Experimental rules changes for college softball in 2017

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JAD

Feb 20, 2012
8,231
38
Georgia
Experimental rules approved for 2017 softball season | NCAA.com

Experimental rules approved for 2017 softball season
Autonomy conferences will implement ways to speed up the game
Greg Johnson | NCAA.org
Last Updated - Jan 23, 2017 18:33 EST

The NCAA Playing Rules Oversight Panel approved three experimental rules in softball designed to increase the pace of play in conference games for the 2017 season.

The experimental rules were approved Monday for use during conference games only for the autonomy conferences in the upcoming season. However, any conference from any of the three NCAA divisions may submit a request to the NCAA Softball Rules Committee before Feb. 6 to use the three experimental rules during the 2017 season.

The rules that will be applied in conference games for the Atlantic Coast, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12 and Southeastern conferences are:

Restricting the number of charged conferences, either offensive or defensive, to six per team. Teams may use two conferences per inning (one offensive and one defensive). Each team is allowed one conference, offensive or defensive, for each extra inning. The team representative(s) or player(s) who initiates any additional charged offensive or defensive conference will be immediately ejected. The current rules allow each team one offensive and one defensive conference per inning (i.e., 14 allowable charged conferences per team per seven-inning game, which does not include pitching changes).
Defensive teams will not be allowed to huddle at the pitcher’s mound after an out. Teams will still be allowed to throw the ball around the infield, but the ball must then be thrown directly to the pitcher. The penalty for huddling at the mound the first time will be a warning (one per team per game) and any subsequent violations of the rule will result in a ball being awarded to the next batter. The current rule allows for teams to huddle after an out.
Teams will have 90 seconds between innings before they are required to be ready to resume play. When the last defensive player crosses the foul line closest to her dugout, the third base umpire, or base umpire in a two-person crew, will start the time using a stopwatch. During the 90 seconds, the pitcher is allowed an unlimited number of warmup pitches. With 30 seconds left, the base umpire will announce how much time is left to the dugouts. When the 90 seconds has expired, the defensive team must be in position to start, including the pitcher in position to throw a pitch, and the offensive team must have its batter in the box ready for the first pitch. If the defensive team is not ready to play after 90 seconds, a ball will be awarded to the batter. If the offensive team does not have a batter in the batter’s box ready to hit, a strike will be assessed to the batter. All substitutions must be done at the beginning of the 90 seconds. If done after the 90 seconds, a warning will be assessed. Currently, there is no time limit between innings; however, pitchers are limited to five warmup pitches.


Institutions and conferences utilizing the three experimental rules will be required to gather data during nonconference and conference games and submit the information to the Softball Rules Committee for review at its annual meeting in June. This data will assist the rules committee in determining whether the experimental rules had any effect on the length of games and speed of play.

Although the experimental rules request did not include use during NCAA postseason, PROP expressed opposition to allowing any experimental rule to be used for NCAA postseason competition. Instead, the group recommended that the Division I, II or III Softball Committees interested in requesting permission to use the experimental rules during NCAA postseason go through the Division I Competition Oversight Committee, the Division II Championships Committee or the Division III Championships Committee.
 

JAD

Feb 20, 2012
8,231
38
Georgia
I agree with the limited conferences per game, but it will be interesting to see how the 90 second rule goes over. With the average college game lasting @ 2 hours, I am not sure how much time they are trying to save...

I would like to see a couple of these rules implemented in travel ball where a lot of games are already time limited and speeding up the pace of play to get in more innings would be a good thing. Very few 90 minute games make it through 7 innings unless both pitchers are mowing down batters.
 
Dec 2, 2013
3,410
113
Texas
I know DD's Travel ball coach will like these rules if they go into affect in the TB scene. I don't know if it will help in this circumstance, but he gets very irritated when the opposing coaches takes the whole 20 seconds to relay the signs to the pitcher/catcher.
 
Jun 27, 2011
5,089
0
North Carolina
I don’t have a problem with the pace of play or length of games in college softball. I enjoy every minute of it. It’s just 2 hours, if that. It’s not like baseball, where the multitude of pitching changes really bogs things down. Nor is it like high school softball, where I sometimes find myself praying, ‘Please let this end. I need some relief!'

Maybe the concern comes from within, meaning shorter games (in particular shorter double-headers) will give student-athletes some cumulative relief from a time-consuming sport. I don’t know.

Travel ball, on the other hand, I’d love to see that sped up because it’s become a timed sport. Anything that might squeeze in another 3-4 innings per team over a weekend tournament is good. That doesn’t mean more time on the field, just more action and less waiting around. Good deal all around.
 
Sep 14, 2011
768
18
Glendale, AZ
Up until this experimental rule was put in place, NCAA was the only sanctioning body that did not have a specific time limit between innings.

All of the rest, (USA SB, NFHS, USSSA, etc) have a "one minute between innings" rule in the book. The issue is that it is not uniformly enforced. More enforcement of this rule would add perhaps an extra inning or so to each timed game.

My big question is how did the NCAA negotiate the between innings time limit with the conferences and their TV networks? Four of the five conferences listed have their own TV networks that televise a lot of softball in the spring. Is that going to be a concern for advertising time?
 
Feb 17, 2014
7,152
113
Orlando, FL
Up until this experimental rule was put in place, NCAA was the only sanctioning body that did not have a specific time limit between innings.

All of the rest, (USA SB, NFHS, USSSA, etc) have a "one minute between innings" rule in the book. The issue is that it is not uniformly enforced. More enforcement of this rule would add perhaps an extra inning or so to each timed game.

My big question is how did the NCAA negotiate the between innings time limit with the conferences and their TV networks? Four of the five conferences listed have their own TV networks that televise a lot of softball in the spring. Is that going to be a concern for advertising time?

I do not think that it will be an issue with televised games. More often than not the players are waiting for the network to come back to resume play.
 
Feb 17, 2014
7,152
113
Orlando, FL
I know DD's Travel ball coach will like these rules if they go into affect in the TB scene. I don't know if it will help in this circumstance, but he gets very irritated when the opposing coaches takes the whole 20 seconds to relay the signs to the pitcher/catcher.

Unless I make a pitching change we go 1 and down after the first inning, with no throwing in IF or OF. Might have a different take if I was in the Great White North. :)
 
Mar 26, 2013
1,934
0
I do not think that it will be an issue with televised games. More often than not the players are waiting for the network to come back to resume play.
AJ's question is whether the 90 seconds is long enough for TV advertisements. If not, they'll have to resume playing before tv comes back. 13 breaks in a 7-inning game x 90 seconds/break is only 19.5 minutes total, which seems light.
 
Feb 17, 2014
7,152
113
Orlando, FL
AJ's question is whether the 90 seconds is long enough for TV advertisements. If not, they'll have to resume playing before tv comes back. 13 breaks in a 7-inning game x 90 seconds/break is only 19.5 minutes total, which seems light.


Do you really think that they will resume play and not wait for ESPN to finish a break? I do not see the tail wagging the dog. :)
 

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