The Softball Rules Committee will survey head coaches this fall to determine their perceptions on bats, balls and the state of the game. The action, taken during the committee's annual meeting June 23-27 in Boston, comes after the committee's bat compliance program proposal to the divisional championships committees was not accepted.

"We felt like we needed to take in all of the opinions that are out there about bats and balls and then create a plan to move forward," said Kathy Veroni, head softball coach at Western Illinois University and chair-elect for the committee. "It seems that every coach in the country has a different take on our standards and the balance of offense and defense in the game. We will get a concrete look at the perceptions of the membership with this survey."

The rules committee did recommend a change to the ball during its meeting. The current COR (coefficient of restitution) is at a maximum of .50, and the committee will ask each division's championships group to reduce the COR to .47. The NCAA is the only rules-making body with a COR of more than .47, and the change would bring greater consistency to the balls being used in the game. If approved, the change would become effective in January 2005.

The committee also approved several editorial revisions in the rules book, and the group also approved an umpire mechanics manual that will be produced for the first time this fall.

Included among the major changes is a clarification about the halted-game policy. After questions and problems during the 2002 season, the rules committee determined that the halted-game policy, which normally is established within a conference, must be reviewed during the pregame meeting to avoid confusion should a game be halted for reasons such as weather and darkness. Also during the pregame meeting, the umpire shall identify the official scorer to the coaches.

Since umpires do not have formal training available to verify whether equipment is in proper condition for play -- outside of obvious deficiencies -- the pregame meeting also will include the umpire asking each coach to ensure that his or her team is legally equipped and properly attired.

"The coach is an employee of the university and knows the equipment and the players better than the umpire," Veroni said. "Coaches should have responsibility to see that the equipment is in good shape."

Other major rules changes include:

In cases when a game is forfeited, the statistics for a game that has not yet gone five innings will not count, and the score will be 7-0 in favor of the offended team. If five innings have been played at the time the game is forfeited and the offended team is winning, the score shall remain and all statistics shall count. If the offended team is losing after five innings, the score shall be 7-0 for the offended team and the statistics for both teams shall count.

The umpire mechanics for situations in which the runner does not touch the plate and the defensive team makes no attempt or misses the tag on the runner will change in 2003. The umpire will now signal safe and declare, "No tag." The runner will be considered to have touched the base unless an appeal is made.

For clarity in the pitching rules, the definitions of delivery and windup have been changed. The windup begins when both hands touch the ball and ends when the hands separate. The delivery begins when the pitcher's hands are separated and ends with the release of the ball.

For facilities where the tarp is stored on the field, the rules will now state that thrown or batted balls rebounding off of the tarp remain in play unless they become lodged. A fielder trying to catch a fly ball near the tarp may not have either foot on the tarp to make the catch.

The rule that banned pitchers from having gloves with more than one color has been removed. Now, a pitcher can have a glove that is tan, brown, gray, black or any combination of those colors.

The rules book has never specified that teams must wear contrasting uniform colors, although it is common practice. The 2003 book will make it the responsibility of the home team to change uniforms in the event of a conflict.

In 2002, the committee required that an on-site administrator be present at all games to help with crowd control and other game management issues. The committee will recommend that the rule further state that the on-site administrator shall not be a member of the softball coaching staff of the competing teams. The rules change will have to be approved by the NCAA Executive Committee because of financial implications.

Umpires will no longer be allowed to wear the navy blue pullover shirt with red and white trim, which was allowed only if the entire crew agreed. The standard uniform shirt is powder blue. If the umpire wants to wear an American flag patch, it may be sewn onto the left sleeve.

A complete list of rules changes can be found on NCAA Online at www1.ncaa.org/
eprise/main/membership/governance/sports_and_rules_ctees/playing_rules/softball/index.html.