Updated January 2025

 Note--Except in the case of emergencies or approval by the conference office, changes to sport regulations by sport committees must be proposed no later than 30 days prior to in-person conference meetings, and approved by the Advisory Board meeting held prior to the start of each subsequent season--May meetings for Fall sports, October meetings for Winter sports, January meetings for Spring sports.  (Updated May 2022)

SECTION 1.0 PLAYING SEASON AND SCHEDULING

1.1 Soccer schedules for each institution shall be the responsibility of the athletics director or his/her designated representative, and conference schedules shall be approved by the athletic director after being facilitated by the Conference Commissioner. Agreements for conference contests shall be initiated by the athletic representative of the host institution to the visiting institution for approval no later than 30-days prior to the official start of the NCAA season. (Agreements may be contracts or other forms of written confirmation.)

1.1.1 Schedules shall be proposed by the conference office and approved by the athletic directors; the schedule shall include the designated number of conference games, and may include non-conference games against conference opponents.  Teams may opt out of non-conference games against conference opponents with written agreement between the teams involved and written approval by the Commissioner (i.e. schedule change approval process).  (Note: beginning with the 2023 season, teams may opt in to non-conference games against conference opponents.  Competing schools are responsible for the final scheduling of these non-conference games versus conference opponents and notifying the conference office).  (Updated May 2022)

1.1.2 Any adjustments to the approved conference Soccer schedule must go through the schedule change approval process (with written approval by all teams involved and the Commissioner).  (Updated October 2022)

1.2 Men's and women's conference soccer contests shall be doubleheaders, with a rotation between the men's and women's team conference game times starting first every two years.  (Updated January 2020)

1.3 Institutions have the right to ask for a schedule change request if institutional conditions merit a change in this order of specific dates and contests, based on written approval by both athletic directors and the Commissioner.

1.4 Mandatory 30-minutes between women's and men's matches.

1.5  Weekend getaway times may be agreed upon between institutions with approval from the Commissioner. Weekend getaway dates are defined as the final game of a road series outside the pod (or geographical region, i.e. Hawai'i, NorCal/San Francisco Bay area, Southern California). Requesting weekend getaway times is the responsibility of the visiting school and must be made by July 1 for fall sports, September 1 for winter sports, and December 1 for spring sports.  Weekend getaway dates must be accommodated by the home school, as long as the visiting team is making a flight (or departing) that same day/night.  A request may be denied by the Home school if they have multiple home events scheduled on that same date.  (Updated May 2013, revised May 2014, May 2022) 

Times for such weekend getaway dates shall be mutually agreed upon between schools in writing with written approval by the Commissioner.  Weekend getaway dates are Saturday or Sunday, and federal holidays that fall on Mondays (Updated June 2011) The final home game of the season (traditionally known as Senior Night) is exempt from the Weekend Getaway Date Rule. (Updated February 2011)

1.6 A maximum of three conference games may be played in a seven-day period, in reference to rescheduling postponed games. (Updated August 2021)

SECTION 2.0 GAME MANAGEMENT/CONDITIONS OF COMPETITION

2.1 A minimum of 26 seats must be available for visiting team for all PacWest contests. (Updated May 2022)

2.2 All contests shall be conducted under NCAA rules and regulations. All member institutions shall observe the NCAA starting date for pre-season practice regardless of geographic location. No geographic exceptions are allowed.

2.3 The length of the season shall be the same as that described in the NCAA manual.

2.4 Administrator in Charge - The Host School Administrator in Charge should be available at all times throughout the event and should not be a coach involved in the game.  The administrator in charge shall be on site throughout the competition and must introduce themselves to the opposing coach and/or opposing administrator prior to the contest. (Updated May 2022)

2.5 Balls - A minimum of four NCAA-approved game balls will be provided by the host team. Practice balls must be provided by individual teams.

2.6 Ball Persons - Home teams must provide a minimum of four (4) ball persons ("chasers") of a reasonable age and ability (10 years and older). Schools can have additional ball persons, if they so desire.

2.7 Field Markings - Field markings shall confirm to NCAA rules at all conference facilities. All fields must have the coaches' boxes marked.

2.8 Photographers Line - Must abide by Article 1.13 in NCAA Soccer Rules

2.9 Spectators Line - Must abide by the Article 1.15 in NCAA Soccer Rules

2.10 Forms - Each coach must provide the game referee and opposing head coach with the official NCAA roster.

2.11 Halftime - Halftimes for all conference games shall follow NCAA specifications.

2.12 Pre-Game Protocol - Pre-game protocol for all conference games will follow NCAA specifications.

2.13 The host institution must provide a reserved parking space or a parking pass for an easily accessible and safe area to all assigned officials and the visiting team’s travel party. (Updated January 2024)

2.13.1 The host institution shall reimburse the visiting institution or officials for any team vehicles that were charged to park at the competition site.

2.14 The host institution will provide locker rooms and sanitary bathrooms. If host institution does not have locker rooms, they must submit in writing to each visiting coach the best available option.

2.15 Visiting teams who need locker rooms or meeting room space must make request in writing at least 72 hours in advance of conference contest; home teams must respond at least 24 hours prior to game time. (Updated January 2016)

2.16 Sportsmanship and Responsibility.  

2.16.1 The head coach is directly responsible for bench conduct. In PacWest Conference contests, if any team personnel noted as the "Bench" receives a yellow card, red card or ejection from game officials, the head coach shall also receive a yellow card, red card or ejection, and will serve the same penalty as the person or persons who specifically were charged by officials. The penalty for the head coach shall be administered by the conference office and can allow for a head coach who has been assessed a 2.16.1 (bench conduct suspension for head coaches)  penalty to serve the conference-assessed suspension in the next subsequent game after any suspensions are served by other members of the coaching staff. (January 2025)

SECTION 3.0 CHAMPIONSHIPS

3.1 The conference champion shall be determined by conference regular season play. Each team receives three (3) points for a conference win and one (1) point for a conference tie. In case of a tie for first place in the conference standings, co-champions shall be declared. (The conference champion shall be declared the automatic bid recipient, except in the case of a tie.). (Updated August 2016) 

3.2 The tie-breaker criteria for the conference tournament, or for the conference automatic berth (if the conference does not have a tournament), shall be as follows (Updated May 2024):

1. Head to Head Results
2. If tied, head to head goal differential (in conference games between tied teams)
3. If still tied, conference season goal differential (remove existing goal differential cap)
4. If still tied, record vs common opponents
5. If still tied, goals for in conference play
6. If still tied, goals against in conference play
7. If still tied, record vs conference teams in descending order
8. If still tied, Fair Play Conduct Points
9. If still tied, coin flip

SECTION 4.0 EQUIPMENT

4.1 The official ball used for all conference games shall be the official ball of NCAA Championships. (Updated May 2022)

4.2 A cost-effective visible clock must be on site for timing purposes during conference contests. The game administrator will work with officiating crew to make sure this visible clock is the official time.

SECTION 5.0 OFFICIALS

5.1 Certified Officials for regular-season competitions will be selected and contracted by the host institution, and shall be obtained from a credible and established organization for all games. All conference games will be officiated using the three-person diagonal system. A fourth official is allowed, if desired.

5.1.1 Officials shall not use video replay for any in-contest rulings. (Updated May 2016)

5.2 Finalized schedules including non-conference matches shall be submitted to the Officials Assignor(s) and Conference Office not later than July 1 prior to the season.  (January 2025)

5.3 Conference member institutions are responsible for the payment of all officials assigned to their home regular season contests unless an alternative agreement regarding officials’ payment has been made with the Conference Office or the opposing institution in advance of the contest. Official fees are designated by the Conference Office and payment to the official must be issued within 30 days of the date of the contest they officiated via the designated platform. The payment platform designated by the Conference Office (e.g., RefQuest) should be used by the institution to issue payment to officials. Prior to the start of each sports season, a member of each institution’s staff should be designated as the point person on the payment platform (e.g., RefQuest Pay) and this person will be responsible for ensuring that officials’ payments are issued in accordance with this regulation. (January 2025)

SECTION 6.0 AMPLIFIERS, NOISEMAKERS AND OTHER SOUND GENERATING DEVICES

6.1 Per NCAA rule (Updated May 2018), artificial noisemakers are permitted, unless institutional policy applies.

6.2 Bands or any component thereof shall not play while the game is in progress.

6.3 Host institution bands may not be seated behind the visiting team bench.

6.4 Auxiliary public address systems utilized by home or visiting institution spirit groups must:

• Be approved by the home event management and coordinated with the primary public address system so as not to interrupt, alter or in any other way impede the function of the primary public address system.
• Must not be used with the intent of preventing a team a reasonable and fair environment in which to compete.

6.4.1 Any violation of this provision shall immediately result in the discontinued use of the system.

6.5 Air horns may only be used by home team game management for substitution and other game-related purposes.

6.6 Use of whistles is the exclusive right of the game officials.

6.7 Amplifying devices such as megaphones may not be used to direct obscenities, vulgar language, racist or sexist remarks toward any participants, spectators, or officials at any time. Violations to this provision shall result in immediate confiscation of the device(s), and possible removal of violator from the venue.

SECTION 7.0 SPORTS INFORMATION REQUIREMENTS/VIDEO POLICY

7.1 Each Conference member shall designate a SID and see that the institution is in compliance with all Sports Information guidelines stated herein.  The home team must provide a complete and accurate NCAA formatted box score to both teams at the end of each period. Upon completion of the contest, the home team is to distribute as soon as possible to the visiting team coaching staff a full box score or play-by-play upon request.

7.2 The host SID shall ensure that the public address and live stream announcers confer with a representative of the visiting team to gather pertinent information, regarding roster changes and proper pronunciation for team personnel.

7.3 Officials' complete names shall be noted on the final box score.

7.4 A copy of the StatCrew/NCAA LiveStats file must be e-mailed to the Visiting SID and to the conference office as soon as possible at the conclusion of the contest (in case of doubleheaders, the file for the first game must be sent prior to the start of the second game).

7.5 If possible, all home teams shall provide access to WiFi for the visiting SID/media.

7.6 Upon request from the host SID, the visiting SID, whether traveling with the team or not, is to provide releases and updated statistics for distribution to the media in attendance at the contest.

7.7 Numerical rosters and pronunciation guides for each conference sport shall be provided to the conference office for distribution to member schools no later than two weeks prior to the first regularly scheduled contest.

7.8 All teams, both home and visiting, and officials are entitled to a 10-minute cooling-off period following the match. The 10-minute period commences once that team reaches its locker room.

7.9 Visiting media shall coordinate requests for credentials and access to WiFi through their local SID at least 24 hours in advance of the event. It is understood that when press section seating is limited, the priority shall be as follows:

  *   Official Scorer and Statistical Crews
  *   Radio/TV broadcasters phone access
  *   National media
  *   Local daily print media
  *   Visiting daily print media (or stringer)
  *   Host SID
  *   Visiting SID
  *   Local/Visiting periodical/weekly print media
 

7.10 VIDEO POLICY

7.10.1 The home team shall provide a video to the visiting team after each game. Sound is required.

7.10.2 Each conference member home team is responsible for exchanging video of the game to the visiting conference team immediately after the game on a SD card. SD cards shall be provided by the visiting team--SD cards must be a minimum of 32GB. (Updated May 2016)

7.10.3  All conference contests and all DII non-conference matches shall be uploaded to the designated video exchange server within the time frame noted in 7.10.5. (Updated January 2016)

7.10.4 Height requirement for shooting video is at least 20-feet above ground surface. Institutions who have facility and/or logistical issues and may have issues with this height requirement should contact the conference office to see if an exception may be granted. (Updated January 2016)

7.10.5 The host institution is responsible for loading the entire contest video onto the PacWest designated video exchange server (Hudl) within 24 hours of completion of play, or up to 48 hours if the next day is a Sunday or a holiday. A short extension of time will be allowed for teams participating in DII non-conference tournaments on the road where video is out of their control to upload their video upon returning home. (In these circumstances, teams must notify the PacWest office if video upload will not completed within time guidelines. A weather exception is granted in case of inclement weather). (Updated July 2017)

7.10.6 Violations to this protocol are to be reported by the Director of Athletics or his/her designee to their opposing counterparts and the PacWest Commissioner within five (5) business days. The penalty for not providing video by deadlines is $250 for the first offense and $500 for the second offense, paid to the conference office-with funds received used for conference special projects. (Updated January 2016)

7.10.7 After first warning, the penalty for failure to upload less than a full contest or to upload a video deemed poor quality is $250, enforced after review at the discretion of the Commissioner.

7.10.8 The conference office should be notified if procedures are not being followed. The responsibility for the uploading and downloading of video rests with the coaching staff of each institution, working in compliance with their own institutional staffing.

7.10.9 "Live" scouting of conference opponents in the sports of men's and women's soccer is permitted.

SECTION 8.0 SPORTS MEDICINE REQUIREMENTS

8.1 The host institution shall provide the following to visiting teams:

1. Athletic Trainer on site a minimum of 1.5 hours prior to competition
2. Efficient Amount of Water
3. Emergency equipment ready for use.
4. Hospital facility maps.

8.2 The visiting team shall provide:

1. Timely notification to the host team's athletic trainer if a athletic trainer is unable to accompany the traveling team.
2. An athletic training kit for its own use that is to include emergency medical cards containing the following information: athlete's name, address, emergency contact with phone number, brief medical information including medication allergies and insurance information.
3. A written note for any athlete requiring treatment by modalities other than heat or an ice pack.

8.3 In the event of injury to an athlete on a visiting team, the host athletic trainer will facilitate proper treatment, notify the appropriate athletic administrator of the visiting team if the injury is severe or catastrophic, and send an injury report form or written notification to the visiting team's athletic trainer.

SECTION 9.0 AWARDS

9.1 The all-conference teams shall be selected by the method as described in the bylaws and/or appendices to the bylaws. 

SECTION 10.0 TOBACCO USAGE

10.1 Tobacco usage by athletes, coaches, officials and event staff is strictly prohibited at all PacWest athletic events, including practice sessions.

10.2 Violators are subject to contest suspension for each offense. Following a team's first offense, head coaches in addition to the violator are subject to suspension for each additional offense.

SECTION 11.0 COACHES MEETINGS

There shall be two meetings of the coaches annually, one prior to the season and one after the season. The site, date, and time of these mandatory meetings must be communicated to all coaches and administrators at least two weeks prior to the meeting.

SECTION 12.0 ITEMS NOT COVERED

Items not covered in conference regulations shall adhere to NCAA rules and regulations.  The Conference office shall have the authority to levy fines or other penalties deemed appropriate for violations of sport regulation. Such penalties shall be appealable to the Committee on Appeals.

SECTION 13.0 FOLLOW UP

Violations to the PacWest Game Management Protocol are to be reported by the Director of Athletics or other designated athletic dept. administrator to the opposing athletic administrators and the PacWest Commissioner within five (5) business days. Additionally, all ejections resulting from unsportsmanlike conduct are to be reported to the PacWest Commissioner in writing by host personnel immediately following competition.