Women’s Lacrosse Code of Conduct
As Of: 1/30/2017
I.
OVERVIEW
A. Administrative Authority
Administrative authority shall be the Sports Committee and overseen by the athletic administrator
appointed as liaison to the Sports Committee and the Association Executive. Any resolution passed
by the Sport Committee must be approved by the Athletic Administrators Committee before it is
enacted and included in the Code of Conduct.
B. Committee Membership
All Landmark members that sponsor women’s lacrosse at the varsity level shall be represented on
the committee. Unless otherwise specified by an institution’s athletics director, an institution’s head
coach shall serve as the representative.
C. Duties of Committee
The committee will meet at least once annually, either in-person or via conference call, to discuss
sport-specific manners, review the code of conduct, and recommend changes to the athletic
administrators as necessary.
D. Sport Chair
The chair shall be appointed by the committee and serve a two-year term.
 Women’s Lacrosse Chair: Danielle Seling, Elizabethtown (May 2016 – April 2018)
 Women’s Lacrosse Vice Chair: Cat Thoreson, Goucher
 Administrative Liaison: Jason Fein, Drew
E. Duties of Chair
The duties of the chair are as follows:
1. Organize meetings of the committee, at least once annually and additionally as necessary;
compile and distribute the agenda for all meetings; supervise the meeting; record attendance
and minutes
2. Provide the Commissioner and the Athletics Administrator Liaison with a written report
outlining all discussion, action, and voting which occurred during the meeting
3. Within one week after the meeting, distribute a copy of the minutes to the members of the
committee, the designated liaison, and the conference office. The Commissioner will distribute
the minutes to delegates of the Athletics Administrators Committee for consideration and vote,
as necessary
4. Communicate and explain voting items to the designated sport liaison
II.
SPORTSMANSHIP/ETHICAL CONDUCT
Sportsmanship and the proper treatment of all individuals are core beliefs of the Landmark Conference
and its members. Students, staff, and all other members of an institution should adhere to the
fundamental values of respect, fairness, civility, honesty, and responsibility. Coaches should conduct
themselves in ways that promote the character development of participants to enhance the integrity of
higher education, and to promote civility in society, student-athletes, coaches, and other participants
associated with athletics programs and events.
III.
ADMINISTRATIVE REGULATIONS
Unless otherwise specified in the Code of Conduct, or the Landmark Bylaws, all institutions shall conduct
their programs according to the guidelines outlined in the most recent edition of the NCAA Division III
manual.
IV.
SPORT-SPECIFIC REGULATIONS
A. Rules
Games shall be conducted per the specifications outlined in the NCAA Women’s Lacrosse rulebook.
B. Scheduling
The conference schedule shall be developed by the conference office and approved by the Athletics
Administrators Committee. In order to minimize missed class time and reduce time away from
campus, all conference games shall be scheduled on Saturdays during the NCAA traditional season,
with one mid-week game.
1. Conference Priority
Conference contests shall take priority over non-conference contests.
2. Game Times
A single game scheduled to take place on a class day shall start no earlier than 4:00 p.m. A single
game scheduled to take place on a non-class day (for both teams) shall start no earlier than 1:00
p.m.
If an institution is hosting two games on the same field on the same day, the first match shall
begin at 1:00 p.m., followed by the second game at 4:00 p.m., or 45 minutes after the
completion of the first game, whichever is later.
Game times may be altered by mutual agreement of the athletics directors from competing
teams.
3. Altering Conference Schedule
With the exception of a team’s final game of the regular season, institutions are free to alter the
approved conference schedule as long as the athletics directors of both competing teams
mutually agree. All changes to the conference schedule must be reported to the conference
office by the host institution.
The final game of the regular season cannot be moved without approval from the conference
office.
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As of: 1/30/2017
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4. Postponed Game
If a game is postponed (due to inclement weather, etc.), the athletics directors of the competing
teams must mutually agree on a make-up date, with the host institution informing the
conference office of the rescheduled date and time.
5. Environmental Conditions at Scheduled Game Time
The following guidelines shall be used regarding environmental conditions:
a. Cold Weather
In the event the wind chill or actual temperature is forecast to be below 5° F
at the start of the contest, and conditions are not forecast to improve
throughout the majority of the competition, then the contest shall be
rescheduled to a time when conditions are expected to have improved, or to
another day.
b. Heat Index
In the event that the wet-bulb globe temperature (WBGT) is greater than 88°
F, then the competition shall be suspended or postponed until a point when
conditions have improved.
The host institution athletic training staff shall be responsible for monitoring weather conditions
and determining whether a contest shall take place, in consultation with staff members from
competing teams and game officials. Every effort to reschedule or postpone a contest shall be
made prior to the visiting team’s departure for the site of competition.
Additional information regarding policies and procedures for extreme heat and cold weather
conditions is available in the Landmark Athletic Trainers Code of Conduct.
6. End of Season
The regular season schedule shall be completed by the Saturday prior to the start of the
conference championship.
C. Contest Management
1. Pre-Game Protocol
It is the responsibility of the host institution to inform the visiting team and all game officials of
the pre-game protocol.
2. Officials
The host institution is responsible for securing qualified officials for all regular season games.
3. Facilities
Facilities shall conform to NCAA standards for competition and shall be ready for competition at
least 60 minutes prior to the game.
4. Equipment
The host institution is responsible for providing game balls.
5. Official Scorer
The host institution shall be responsible for designating a member of their staff as the official
scorer. The official scorer shall record statistics for both teams.
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As of: 1/30/2017
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D. Scouting/Film Exchange
Teams shall use Krossover as the service provider for online film exchange during the season.
It is impermissible for teams to share scouting information (written, verbal, etc.) regarding
conference teams with non-conference teams. Film exchange with non-conference teams is only
permissible in conjunction with the IWLCA Open Exchange program via the conference’s online
exchange provider.
E. Incomplete Season
In the event that a team or teams are unable to complete their conference schedule, the conference
office, in consultation with the athletics directors, if necessary, shall determine the qualifying teams
and seeding for the conference championship. Options for determining seeding and selection
include, but are not limited to: winning percentage in conference contests, treating all games played
against teams that did not complete their season as non-conference games, treating any games that
are unable to be played as forfeits for the responsible team, and other actions, as discovered.
V.
CHAMPIONSHIP REGULATIONS
A. Qualification
The top four teams in the conference standings following the completion of the regular season shall
qualify for the Landmark championship. Standings shall be sorted by conference winning
percentage.
B. Tie-Breaking Procedure
In the event two (or more) teams tie in the conference standings, the following procedure shall be
used to determine seeding for the championship:
1. Head-to-head record amongst all tied teams in contests that count toward the conference
standings
2. Comparison of tied teams’ records against remaining teams in conference standings in
descending order (starting at No. 1)
3. Goal differential in games played amongst tied teams, with a maximum differential of seven
goals per game
4. Road winning percentage in conference games (only if tied teams played the same number of
away conference games)
5. Head-to-head results between and among all tied teams in all regular season contests (only if
tied teams played the same amount of contests against other tied teams)
6. Head-to-head record against common non-conference opponents at same site
7. Head-to-head record against common non-conference opponents at different site
8. Coin flip (or similar random action)
Application of Tie-Breaking Procedure
In a tie of more than two teams, tie-breakers shall be applied in descending order until a team or a
group of teams have gained an advantage and the initial tie has been broken. Teams shall be seeded
accordingly based upon where they rank within the group of tied teams. If a sub-group (or groups)
of tied teams are created by applying tie-breaking criteria to the original group, the tie-breaking
process begins anew for the sub-group (or groups) until all teams can be seeded.
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In a tie of more than two teams, when a random action is used to break the tie, the tie-breaking
process shall begin anew starting with the first criteria (head-to-head) once one team has gained the
advantage.
In the event of multiple ties in the standings, the ties will be broken in descending order, unless a
lower seeded tie can be broken by using the first criteria (head-to-head). When comparing tied
teams against positions lower in the standings which are also tied, those “lower tied positions” shall
be considered as a “single position” for purposes of comparison, unless those “lower tied positions”
were broken through head-to-head comparison.
If two or more groups of teams are tied, the seeding for one group of tied teams, even if determined
by a random action, shall be considered for tie-breaking purposes for any remaining groups.
C. Format
The championship shall be conducted during the week that precedes the NCAA tournament
selection date. The team that wins the championship shall receive the conference’s automatic
qualification to the NCAA tournament.
Semifinals
The semifinal round shall take place on the Wednesday prior to NCAA tournament selections. The
higher-seeded team shall host. If a higher-seeded team is unable to host, then the lower-seeded
team shall be afforded the opportunity to host. Match time is at the discretion of the host
institution, but cannot be before 4:00 p.m.
If an institution is scheduled to host both a men’s and women’s semifinal on the same game field,
then the following procedure shall be used:
If the facility has lights, then game times shall be set at 4:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m., or 45 minutes
following the completion of the first game, whichever is later. In odd years, the women’s semifinal
will be first, followed by the men’s; in even years, the men’s semifinal will be first, followed by the
women’s.
If the facility does not have lights, then in odd years the women’s semifinal shall be held on Tuesday
and the men’s semifinal shall be held on Wednesday, and in even years the men’s semifinal shall be
held on Tuesday and the women’s semifinal shall be held on Wednesday. Match time is at the
discretion of the host institution, but cannot be before 4:00 p.m.
Championship
The final round shall take place on the Saturday prior to NCAA tournament selections. The higherseeded team shall host. If a higher-seeded team is unable to host, then the lower-seeded team shall
be afforded the opportunity to host. Match time is at the discretion of the host institution.
If an institution is scheduled to host both the men’s and women’s final on the same game field, then
game times shall be set by the host between 12:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m., with the second final
beginning at the announced time or 45 minutes following the completion of the first game,
whichever is later. In odd years, the women’s final will be first, followed by the men’s; in even years,
the men’s final will be first, followed by the women’s.
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As of: 1/30/2017
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D. Contest Management
The host institution shall follow the contest management guidelines as outlined for the regular
season.
1. Pre-Game Protocol
It is the responsibility of the host institution to inform the visiting team and all game officials of
the pre-game protocol. Only starting players shall be announced.
2. Officials
The conference office shall be in charge of assigning officials for all championship matches. The
host institution is responsible for the payment of all officials during the championship.
The host institution is responsible for providing game management officials (site director, PA
Announcer, ball persons, etc.) for all matches it hosts. Game management personnel are to be
neutral in the performance of their duties.
3. Post-Championship Protocol
Following the completion of the championship, the two teams shall line up and exchange
handshakes. After shaking hands, teams shall line up in front of their bench area for a brief
awards ceremony.
When announced, the captains from the championship team shall step forward and accept the
championship award. After the award has been distributed, the runner-up team may depart the
facility. Following the departure of the runner-up team, the championship team shall gather for
an official team photo.
E. Awards
The champion shall receive a trophy. A championship MVP shall be named following the completion
of the final, as determined by the host institution’s sports information director or their designate.
Individuals from the championship team shall receive a prize. No other awards or recognition shall
be given.
F. Incomplete Championship
Every effort shall be made to conduct the championship as scheduled. Prior to any match being
postponed or rescheduled, the host institution Athletics Director shall work with the conference
office and the visiting team’s Athletics Director to determine the best course of action. Should it
become necessary (due to unplayable conditions, inclement weather, etc.), a higher-seeded team
may be advanced to the next round in order to complete the championship. If all attempts to
complete the championship have failed, then the highest remaining seed shall receive the
conference’s AQ to the NCAA tournament.
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As of: 1/30/2017
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VI.
ANNUAL AWARDS
The conference office shall manage the annual awards program. All teams are required to vote for
conference honors. Teams cannot vote for their own nominees.
A. All-Landmark Teams
Two All-Landmark teams shall be named following the completion of the regular season, with each
team consisting of 13 individuals. Teams shall consist of three attackers, four midfielders, three
defenders, one goalkeeper, and two at-large selections.
Each team may nominate up to eight individuals for All-Landmark consideration.
B. Individual Awards
The following individual honors shall be voted on by the coaches and recognized by the conference:
1. Player of the Year
2. Rookie of the Year; nominees for ROTY must be in their first year of intercollegiate competition
3. Coaching Staff of the Year
C. All-Sportsmanship Team
The All-Sportsmanship Team recognizes student-athletes who epitomize the ideals of
sportsmanship. Student-athletes selected to the All-Sportsmanship team demonstrate fair play,
graciousness in victory and respectfulness in defeat. They are ambassadors for the team, both on
and off the field, and galvanize their teammates toward their goals. These student-athletes exhibit
respect for themselves, teammates, coaches, opponents, officials, spectators, and the greater
campus community.
During the All-Landmark nomination period, each team will nominate one individual who embodies
these ideals throughout the season to be a member of the Landmark All-Sportsmanship team. These
individuals will be selected by their own team and coaching staff and submitted to the Conference
Office. Only one student from each team shall be honored. Each nominee has achieved varsity
status as a member of their team.
VII.
DISPUTES
Disputes shall be handled at the institutional level. If a dispute cannot be resolved by the Athletics
Directors of involved institutions, then the Landmark Conference Commissioner shall intervene in order
to facilitate a resolution.
Landmark Women’s Lacrosse Code of Conduct
As of: 1/30/2017
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