While unsporting conduct isn’t a problem in collegiate water polo, the Men’s and Women’s Water Polo Rules Subcommittee took steps to keep it that way during its recent meeting in Indianapolis, suggesting several changes to improve the image of the sport and the safety of the student-athletes who play it.

Many of the changes would be designed to make penalties for undesirable behavior – such as fighting and brutality – more severe, though the subcommittee noted that only 26 red cards were reported as being issued in about 2,000 men’s and women’s games in 2008.

Among the suggested interpretations includes a suggestion that if a head coach is ejected and no assistant coach or institutional representative is available, the team must forfeit the match.

The subcommittee is also interested in surveying the coaches about changing the term “brutality” to “flagrant misconduct,” and moving the “violent play” foul to the “flagrant misconduct” category to increase penalties. The term “flagrant misconduct” covers instances of fighting, biting, striking or attempting to kick or strike with malicious intent.

The subcommittee would like to review the penalties for flagrant misconduct as well, with an eye toward increasing the length of suspensions.

The subcommittee is also interested in tracking red cards and ejections for misconduct, flagrant misconduct or fighting. Officials could be asked to report such instances to the conference offices, and the conference offices then could be asked to forward the information to the sport’s coordinator of officials.

Because of the new two-year cycle for rules changes, changes won’t be implemented before the 2010 season. However, some of the modifications could be addressed through interpretations, policy changes at the conference level or points of education with officials. The items can also be included as part of the fall 2009 survey of coaches that gathers information for future rules-change proposals.

The subcommittee met just before the Men’s Water Polo Committee conducted its annual meeting. In that session, committee members confirmed that the Collegiate Water Polo Association, the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation and the Western Water Polo Association will receive the automatic bids to the 2009 National Collegiate Men’s Water Polo Championship.

The committee also recommended that the Division I Championships/Sport Management Cabinet confirm California as the host for the 2010-11 championships. Princeton will host the 2009 championship.