NCAA Softball Rules Committee members talked about sportsmanship issues at their annual meeting July 5-8 in Indianapolis in light of a report indicating that the number of suspensions was at an all-time high during the 2005 season.

"We had only had nine suspensions in the last eight years, and this year we had eight suspensions alone," said committee Chair Christi Wade, head softball coach and assistant athletics director at Saint Leo University. "This is cause for concern for safety and the image of our game."

The committee reviewed misconduct rules for clarity and emphasis and inserted new language for the 2006 rules book clarifying that any contact with an umpire or spitting at an umpire is grounds for ejection and a subsequent two-game suspension.

In previous years, the secretary-rules editor would issue a letter to the conference commissioner and athletics director after being notified through an umpire's incident report. Now, an additional copy will be sent to the university president if a suspension is required.

"The rules committee still believes that a two-game suspension for physical contact with an opponent or an umpire, or leaving the team area to participate in a fight, is the right penalty to assess," Wade said. "The letter is for notification purposes. We rely on the information provided by the umpires about the circumstances, and we rely on the coaches and institutions to do the right thing and follow through with the suspensions when needed. We are a conduit for sportsmanship, not the judge and jury."

The wording modifications for the misconduct rule and all rules-change proposals will be reviewed by the Playing Rules Oversight Panel (PROP) for final approval in August. Rules changes approved by PROP will be instituted in the 2006 rules book, which should be printed and available in December.

Another rules recommendation to be forwarded to PROP would require that the on-site administrator, already required by the rules, be an adult who is not a member of the softball coaching staff. The rules committee made the same recommendation in 2002, but the proposal was not supported by the governance structure.

"We understand that it is difficult to commit a staff member to attend each game, but the on-site administrator has an important role," Wade said. "We need someone to help the umpires with sportsmanship issues on the field and in the crowd, as well as in weather and emergency situations. A head coach cannot do his or her job and be the on-site administrator effectively, in our opinion."

In other recommendations, committee members agreed that umpires will no longer be checking helmets and catcher equipment before games. The committee has emphasized in the past few years that coaches and institutions, not umpires, ultimately are responsible for equipment. Umpires still may identify and remove cracked or uncertified helmets during a game, if found.

The helmet rule will be updated to specify that defensive face masks, with or without a helmet, are legal. Offensive helmets that have the face mask must be permanently attached by the manufacturer or by a procedure approved by the manufacturer.

Regarding bats, the committee voted to "highly recommend" that host institutions supply a color list with the visual of each bat model to the umpire and opposing team. The color document allows for easy identification of the bat color scheme as opposed to the list by name only, which is required to be updated weekly.

A complete list of rules changes is available at www.ncaa.org by clicking on "Sports" and then "Softball." Changes also will be mailed to coaches.

Other highlights

Softball Rules Committee
July 5-8/Indianapolis

• Agreed that pitchers shall be allowed to apply moisture or a foreign substance to their hands, but all substances, including dirt or resin, must be wiped off before contact with the ball. Residue may not be transferred to the ball.

• Added language to ball, bat and glove specifications that will prohibit the use of any treatment or device that fundamentally changes the specifications of the equipment.

• Specified that a base runner is out when she passes a preceding runner before that runner has been put out, unless the lead runner is obstructed.

• Ruled that non-uniformed team personnel may sit in the stands for the purpose of videotaping a contest, recording pitch speeds or charting pitches, but in doing so they render themselves ineligible for the game.