2016-17 Sport Policies
Football
I. Rules of Play Rules governing Mid-South Conference regular-season and postseason play are the NCAA Football
Playing Rules with NAIA modifications. Any modifications may be found in the Postseason
Competition section of the NAIA Coaches Manual for Football.
NCAA Football Rules:
http://www.ncaapublications.com/productdownloads/FR17.pdf
NAIA Coaches Manual:
http://www.naia.org/fls/27900/1NAIA/Championships/CoachesCorner/Football/FB_Manual.pdf?DB_O
EM_ID=27900
II. General Information A. Participating Members:
East Division
1. Bluefield College
2. Cincinnati Christian University (beginning 2016-17)
3. University of the Cumberlands
4. Georgetown College
5. Kentucky Christian University
6. University of Pikeville
7. Union College
West Division
8. Bethel University
9. Campbellsville University
10. Cumberland University
11. Faulkner University
12. Lindsey Wilson College
13. Reinhardt University
B. Sports Chair: Chris Oliver, Lindsey Wilson College
C. Conference Raters:
1. West Division: Perry Thomas, Campbellsville University (open in 2017)
2. East Division: Bill Cronin, Georgetown College (open in 2017)
D. Sport Fee: No fee for football
E. Official Ball: Teams may select their own official game ball, provided it meets
specifications set forth by the NCAA Football Playing Rules. Since there will not be an
official NAIA football in 2016, teams qualifying for NAIA postseason will continue to
provide and use their ball of choice throughout the 2016 playoffs and National
Championship.
F. 24-Week Practice Rule: Teams may utilize the full 24 weeks of practice/participation
allowed by NAIA rules. Practice opportunities conducted within the allowed 24 week time
period that are not already included in and defined by NAIA and/or MSC rules as preseason, regular season, official NAIA postseason and “spring practice” may only be
1 conducted without helmets, pads of any kind, and may only include contact defined as
“Air” or “Bags” by USA Football (see item VIII).
G. Video evidence must be submitted to the conference in support of any appeals
III. Fall Start Date Each institution may determine their own start date for pre-season football practices in the fall. Each
team shall be limited to 29 practice opportunities (as specified by NCAA definition of practice
opportunity) prior to the first game.
A. Teams must count two (2) practice opportunities per day, Monday thru Saturday, prior to
the first day of formal college activities (e.g. freshman orientation).
B. Teams may count one (1) practice opportunity per day after formal college activities have
begun.
C. Practice opportunities on Sundays do not count toward total.
IV. Regular Season Competition A. The conference will be divided into two divisions (East and West) for the purpose of
regular season scheduling and postseason qualification. The divisions will be as follows:
West Division
Bethel University
Campbellsville University
Cumberland University
Faulkner University
Lindsey Wilson College
Reinhardt University
East Division
Bluefield College
Cincinnati Christian University
University of the Cumberlands
Georgetown College
Kentucky Christian University
University of Pikeville
Union College
B. Regular season competition shall consist of ten (10) conference games including a single
round robin inside the division, and crossover games with teams in the opposite division.
Every effort will be made in scheduling so that teams will play each opponent on a homeand-home basis in alternating years.
C. East/West Division Champions will be determined based on regular season record
against division opponents.
D. All games will be played on Saturdays with a 1:30pm kick-off (local time). Schedule
changes may be made with approval from both participating head coaches and ADs. All
changes must be submitted in writing to the conference office.
E. Compensation for football officials will be as follows for 2015 season:
1. Officials for varsity games will be paid $195 per game/$1,365 per 7-person crew
2. Officials for JV games will be paid $120 per game/$600 per 5-person crew; a
7-person crew may be requested for JV games at a cost of $105 per official/$735
per 7-person crew
3. Members will pay an additional $320 hotel stipend for the season. Officiating
crews traveling more than six (6) hours for a game will be paid a stipend to cover
the cost of three (3) hotel rooms for one night’s lodging. This will be reviewed
annually by the Football Supervisor and Commissioner based on travel
requirements.
F. Ties in regular season games will be broken using the NAIA postseason tiebreaker rule.
G. The following procedures will be adhered to for all conference games:
1. Host institution will provide adequate, convenient and secure space for the
visiting team to dress, conduct meetings, shower, etc. during pre-game, half-time
and post-game activities
2. At least three (3) chairs and space for one filmer will be provided to the visiting
team in the press box area. Visiting coaches will provide their own phone system.
3. The home team will furnish visiting team with ice, water, access to electricity, and
access to press box.
2 4. Visiting team will be responsible for furnishing fans, misters and tents. Visiting
team must give host institution at least 48 hours-notice if electricity and water will
be needed on the sideline for fans and/or misters.
5. The officials must receive a minimum of four (4) footballs from each team one (1)
hour prior to the game. The footballs must be delivered to the officials’ dressing
room.
6. The home team for Mid-South Conference games is responsible for providing
game stats.
7. Security is the responsibility of the home institution. Host institution will make
every effort to provide a barrier that separates team personnel from non-team
personnel. Duly authorized security personnel will be used for enforcement.
a. Teams will be given secure access/egress to and from the field and
dressing area with escort from duly authorized security personnel, if
necessary and/or requested.
b. Fans will be prohibited from post-game access to the playing surface
until the visiting team has vacated the field.
c. Officials will be provided with an escort to and from the field from duly
authorized security personnel during half-time and post-game, if
necessary and/or requested.
8. Three (3) hours prior to the start of the game, an official greeter from the host
school will meet the officials and accompany them to the officials’ dressing room.
Officials will be provided with soap, towels, refreshments, chalk boards, and
other necessary provisions for game preparation.
9. Half-time may be extended to 25 minutes in order to accommodate special
circumstances including field access/egress, half-time activities, etc., with
approval by both head coaches prior to game-day. Teams will be given a
minimum of five minutes warm-up time following the conclusion of any half-time
activities.
V. Game Management A. A maximum of 30 bench passes shall be distributed to the home and visiting teams
before each game.
1. Anyone in the bench area not in uniform must wear a bench pass.
2. No one shall be allowed on either sideline without a uniform or bench pass.
B. The home institution shall notify the visiting team upon arrival at the stadium regarding
the national anthem, introductions and other pre-game procedures.
C. The playing field must be made available for pre-game warm-up no later than 75 minutes
before kick-off
1. Pre-game warm-up areas shall be designated by game management and
communicated with visiting team upon arrival at the stadium.
2. At halftime, the field must be available at least three minutes prior to the start of
the second half.
D. The home team’s seating section must be located on the opposite side of the field from
the visiting team bench. It is recommended that the visiting team should not be required
to enter or exit the field in close proximity to the home team’s student seating area.
E. The home team shall wear dark jerseys and the visiting team shall wear white jerseys.
The home team may wear white jerseys provided that both teams agree.
F. All time-outs after a score or charged full team time-out shall be one-minute fifteen
seconds (1:15) in length to accommodate radio.
G. Pep bands shall not be located behind or beside the visiting team area. No instruments
shall be used under any circumstance while a game is in progress. Bands may perform
during pre-game, halftime, post-game and during timeouts or other official stoppage in
play.
3 H. Artificial noisemakers shall be restricted to pre-game, half-time, post-game, and during
timeouts or other official stoppage in play. The use of artificial noisemakers shall be
strictly prohibited during play and will result in confiscation by game security or game
management.
I. Members of the chain crew and ball boys shall conduct themselves in a professional,
non-biased manner while working the game. Sideline personnel shall dress appropriately
and are strongly discouraged from wearing team apparel, and must be of appropriate age
and skill level to perform the duties, which they are assigned.
J. If both teams must exit the field in the same area, the home team shall wait until the
visiting team has completely exited the playing area before doing so themselves.
Likewise, game management should coordinate teams entering the field in the same area
so that both teams are not entering at the same time. VI. Post Season Competition The two division (East and West) champions will receive the Mid-South Conference automatic berths
in the NAIA National Football Championship per the conference qualification plan. Team must be
ranked in the top 20 in the final regular season poll in order to receive automatic berth:
A. NAIA national qualifying deadlines and tournament dates:
2016
2017
2018
2019
Qualifying
Nov. 12
Nov. 11
Nov. 10
Nov. 16
Opening Round
Nov. 19
Nov. 18
Nov. 17
Nov. 23
National Champ
Dec. 17
Dec. 16
Dec. 15
Dec. 21
B. Ties for Conference Championship and NAIA Automatic Bid
1. In the event of a two-way tie for the Conference Championship, there will be cochampions. The team that won the head-to-head competition will get the
automatic playoff bid, provided that the head-to-head winner is ranked in the top
20 in the final national poll. In the event that the head-to-head winner is not
ranked in the top 20 in the final national poll, the other co-champion will receive
the automatic playoff bid, provided they are ranked in the top 20 in the final
national poll.
2. In the event of a three-way tie for the Conference Championship, there will be trichampions. The team with the highest ranking in the final national poll will get the
automatic playoff bid.
C. Selection Process for NAIA Sanctioned Bowl Game other than Playoffs
1. The Second Place Team, or highest placed team not making the NAIA Playoffs,
(based on conference record only), will be the Mid-South Representative to
compete in Bowl Competition.
2. In the case of a tie for representation to the Post Season Bowl Game, the
following procedures will be followed:
3. Two-way tie: Head to head competition by the two teams involved will determine
the Mid-South Conference Representative.
4. Three or more teams tied: The team with the best winning percentage of the
teams involved based on overall record will represent the Mid-South Conference
in the Post Season Bowl.
5. In the case of two teams still remaining tied after the previous step, then head to
head competition between the two tied teams will dictate who represents the MidSouth Conference in Post Season Bowl Competition.
6. If three or more teams are still tied, then a flip of the coin will determine the
representative of the Mid-South Conference in the Post Season Bowl
Competition
4 VII. Aerial Lifts Aerial lifts may be used for filming, broadcasting or otherwise viewing a football contest. The MidSouth Conference encourages strict safety standards at all times when aerial lifts are being used.
A. The visiting team will be provided with a suitable location to film from the end zone and
sideline.
B. The host institution will be responsible for providing an aerial lift for the visiting team’s use
to film the game. It is the visiting team’s responsibility to contact the host institution in
writing at least two (2) weeks prior to game day to request an aerial lift. If appropriate
written request is not received within the time required, the host institution will not be
required to provide an aerial lift for the visiting team.
C. It is the responsibility of the home institution to determine if weather conditions may
create an unsafe situation, including but not limited to high winds, wind gusts, snow, ice,
hail and rain. If it is determined that unsafe conditions exist, the aerial lift must be lowered
and use discontinued immediately.
D. Minimum height for an aerial lift required for filming games from the end zone is twentyfive (25) feet.
VIII.
Scouting & Film Exchange A. All MSC teams will use Hudl.com for film exchange. Each institution is responsible for
maintaining their own Hudle.com account.
1. The 2016 open library will begin on Sunday, September 18 at 12:00pm. After this
time, all games must be available in the conference pool on Hudl.com.
2. In weeks leading up to the open library date, games should be traded via private
Hudl.com exchange. If there is a discrepancy in the number of games played
before open library, the most recent games will be exchanged on a 1-to-1 basis.
a. EXAMPLE ONE:
Team A plays 8/2, 8/9, 8/16
Team B plays 8/9
Team A & B play on 8/23
i. The exchange will be one (1) game for each team, and shall be
the most recent game.
ii. Team A will get the 8/9 game from Team B, and Team B will get
the 8/16 game from Team A.
iii. The exchange will take place on Sunday, 8/17.
b. EXAMPLE TWO:
Team A plays 8/2, 8/9, BYE 8/16
Team B plays 8/9, 8/15
Team A & B play on 8/23
i. On Sunday 8/10: Team A will get the 8/9 game from Team B,
and Team B will get the 8/2 game from Team A.
ii. On Sunday 8/17: Team A will get the 8/16 game from Team B, and Team B will get the 8/9 game from Team A.
B. In addition to game film, SIDs will also exchange the following by 12:00pm on Monday of
game week:
1. Copy of current season media guide or game program
2. Current roster
3. Current two-deep depth chart for Offense and Defense
4. Up-to-date game results, and team and individual statistics
5. If the information is available on the member institution’s website, it will be
considered to be provided.
C. All teams (home and away) are required to upload a game ordered, intercut copy of their
previous week game no later than 12:00pm on Sunday following the game. Requiring
both teams to film and upload a copy of the game is intended to ensure that there is at
least one good copy of the video, should something go wrong for one team. Teams that
5 cannot meet this deadline due to long travel must notify their next opponent ahead of
time.
D. All game film should include the following: E.
F.
G.
H.
I.
1. Scoreboard shot before each play, as well as between possessions. The pre-play
scoreboard shot should be digitally merged onto the beginning of the play
whenever possible.
2. Shot of the official during penalty announcements.
3. Videographers should try to get all 22 players in the frame pre-snap on normal
Offensive/Defensive snaps.
The following information is required to be included when video is exchanged/added to
the conference pool:
1. Offense/Defense/Kicking
2. Down & Distance
3. Yard Line (using + and – from the offensive/kicking team perspective)
4. Gain or Loss
5. Result of the play (mark ”Penalty” when applicable)
Teams experiencing quality issues with their copy of the video will notify their next
opponent by 12:00pm on Sunday before the game, or as soon as the problem is
discovered. Notification of video issues should be communicated by head coach to head
coach.
MSC teams must not share film in any format with any teams outside of the Mid-South
Conference, unless they are a non-conference opponent. Otherwise, providing video to
teams outside the conference is strictly forbidden.
Tips for upload process:
1. Intercut upload should be one file instead of clips. Clips do not work well with all
editing systems.
2. Before uploading file, convert it to .wmv file, which will help maintain good quality
and speed upload.
3. Work with your IT Department to make sure that upload is at maximum speed.
Networks may be able to free up bandwidth, if they are aware of specific upload
times and specifics.
4. Windows Moviemaker can be used to intercut film. This is free software that is
already loaded on most computers with Windows operating systems. Make sure
that the time stamp on the camera is synchronized.
Coaches should attempt to resolve problems in film exchange among themselves. Any
grievance not resolved between coaches should be registered with the Athletic Director
of the aggrieved school. The Athletic Director will then register the grievance with the
Commissioner. Failure to follow established film exchange procedures or meet deadlines
will result in fines issued by the conference office. Repeated offenses will result in being
suspended from the film exchange system for the remainder of the season.
IX. Spring Practice Each institution may determine the official start date of spring football practice:
A. The official spring practice schedule will consist of fifteen (15) practice opportunities (one
per day) held within a thirty-five (35) consecutive day calendar.
B. Only ten (10) dates may be conducted in full pads with Live Action. The remaining five (5)
dates may be conducted in helmets and shoulder pads (uppers), and may only include
Air, Bags or Control contact as defined by USA Football (see below):
1. Air:
Players run a drill unopposed without contact.
2. Bags:
Drill is run against a bag or other soft-contact surface.
3. Control:
Drill is run at an assigned speed until the moment of
contact. Contact remains above the waist and players stay on
their feet.
4. Thud:
Drill is run at competitive speed through the moment of
6 5. Live Action:
contact. Contact remains above the waist, players stay on their
feet and a quick whistle ends the drill.
Drill is run in game-like conditions and is the only time that
players are taken to the ground.
X. Conference Awards A. Regular Season East Division Conference Champion (Tom Dowling Trophy): Presented
each year based on best division winning percentage
B. Regular Season West Division Conference Champion (Tom Dowling Trophy): Presented
each year based on best division winning percentage
C. Academic All-Conference: Presented to any student-athlete who has successfully
completed at least 24 hours toward graduation and meets the established minimum
cumulative grade point average (3.25).
D. First-Team All-Conference: Two (2) All-Conference teams will be recognized for offense
and defense, one from the East Division and one from the West Division:
Offense
5 Linemen
1 Tight End
2 Wide Receivers
1 Slot Back
1 Quarterback
3 Running Backs
1 Place Kicker
Defense
4 Linemen
4 Linebackers
4 Backs
1 Kick Return Specialist
1 Punter
E. Second-Team All-Conference: Same format as First-Team All-Conference.
F. (Donald Craig Mullins) Offensive Player of the Year: Presented to the top offensive player
in each division selected by coaches.
G. Defensive Player of the Year: Presented to the top defensive player in each division
selected by coaches.
H. Offensive Freshman of the Year: Presented to the top offensive freshman player in each
division selected by coaches.
I. Defensive Freshman of the Year: Presented to the top defensive freshman in each
division selected by the coaches
J. Coach of the Year (Ron Finley Award): Presented to head coach in each division voted
on by coaches.
K. Champions of Character: Presented to one male and female nominee who best displays
the five core values of integrity, respect, responsibility, sportsmanship and servant
leadership. The Administrative Council will establish specific guidelines for the award and
selection process.
L. Offensive Player of the Week: Nominated each week during the regular season and
voted on by the conference SIDs.
M. Defensive Player of the Week: Nominated each week during the regular season and
voted on by the conference SIDs.
N. Special Teams Player of the Week: Nominated each week during the regular season and
voted on by the conference SIDs.
XI. Other A. The use of alcohol, tobacco or tobacco products is not permitted by participants,
coaches, cheerleaders, trainers, game administrators, or officials in the playing areas
during all regular season and conference tournament competition and practices for such
competition. The institution’s coaching staff, athletic administrators, game officials, event
staff or host site coordinator (as applicable) shall enforce this policy through the following
steps:
7 1. The conference office will issue an official warning/reminder to each member
institution and officials association at the beginning of the academic year.
2. Member institutions will post signs in dugouts, locker rooms, weight rooms,
training rooms and other appropriate areas reminding student-athletes about the
policy.
3. Officials will be instructed that any offense by a student-athlete or coach will
result in immediate ejection from the game, tournament or event. All violations
will follow NAIA rules for ejections.
4. Any offense by an athletic administrator or game official must be reported to the
conference office. The Commissioner will be responsible for holding athletic
administrators and game officials accountable and will determine appropriate
penalties.
8