NEW ENGLAND CLUB BASEBALL ASSOCIATION

Official League Charter

MISSION STATEMENT

The New England Club Baseball Association (NECBA) was formed in 2000 with four schools (University of New Hampshire, Boston University, University of New England, and Central Maine Technical College).  The purpose of the league is to offer a competitive baseball experience that meets the needs of the student-athlete and provides a structure to promote collegiate baseball within the region.

The NECBA will continue to enhance collegiate baseball within the region by offering a season schedule in the fall semester which will included a regular season and play-off structure.  The NECBA will continue to assist new teams with the goal to increase playing opportunities for college students by allowing new teams membership within the league.

I.ORGANIZATIONAL

A.Board Of Directors

1.The Board of Directors shall consist of a commissioner, and whatever additional positions deemed necessary by either the commissioner or a majority of the participating schools.

2.Each school will have one vote in selecting individuals for Board positions.

3.Each member of the Board of Directors shall be paid a salary to be determined by the active schools.  The salary amount cannot be changed without majority approval among active schools.

B.Meetings

1.The league will hold two meetings annually, one before September of each year, and one shortly after October.

2.The commissioner will chair all meetings.  No official business may be conducted without the presence or approval of the commissioner.

3.The commissioner will call for additional meetings as needed.

4.All meetings will be held in Massachusetts unless otherwise specified.

C.Treasury

1.The commissioner will cut invoices for each team on September 1 of each year.  The bill for each team will consist of three line items: league dues, umpire fees for the regular season and umpire fees for the playoffs.  The amounts for each line item shall be set by the commissioner at the annual preseason meeting.

2.Payment of the annual invoice is due by September 30.

3.In the event that any team has not paid their invoice by the due date, that team may be subject to forfeit off all subsequent games until dues are paid.

II.GAME SCHEDULE

A.Regular Season

1.Each team will submit to the commissioner no later than the date of the preseason meeting of each year a listing of dates for which they may not be available to play at home or travel to play on the road.

2.The commissioner will compose the regular season schedule considering the availability submitted by the teams.

3.The regular season shall consist of twelve games.

4.All regular season games will be seven innings in length.

B.Playoffs

1.The playoff games shall be held on the third weekend of October unless rescheduled by the commissioner.  The semifinal games will be played on the third Saturday of October, and the championship game will be played on the third Sunday, weather permitting.

2.The commissioner will decide between a four team format and a six team format at the end of the regular season.

3.In the four team format, the teams that finish first in each division will earn playoff berths, and the team with the best record not winning a division will be the Wildcard team.  In the first round, the Wildcard team will play the division winner with the better record out of the two divisions the Wildcard team is not in, and the remaining two division winners will play each other with the team with the better record playing as the home team.  The two remaining teams will play in the championship.

4.In the six team format, the two division winners with the best records will earn a bye.  The other division winner will be the number three seed.  The three teams with the next best records will be wildcards seeded four through six.  In the first round, the number three seeded team will play as the home team against the number six seeded team, and the number four seeded team will play as the home team against the number five seeded team.  In the second round, the number one seeded team will play as the home team against the winner of the game between the number four seeded team and the number five seeded team, and the number two seeded team will play as the home team against the winner of the number three seeded team and the number six seeded team.  The two remaining teams will play in the championship.

5.In the event of a tie in the standings, head to head results between the tied teams shall be used as a tiebreaker.  If that does not resolve the tie, an index will be used, in which each team will be awarded points for each regular season game won amounting to the final winning percentage of the opponent.  If that does not resolve the tie, the win and loss record between teams in the same division will be used.  If that still does not resolve the tie, the win and loss record against other teams that make the playoffs will be used.

6.Of the two teams that make it to the championship game, the team with the better regular season record will play as the home team if the four team format is used, and the team with the higher seed will play as the home team if the six team format is used.

7.The semifinal playoff games will be seven innings in length, and the championship game will be nine innings in length.

III.GAMEPLAY

A.Supplies

1.The home team is responsible for providing a field for games.  The commissioner will assist teams with securing a field.  Failure to have a field ready by 1PM on home dates may result in a forfeit to the visiting team and forfeiture of umpire fees to the league treasury.

2.In any game, whether it is a regular season game or a playoff game, the home team is responsible for providing baseballs.  Baseballs do not need to be any particular brand, but should measure 9 inches and 5 ounces with a “cushioned cork center”.

3.The home team should have any equipment necessary to ready the field for game play, including rakes and shovels in the event of rain.

B.Rules

1.NCAA rules shall be used for game play except where otherwise noted in this charter.

2.All teams should keep a copy of the NCAA rulebook on hand at games.

3.In any regular season game, a visiting team that has a lead of ten runs or more after five innings of play, or a home team that has a lead of ten runs or more after four and a half innings of play shall be declared the winner of the game.  There will be no such mercy rule for any playoff game.

IV.UMPIRES

A.Assignments

1.For regular season games outside the showcase weekend, the home team will be responsible for providing two patched umpires for each regular season home game.

2.The commissioner will assist teams with assigning umpires.

3.The visiting team may play under protest any regular season game in which the home team has not provided two patched umpires, and the home team may be subject to forfeit.

4.The home team will provide any necessary vital information concerning umpires to the commissioner upon request.

B.Fees And Payment

1.The fee for umpires will be set by the commissioner at the annual preseason meeting.

2.The commissioner or treasurer will remit payment to umpires from the league treasury.

V.PLAYERS

A.Rosters

1.Each team may carry a roster of up to twenty-four players, with no limit on adjustments up to and including September 30.  Each team will submit a roster of players to the Commissioner no later than September 30.  Failure to present a roster to the commissioner by this date may result in a $50 fine.

2.A team may play under protest any regular season game after September 30 against an opponent who has not submitted their roster to the commissioner, and the opponent may be subject to forfeit.

3.Any request to add to a roster after September 30 must be approved by the commissioner.  The commissioner may approve additional players if deemed necessary.

B.Regular Season Eligibility

1.Any enrolled student may play for a maximum of four seasons during a six year consecutive period.

VI.AWARDS

A.Trophy

1.The commissioner shall make arrangements with team that won the championship the preceding year to retrieve the presentation model trophy to be available for the championship game of the current year.

2.The commissioner shall present the trophy to the team that wins the championship immediately following the championship game.

3.The team that wins the championship may keep the trophy in their possession until they receive their individual championship trophy from the commissioner.

4.The commissioner will install a plaque on the league trophy each year to document the champion using funds from the treasury.

B.All Stars

1.An all star team consisting of sixteen to twenty batters and four to six pitchers will be selected at the postseason meeting.

2.To be eligible for all star selection, batter must have had twenty-four regular season plate appearances, and pitchers must have had at least fifteen innings pitched.