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Frequency of Play Start Dates (with Beach Volleyball
from 2022 Rules Updates Recaps
by NAIA
Frequency of Play Updates Start Dates & New Championship Sport – Beach Volleyball
Article I, Section H, Item 5: Practice & Competition Start Dates
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Effective August 1, 2022 Frequency of play, practice and scheduling policies shall be applied only during the period of August 1 to May 15, pursuant to the following specifications. The start date specified is the earliest possible date on which any activity meeting the definition of a practice or competition may occur, though teams are free to choose a later date. Scrimmages and exhibitions are excluded and not subject to the start date for competitions. New EXCEPTION: If a sport holds its national championship in the spring and an affiliated conference/Continental Athletic Conference (CAC) (formerly the Association of Independent Institutions) completes its qualifying competition for postseason in the fall academic term, then the start date for practices, scrimmages and exhibitions for participating conference/CAC teams is 17 days prior to the first allowable competition, not to precede August 1.
Sport
Start Date for Practices, Scrimmages, & Exhibitions Start Date for Competitions
Baseball
Basketball (men’s and women’s) September 1
Thursday, September 1, 2022
Thursday of last full week in January for games occurring after winter break; Thursday, January 26, 2023
Fall games are permissible anytime beginning September 1 Thursday, September 1, 2022
35 days prior to first allowable game Thursday, September 22, 2022
Beach volleyball September 1 Thursday, September 1, 2022
Bowling (men’s and women’s) September 1 Thursday, September 1, 2022
Thursday of last full week in January for dates occurring after winter break; Thursday, January 26, 2023
Fall dates are permissible anytime beginning September 1 Thursday, September 1, 2022
September 1 Thursday, September 1, 2022
Competitive cheer September 1 Thursday, September 1, 2022
Competitive dance September 1 Thursday, September 1, 2022
Cross country (men’s and women’s)
Football
Golf (men’s and women’s) 17 days prior to first allowable meet Monday, August 8, 2022
24 days prior to first allowable game, not to precede August 1 Monday, August 1, 2022
7 days prior to first allowable competition Thursday, August 18, 2022
Lacrosse (men’s and women’s) Soccer (men’s and women’s) Softball September 1 Thursday, September 1, 2022
17 days prior to first allowable game, not to precede August 1 Monday, August 1, 2022
September 1 Thursday, September 1, 2022
Swimming and diving (men’s and women’s) Tennis (men’s and women’s) Indoor track and field (men’s and women’s) Outdoor track and field (men’s and women’s)
Volleyball (men’s) September 1 Thursday, September 1, 2022
September 1 Thursday, September 1, 2022
September 1 Thursday, September 1, 2022
September 1 Thursday, September 1, 2022
September 1 Thursday, September 1, 2022
September 1 Thursday, September 1, 2022
September 1 Thursday, September 1, 2022
4th Thursday in August Thursday, August 25, 2022
4th Thursday in August Thursday, August 25, 2022
4th Monday in August Monday, August 23, 2022
September 1 Thursday, September 1, 2022
3rd Thursday in August Thursday, August 18, 2022
Thursday of last full week in January for games occurring after winter break; Thursday, January 26, 2023
Fall games are permissible anytime beginning September 1 Thursday, September 1,2022
September 1 Thursday, September 1, 2022
September 1 Thursday, September 1, 2022
September 1 Thursday, September 1, 2022
September 1 Thursday, September 1, 2022
Thursday of last full week in January for dates occurring after winter break; Thursday, January 26, 2023
Volleyball (women’s) 17 days prior to first allowable competition date, not to precede August 1 Monday, August 1, 2022
Wrestling (men’s and women’s) 35 days prior to first allowable game Thursday, September 22, 2022
Fall dates are permissible anytime beginning September 1 Thursday, September 1, 2022
3rd Thursday in August Thursday, August 18, 2022
Frequency of Play – Limits Update Effective August 1, 2022
Sport Baseball Number of Games/ Contests/ Playing Dates 50 contests
Basketball (men’s and women’s)
Beach volleyball Bowling (men’s and women’s) Competitive cheer
Competitive dance 28 games Note - For the sport of basketball, an institution is allowed one or more exhibition competitions per season so long as the total number of games, exhibitions and scrimmages does not exceed 30. 26 dates 14 contests
10 cheerleading contests. A student may not participate in more than 10 total dates between competitive cheer and competitive dance. 10 dance contests. A student may not participate in more than 10 total dates between competitive cheer and competitive dance.
Cross country (men’s and women’s) 7 meets
Football 11 games, with a student limited to participating in no more than 15 contests. (This includes varsity, junior varsity, freshman games and scrimmages.) Golf (men’s and women’s) 12 matches/tournaments
Lacrosse (men’s and women’s) Soccer (men’s and women’s)
Softball Swimming and diving (men’s and women’s) 18 games
18 games played at any time during the sport season. Three additional dates to be played only after the fall term has concluded. The three additional dates may be played only during weekends and other nonscheduled class dates, according to the academic calendar. 50 contests 12 meets
Tennis (men’s and women’s) 24 dates/tournaments and/or scrimmages (except for the ITA exception listed below).
Indoor track and field (men’s and women’s) 10 meets counted on the basis of an individual student’s participation in the meet
Outdoor track and field (men’s and women’s) Volleyball (men’s) Volleyball (women’s) Wrestling (men’s and women’s) 10 meets or (12 meets if indoor track is not sponsored) counted on the basis of an individual student’s participation in the meet 26 dates 26dates
18 dates
FAQ’s:
Q: I thought the NAIA operated off of a 24-week season where all competition and practice takes place in the allotted 24 weeks. Is this changing?
A: No, the 24-week season is still in effect and is unchanged by this bylaw amendment. However, what is being changed through this bylaw amendment is a more structured approach for when some sports may begin their 24-week season. Some sports highlighted in the bylaw amendment would have a structured time when their practices and/or competitions may start.
Q: Will practice and competition start dates be determined for each sport?
A: No. Only some sports are given specific practice and/or competition start dates. These sports have been selected due to the extensive research that has been done on the sports’ average season length, travel, and commitments of student-athletes and support staff.
Other factors regarding specific demands of the particular season may also come into play. As an example, a survey of campus presidents showed that more than half viewed student-athletes returning fall as a significant burden on their institution due to the early return of student-athletes prior to the rest of the student body and the resulting challenges created. As a result, this bylaw amendment employs practice and game start dates in fall sports to try to balance (1) a more appropriate return time for fall sport student-athletes (2) appropriate time to acclimatize and condition prior to competitions (3) appropriate time to conduct a non-conference and regular season schedule prior to postseason timelines.
Q: Many of our spring sports start in the fall due to the severe weather we sometimes see occurring into the spring months. Will we be able to conduct our seasons in the fall if a specific competition start date is given for spring sports?
A: Yes, conducting fall competitions for spring sports would continue to be permitted. See the sports of baseball and softball for example. These sports typically hold many fall games or scrimmages to prepare their teams for the spring season. The bylaw amendment accommodates for these sports by allowing fall games to occur like normal and can begin anytime after August 1. Start dates that are specified for practices and games in the spring apply only to the winter/spring terms.
Q: How does the season of competition bylaw (Article V, Section B, Item 19) where a student is not charged a season if they compete in less than 20% of the frequency of play limits effect this bylaw?
A: The calculation for 20% will be based off of the frequency of play maximum limit as it currently reads in the bylaws.
This bylaw will go into effect August 1, 2022 to allow for institutions to make appropriate changes to their athletics schedules. At that time, the 20% threshold will then be calculated based off of the decreased frequency of play limits (in applicable sports).
Q: Can we play scrimmages and exhibitions prior to the start date of competition?
A: Yes, this bylaw excludes scrimmages and exhibitions from the “competition start date.” These contests can occur any time after the start date of practices.
Q: Will strength and conditioning sessions be restricted to the practice start date?
A: Practice is defined in Article I, Section G, Item 6, of the NAIA bylaws. Strength and conditioning sessions are excluded from the definition of a practice and therefore can happen at any time. From the NAIA Interpretation Library, this article, this article and this article will be helpful to read to determine what can occur on or after the start day specific to practice.
Q: In the sport of football, can the football acclimatization period happen before the start date for practices?
A: No. The football acclimatization period meets the definition of a practice and therefore cannot start until the designated practice start date, which is specified as 24 days prior to the first allowable competition in football. The first allowable competition in football is the fourth Thursday in August.
To use the 2021 season as an example, the first allowable competition could occur on Thursday, August 26, meaning the first allowable practice day would be Monday, August 2. (Note that if the calendar falls in such a way as the fourth Thursday in August is early in the month, the earliest possible start date for football will always be restricted to August 1. A football team will never be permitted to begin fall practices prior to August 1.)
Q: Can there still be open gyms or voluntary workouts prior to the first day of practice?
A: Yes. This bylaw does not require students to refrain from activity, but prevents athletically related activities that are organized or directed by a member of the coaching staff. Students would be free to work out or practice on their own if they choose.
Q: Can teams still practice and compete over the summer?
A: Yes. The portion of the bylaw that speaks to practice regulations states that the practice regulations apply during the period of August 1 – May 15. Summer months of May 16 – July 31st are not regulated and teams are free to practice and compete as they see fit. (Note there are specific regulations in place
detailing if/how incoming freshmen or new transfer students are permitted to practice and/or compete with a team over the summer before they have identified with the NAIA institution.)
Q: Who will be tasked with tracking this? Will we have to start submitting practice logs?
A: Practice logs will not be required. As with the vast majority of our rules, the onus will be on NAIA member institutions to track these practice and competition start dates, and report any violations that may occur.
Q: What about the other sports that do not have any changes proposed? Are they required to change their practice or competition start date?
A: Many of the sports that have not been addressed in this bylaw amendment are relatively new in the NAIA. Sports such as bowling, competitive cheer, competitive dance, and lacrosse are still developing within the NAIA. As those sports continue to develop and their regular season structure and length stabilizes, if similar concerns are raised the start dates for those sports could always be reviewed and potentially addressed in a subsequent bylaw proposal if necessary.
For other traditional sports not addressed here (like tennis, swimming and diving, and track and field), those sports were evaluated and found to not experience the same duration and/or level of concern as the other sports addressed in this bylaw amendment. At this time, the sponsors did not feel adjustments were necessary to these regular season formats.
Q: Is beach volleyball considered a separate sport from indoor volleyball?
A: Yes, beach volleyball and indoor volleyball are considered separate sports and will be held to separate 24-week seasons and frequency of play limits. Similar to indoor volleyball certification, every beach volleyball student-athlete will be required to be certified as eligible under the beach volleyball eligibility certificate at the time of competition.
Q: My school has created a beach volleyball program, though most of the team are also members of our indoor volleyball team. Our indoor volleyball team wishes to practice indoors with their indoor volleyball coach during the spring term. Would this count towards the 24-week season for indoor or beach, or both?
A: There are current examples of intercollegiate sports where the training for each sport is similar in nature (i.e., indoor and outdoor track and field). While the training might look very similar for both sports, we honor different 24-week seasons for each sport season. We will honor the fact that this volleyball team is practicing indoors under the general rules and structure of indoor volleyball, even though it is practice activity that could also be beneficial towards beach volleyball. As such, we will consider this activity to be indoor practice and separate from beach volleyball’s 24-week season. The caveat to this is that beach volleyball must be declared as a varsity program (column A or B) on the Declaration of Intent form.
Q: Why is the limit established as 26 dates?
A: The frequency of play limitation for indoor volleyball will be reduced to 26 dates starting at the beginning of the 2022-2023 academic year. The National Administrative Council (NAC) oversees the process by which a sport transitions from emerging to invitational to championship status and, in conjunction with the Beach Volleyball Coaches Association, has determined there is no reason to
structure beach volleyball frequency of play limitations in a different way than the indoor volleyball programs.
Q: Why are these frequency of play limits being proposed at this time?
A: Beach Volleyball is completing Year 1 of Invitational Sport status this year (2021-2022). In Year 2 of Invitational status (2022-2023), any NAIA institution who sponsors an intercollegiate beach volleyball team is required to abide by all NAIA regulations, including frequency of play limits. Accordingly, the NAIA must determine the appropriate frequency of play limitations for beach volleyball at this time so that these limits are in place for the 2022-2023 year.
Q: I have a beach volleyball student-athlete that is currently in their 10th semester term of attendance during this spring 2022 term. Will this student’s terms of attendance limits “start over” when the sport moves to invitational year-2?
A: No. Per the Council of Faculty Athletics Representatives Policy, a student-athlete moving from an emerging sport to invitational year-2 will still be held to the same eligibility standards as all current NAIA athletes. At the time of certification, if the student-athlete has exhausted all terms of attendance (10 semesters/ 15 quarters), then the student-athlete no longer has eligibility remaining to compete in the NAIA.
Q: If a student has exhausted all of their seasons of competition in indoor volleyball, would they be able to use their remaining terms of attendance to compete in beach volleyball?
A: Yes. A student athlete gets four seasons of competition in a given sport, and indoor volleyball and beach volleyball are considered separate sports. If a student has exhausted four seasons of competition in indoor volleyball, but still has remaining terms of attendance (from the COVID exemptions, or otherwise) this student will be able to compete in beach volleyball while using their remaining terms.
