Page 175 - (FINAL!) UPDATED 13.0) 2020-2021 HANDBOOK - SEPTEMBER 2020 EDITION_Neat

4. Quality Wins/Quality Losses (teams in poll/teams in National Tournaments).
5. Historical results of the district’s teams at the previous 5 National Tournaments.
Should a member of the seeding committee coach a team that participates in the tournament, that individual should be excluded
from the seeding process.
6. Only games vs. NJCAA, NWAC, and CCCAA will be considered.
Section 5. Rules and Procedures
A. NCAA rules will be used with the following exceptions:
1. The halted game rule will be in effect for all national tournament play.
2. The international tie-breaker will not be used in national tournament play.
3. The eight-run rule will not be in effect for the national championship game.
B. The tournament shall be conducted as a double elimination tournament by NJCAA.
C. The maximum allowable number of individuals an institution can have on the field, including the practice field, bull pen, bench
and dugout is 30. Each team is limited to 24 uniform players (excluding redshirts) and a maximum of six combined coaches
(includes grad assistant coaches), trainers and managers recognized by their respective institution. The official roster will be
signed and turned in at the tournament coaches meeting. No deletions or additions will be allowed after the roster is turned in.
D. All region/district hosts will use and be furnished the official tournament ball in all postseason play with the exception of regions
within a district, which will receive balls only for a district tournament.
E. The official tournament ball is the Dudley 4N-143 .47 compression ball.
F. Home team will be the higher seeded team in the first round. The home team for all other rounds will be determined by a flip of the
coin 30 minutes prior to the game. The home team will occupy the third base dugout.
G. For the National Tournament, it is the responsibility of the visiting team to ensure its jersey is of a contrasting color to that selected
by the home team. If the jerseys don’t contrast enough, the visiting team has to change their jerseys.
H. Protest Committee will be made up of the National Tournament Director, NJCAA Representative and the Umpire-In-Chief.
I. Weather/Suspended Game(s)
When a game is underway and it starts to rain/snow, only the umpire can suspend the game. Suspended games are continued
from the point of when the play was suspended. The official scorebook should have the point of suspension, outs, etc. recorded.
The official NCAA Rules will be followed regarding weather conditions and suspended play.
In the event of unavoidable delays due to either weather or unforeseen causes, the Tournament Director and NJCAA
Representative reserve the right to re-schedule game times or make other arrangements as necessary as long as there is no
extension to the length of the tournament dates.
J. Game Balls
For all Region, District and National Tournaments there will need to be five game balls per game with at least two balls being new.
K. Opening ceremonies will be part of the banquet the day before or will be eliminated.
Section 6. Officials
The NJCAA Committee on Softball recommends that the host institution secure quality college umpires for the National Tournament.
Section 7. Finances
A. All tournament expenses shall be paid by the Tournament Host.
B. Each college shall pay its own expenses.
Section 8. National Poll Procedures
A. In order for teams to be considered for weekly national rankings, all scores from the previous week must be entered into the NJCAA
PrestoSports Stats System by 11:59 PM ET on Sunday of each week.
1. All statistics from the previous week must be entered into the NJCAA PrestoSports Stats System by 2:00 PM ET on Monday of
each week.
B. The preseason rankings will be conducted at the discretion of the NJCAA Division I Softball Committee. Poll will be released the third
Tuesday of January. The first regular season poll will be voted on the second Monday in February. The last poll will be voted on during
the second Monday in May. TBD due to COVID-19
C. The NJCAA Division I Softball Poll will be released Monday of each week unless the Monday is a national holiday where the poll will be
released on Tuesday.
D. Each team’s performance from the previous week will be compiled in a report through the NJCAA PrestoSports Stats System and
disseminated to the NJCAA Division I Softball Committee to be voted on individually by each voter.
1. The voters will consist of the seven members of the NJCAA Division I Softball Committee.
2. A first-place vote receives 20 points and 20th-place vote receives 1 point.
E. Poll voting criteria:
1. Overall Body of Work
i. Records against NJCAA Division I opponents for the season
ii. Records against NJCAA Division I top 20 teams for the season
iii. Records against ranked NJCAA Division II, NJCAA Division III, NWC and CCAA teams for the season
2. Overall Records
i. When on the road
ii. When traveled outside their Region/District
iii. At neutral sites
iv. At home
3. Strength within the conference
i. Teams overall conference record for the season
4. If a team becomes ineligible or can’t play in postseason play, they should be removed from the poll so it doesn’t effect at-
large selection or seeding for the National Tournament.
F. The poll voters will submit their top-20 rankings to the NJCAA National Office online system by 1:00 PM ET on Mondays, unless the
Monday prior is a national holiday where votes will be due on Tuesday. The National Office will compile the votes for each team and
release the final rankings Monday afternoon.
G. Poll Dates: TBD due to COVID-19
^Preseason poll