioner will contact the host institution’s AD or SWA to confirm the contest time and site. Once the time has been confirmed and all participants have been emailed, the only way to change the game time will be by mutual consent of the institutions involved. f. The Commissioner will email all involved ADs, SWAs and SIDs with the pairings and game times within 24 hours following the completion of the last regular season conference contest. g. In sports where the conference holds a tournament to determine the conference champion, the sport chair, in conjunction with the Commissioner, will be responsible for arranging for officials for all rounds of the tournament. Every effort shall be made to secure a higher quality pool of officials for the tournament.

2. Expenses and Gate Fees a. A gate fee shall be charged at all rounds of the following championships: men’s soccer, women’s soccer, field hockey, women’s volleyball, women’s basketball, men’s basketball, baseball, softball, and women’s lacrosse, (cross country, indoor track & field, and outdoor track & field are optional). i. The Championships Committee (see Section 11 for list of committee members) shall have the responsibility of determining gate fees at all rounds of championship events. The currently approved gate fees are $5 for adults; $2 for students, senior citizens and children. No complimentary tickets are allowed for conference championship tournaments, but NJAC scouting passes are to be honored. ii. The gate fees shall first go to cover the cost of officials at that contest. If the gate fees fully cover the cost of the officials, the remaining funds, if less than $200, will be retained by the host institution. If the gate fees fully cover the cost of the officials and the remaining balance exceeds the $200 threshold, the host institution will retain exactly $200 and the remaining balance will be sent by check to the conference office. If the gate fees do not cover the expenses for officials, the two participating institutions shall split the difference of the remaining expense. The host institution is responsible for providing an income/expense statement (Form #1) to the Commissioner after every round of the championship tournament. b. For those conference championship tournaments where a gate fee is not charged, the following approved expenses are to be shared by the participating institutions: i. Officials ii. Timing equipment (cross country, indoor and outdoor track) iii. Facility rental (indoor track) iv. Officials’ meal (indoor and outdoor track)

3. Sports Information a. The Commissioner will be responsible for issuing a bracket and updating the web site with the pairings immediately following notification of the participants. The web site will be updated after each round of the tournament as well. b. The host institution’s SID will be responsible for collecting and distributing statistical results during each round of the championship. Final statistics for each round of championship competition should be distributed to all participating institutions and the conference SID no later than 24 hours after the contest. For those sports whose championships are not hosted at a member institution (e.g., indoor track), this responsibility will rotate annually (on a pre-determined basis) among the SIDs of those institutions involved in the championship.

4. Awards a. Each conference team champion will receive a conference trophy to be retained by their institution permanently. Team champions will also receive a plaque at the annual conference awards brunch. i. The presentation of the championship trophy will be made by either the Commissioner, the Assistant Commissioner, or the sport chair at the site of the championship whenever immediate results are able to be determined. If the championship is determined by regular season competition, every effort will be made to make a presentation at the site of the contest which determines the conference champion. b. Members of the championship team shall also receive a championship t-shirt (up to the NCAA travel squad limit). 7 Section 1, Form #1 New Jersey Athletic Conference CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP TOURNAMENT INCOME/EXPENSE STATEMENT

NOTE: This form must be submitted by the host institution to the Commissioner and to the visiting team within 5 business days following the conclusion of each championship contest. Distribution of funds (if any) must be made to the Commissioner within 30 business days of the contest.

HOST INSTITUTION______

VISITING INSTITUTION______

SPORT______DATE OF COMPETITION_____/_____/_____

TOTAL GATE RECEIPTS: ______

- TOTAL COST OF OFFICIALS: ______

= DIFFERENCE: ______

IF THE DIFFERENCE IS A POSITIVE AMOUNT LESS THAN $200.00: The host shall pay the officials directly. The host institution then retains all remaining funds. A copy of this statement must be sent to both the visiting institution and the Commissioner.

IF THE DIFFERENCE IS A POSITIVE AMOUNT MORE THAN $200.00: The host shall pay the officials directly. The host institution retains exactly $200.00. The remainder of the balance is then sent to the Commissioner via check along with this statement. A copy of this statement must also be sent to the visiting institution.

IF THE DIFFERENCE IS A NEGATIVE AMOUNT: The host institution shall pay the officials directly. The remaining expense will be shared evenly between the host and visiting institutions. The host institution can either: (a) send an invoice directly to the visiting institution requesting payment for the visitor’s share of the remaining expense; or (b) request the Commissioner to reimburse the host institution with the visitor’s share of the expense. If option (b) is selected, the Commissioner will then send an invoice to the visiting institution for conference reimbursement of the payment made to the host institution.

Amount owed by each Visiting Team(s):______Amount owed by Host Institution:______

______Signature of Athletic Director or Senior Woman Administrator Date

PLEASE FAX THIS FORM WITHIN 5 BUSINESS DAYS OF THE CONTEST TO:

Terry Small, NJAC Commissioner FAX: (856) 582-5877

8 NJAC Policies and Procedures Manual Section 2: Sports Medicine and Competitive Safeguards

A. MINIMAL CARE STANDARDS FOR NJAC COMPETITION 1. Host Team Requirements 1. At least one individual qualified to provide athletic training, i.e., NATA BOC certified/New Jersey licensed athletic trainer, or physician shall be on site. For football, a physician and ambulance are required. 2. When an athletic trainer is not traveling with a team, if there is an injury or care issue that is not apparent on the field it is the visiting team athlete and/or coach’s responsibility to report the injury to the host athletic trainer for evaluation. The host AT should document relevant information regarding visiting team injuries and a follow-up communication to the visiting team head athletic trainer should be made if an athlete was significantly injured. It is recommended that the visiting coach also follow up with their athletic training staff upon return to campus. 3. If a visiting athlete is injured and requires immediate care at a hospital, it is the responsibility of the visiting team coaching staff to send a responsible individual with the injured athlete. 4. Water coolers and cups shall be on each team bench prior to the start of pre-game warm-up; coolers shall be checked and refilled at halftime or, for sports without a halftime, at least once every 45 minutes. 5. It is highly recommended that student-athletes not share water bottles, cups, towels, or other items before, during, or following competition. 6. Water shall be available at halftime at each team’s meeting area. 7. Any post-game services requiring the host AT staff should supersede all post-game activity (i.e. team meetings, shower, team tailgating) 8. Ice & ice bags shall be available on team benches during and after contest. After the completion of a game it is the responsibility of the visiting team to get their ice bags within a reasonable amount of time - 20 minutes. The host team athletic training staff has additional duties to complete after a game in complete. It is not appropriate for the visiting team to have a postgame meeting for 30-40 minutes and then look to get ice. 9. Accessible emergency care supplies (e.g., crutches, splints, stretchers, and resuscitator) shall be readily available. 10. Tables shall be available for pre-game preparation: For football: two tables on field, one at each team bench area; for all other sports one table in the team bench area. 11. There shall be ready access to emergency communication (e.g., cell phone, two-way radio or telephone within 100 yards of the facility). 12. The host team must have appropriate blood management supplies readily available.

2. ATC Services and Responsibilities a. Whenever possible, the host team’s athletic trainer (AT) should be notified at least 24 hours ahead of the contest of any special or unusual care required, including Electric Modalities. At minimum, a student- athlete should bring written instructions from his/her AT regarding treatment requested. b. If a team travels without an AT, the host school’s athletes shall receive priority treatment both pre- and post- game. In simultaneous non-emergency injury situations, the priority of the host AT will be the host athlete. c. For any team traveling without an AT, the host team’s AT (or team physician for football) is responsible for the visiting team’s injury assessment, management and return to play decision for all athletes with a visible functional disability or possible head injury . The host AT may be superseded only by the presence of a team physician. *An athlete who refuses injury assessment by the host AT will not be permitted to return to play until cleared by the host AT. d. The host AT will remain available to the visiting team for at least 30 minutes post-game. It is the visiting coach’s/athlete’s responsibility to inform the host AT of their need for follow-up post-game. This care many times will be provided in the host athletic training facility. e. Any post-game services requiring the host AT should supersede all other post-game activity (e.g., team meeting, shower). f. It is the visiting team coach’s responsibility to report injuries to their athletic training staff upon return to campus. The host AT should document relevant information regarding visiting team injuries. A follow-up phone call to the visiting team head athletic trainer should be made if an athlete was significantly injured.

9 NJAC Policies and Procedures Manual Section 3: Eligibility and Waivers

A. ELIGIBILITY ROSTERS 1. Eligibility rosters for student-athletes of full member institutions in sports in which the conference sponsors a championship must be submitted to the Commissioner for each traditional season. Associate and affiliate member institutions are also responsible for submitting eligibility rosters to the Commissioner as well. Institutions must also certify NJAC eligibility of student-athletes prior to competition in the one date of competition in the non-traditional season, regardless of whether the participation triggers an NCAA season of participation.

2. Rosters for sports in which the conference does not sponsor a championship and non-traditional season rosters should not be submitted to the Commissioner.

3. Member institutions are responsible for the accuracy and completeness of the information provided on conference eligibility rosters. The role of the conference office is to provide a courtesy review to point out possible discrepancies and/or omissions of information provided, and to verify that conference standards regarding waivers and normal progress requirements are being properly documented.

4. Rosters must be received by the Commissioner or post-marked by the following dates: Season Traditional Fall October 1 Winter November 15 Spring March 15

5. Members may use the approved NJAC “Access” program for submitting eligibility rosters, but programs such as Compliance Internet Assistant may also be used as long as reports generated feature the required information. Social security numbers should not be listed on the eligibility rosters. The notation of “DNP” (for “did not play”), “NIS” (for “not in school”), “IYP” (for “initial year of participation”) and/or “MHW” (for “medical hardship waiver”) along with the applicable dates must be included in the comments section on the form for all seasons or semesters in which a student- athlete did not participate in a sport from the time of high school graduation to the present reporting period.

6. A member institution has three business days to respond to the report from the Commissioner for further information or clarification regarding the eligibility of particular student-athletes.

7. Inquiries about another institution’s student-athlete(s) should be made in a timely manner, i.e. as soon as a violation is suspected. An inquiry may only be made by either the Director of Athletics or the Senior Woman Administrator. It is preferred that the two institutions communicate directly, but the Commissioner may also be asked to make the inquiry on behalf of a member institution. a. Should an ineligible student-athlete participate in competition, the conference contests in which that student-athlete actually participated will be forfeited. If a conference contest is affected, the conference standings will reflect a win for the opposing team and a loss for the team with the ineligible student-athlete. b. When an institution determines it has used a student-athlete who is ineligible, the following steps should be taken: 1. It must prepare and submit an NCAA Secondary Violations Report immediately 2. It must follow all guidelines and reporting requirements as outlined by the NCAA 3. It must notify all institutions (both conference and non-conference) that were competed against with the ineligible student-athlete 4. It must notify the NJAC Commissioner immediately 5. If conference contests were played by an ineligible student-athlete, the institution must notify the institutions involved in those contests immediately 6. All conference records and standings should be changed immediately upon report of the ineligible student- athlete to reflect a loss for the team which used the ineligible player and a win for the opposing team 7. Sport standings, as amended, will determine regular season final placing as well as tournament seeding 8. If the ineligibility is discovered before an NJAC championship is conducted, the adjusted seeding will determine participation in the championship 9. If the ineligible student-athlete is discovered after an NJAC championship has already commenced, the following steps will be followed in a timely manner: a. The Commissioner will review the standings as adjusted with any forfeits as necessary 1. If the standings remain unchanged, the championship will continue in its normal fashion 2. If the standings change, the Commissioner will convene the Executive Committee to review the situation and solicit a recommendation to the full Board of Athletic Administrators. The institution which used an ineligible student-athlete will have the 10