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: Sports 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: Sport 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. Baseball…………………………………………………………………… 88 3. Softball……………………………………………………………………. 94 4. Women’s Lacrosse……………………………………………………….. 101 2 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 tournaments 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 tournament 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