Updated October 2022

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)

These regulations are mandatory for all PacWest championship Matches.

SECTION 1.0 PLAYING SEASON AND SCHEDULING

1.1 The conference shall not hold regular season competition, but shall hold a conference tournament championship to determine its champion and automatic qualifier to the NCAA tournament.

1.1.2 One USTA (or ITA) certified referee must be present at all non-conference matches between conference opponents. (Updated January 2014 and June 2015.)1.1.3 All regular season non-conference matches between conference opponents shall use the DII scoring system established in the ITA rules and used by all NCAA divisions. (Updated October 2018)

1.1.3.1 All regular season non-conference matches between conference tennis opponents shall utilize the "clinch-play" system with the final score compiled accordingly. (Updated January 2022)

1.1.3.2 In regular season non-conference matches vs conference opponents, a new can of balls shall be opened and used after each set. (Updated January 2020)

1.1.4 (Due to the new scoring system), there shall be no formal line-up introductions/ on-court introduction ceremonies prior to the start of non-conference matches between conference opponents. (Updated January 2019)

SECTION 2.0 GAME MANAGEMENT/CONDITIONS OF COMPETITION

2.1 Communication for the date, time, and site for the pre-tournament coaches meeting will be the responsibility of the conference office. The date, time, and site for the coaches meeting should be provided to the other head coaches and the conference commissioner no later than two weeks prior to the meeting. The conference office should also invite the head official and event manager to the meeting. Attendance by all head coaches (or their designated representative) to this annual coaches meeting, plus the conference Commissioner (or conference office designee), is mandatory. (Updated May 2015)

2.2 The Conference Championship shall be a consecutive four-day event with teams playing one dual-match each day, unless they receive a bye. (Updated May 2015)

2.3 Team Match structure for the conference championships is three doubles matches (6-game pro-sets with a tiebreak played at 6 games each) followed by six singles matches (two-out-of-three tiebreak sets). (Updated October 2018)

2.3.1 All conference championship matches shall use the scoring system established in the ITA rules and used by all NCAA divisions. (Updated October 2018)

2.3.2 All conference championship matches shall begin with an on-court formal line-up introduction by opposing coaches 10 minutes prior to the match. The teams may resume their warm-ups after the introduction. (Updated December 2017)

2.4 Doubles Play at the conference championships will be stopped when one team has clinched the lone doubles point by winning two of the three doubles matches. (The third doubles match, if in progress, shall cease, as necessary). (Updated October 2018)

2.4.1 All dual matches at the conference championships shall be played to "clinch" -- i.e. each match shall conclude when one team has earned a total of four points. (Updated October 2018)

2.5 Head coaches will turn in their proposed line-ups prior to the pre-tournament coaches meeting in a manner prescribed by the conference office, based on a similar procedure used at the NCAA championships. (Updated May 2015)

2.5.1 The Tournament Committee shall review the lineups and determine whether there are any challenges, and deal with appropriately.

2.5.2 The Tournament Committee has the right to review the season lineup order of teams whose lineups are challenged, and deal with appropriately.

2.5.3 The Tournament Committee has the final word.

2.6 The order of matches shall be determined by the number of schools participating, up to eight teams. (Updated May 2015) The number one seeded team shall be placed on the top of the draw and receives a Bye on the first day of the tournament if less than eight teams are participating.

2.7 If the field expands to 12 teams, the format is as follows: On Wednesday (the first day of the tournament), the teams seeded #1 through #4 receive a Bye. (Updated May 2015) Teams seeded #5 through #12 play first round matches with #5 playing #12; #6 playing #11; #7 playing #10; and #8 playing #9. The winners of the first day advance to the championship quarterfinals starting Thursday. The losers of the first day play a second match on Thursday, and are finished from competition after those matches--the winners of these loser-out matches are declared tied for 9th place for Commissioner's Cup points; the losers are declared tied for 11th place for Commissioner's Cup points.

2.7.1 The winners of the first day advance to the Championship quarterfinals, and the competition continues, as follows:

2.7.1.1 The #2 seeded team will play #7/#10 winner; and the #3 seeded team will play the #6/#11 winner on the lower half of the draw. The #1 seeded team will play the #8/#9 winner; and the #4 seeded team will play the #5/#12 winner on the upper half of the draw.

2.7.1.2 The winners of 2 vs 7/10 and 3 vs 6/11 will meet on Friday in the championship semi-finals, as will the losers of those same matches in consolation semifinals. The winners of 1 vs 8/9 and 4 vs 5/12 will meet on Friday in the championship semi-finals and the losers of those same matches meet in consolation semifinas.

2.7.2 The two remaining unbeaten teams after Friday's semi-finals will play for the Conference Championship on Saturday, along with the two teams playing for 3rd and 4th place (Friday's semi-final championship losers), and the two teams playing for 5th and 6th place (winners of Fridays consolation bracket), and the teams playing for 7th and 8th place (losers of Friday's consolation bracket). (Updated May 2016)

2.7.3 The winner of the conference championship tournament earns the PacWest's automatic berth to the NCAA tournament. If the conference championship is won by a PacWest member school still in the NCAA DII Membership proccess, then the AQ goes to the PacWest NCAA DII Active member school finishing next highest in the championship finals (i.e. runner-up or next-highest DII Active member team in standings).

SECTION 3.0 CHAMPIONSHIPS

3.1 The rotation for helping host the conference championship tournament shall rotate between the three regional pods (i.e. Hawai'i, San Francisco Bay Area/Northern Calif , Southern California) with host schools recommended by the conference office and approved by the Advisory Board. The affiliate members may also be assigned to rotate as a co-host of the championships, as recommended by the conference office and approved by the Advisory Board. (Updated October 2018)

3.1.1 The site of the conference championships shall be recommended by the conference office with input from the tennis sports committees and must be approved by the Advisory Board.  (Updated October 2018)

3.2 The date for the tournament should be held as close to the third week of April as possible, so to not conflict with finals, and must be approved by the Advisory Board. The conference and host school shall be responsible for securing a reputable site (approved by the Commissioner), for providing manpower for tournament administration, for providing a certified athletic trainer, for providing a sports information person, and for securing and paying appropriate officials' fees. The conference office will work with the host school when the championships are held at a neutral site.

3.3 The field for the PacWest Men's Tennis Championships shall be limited to 8 member institutions and the field for the PacWest Women's Tennis Championships shall be limited to 12 member institutions. (Updated May 2015) 

3.3.1 The selection date for the conference championships shall be the second Monday of April when the championships begin on or after the 15th of April. If the conference championships begin during the second or third week of April, then the selection date for qualification shall be the first Monday of April. Updated May 2016.

3.3.3 PacWest Conference Tennis Championships selection criteria (Men- 8 teams, Women, 12 teams)

3.3.3.1 The Tournament Seeding Committee will recommend the participants in the PacWest Tennis Championships. 

3.3.3.2 The Selection date for the qualifying teams in the tournament will be the first Monday of April if the tournament begins on or before April 15, or the second Monday of April if the tournament begins on or after April 15. The Conference office will make the selection announcement via a scheduled conference call (or Zoom meeting) with tennis coaches on the appropriate date.

3.3.3.3 The final seeding will be announced by the Conference office no later than the Sunday before the start of the tournament via email. Matches held up to the weekend of selection date will be counted to determine selection.

3.3.3.4  The qualification and seeding for the championships shall be recommended by the Tournament Seeding Committee based on thorough review of the criteria noted below (2.4.4 through 2.4.91). (Updated November 2019 and October 2022)

3.3.3.5    The Tournament Seeding Committee is chaired by the Commissioner (or his/her designee), and is comprised of the following individuals:  Three administrators from the conference tennis committee, and sports information directors from each of the four regional pods (Colorado, NorCal, SoCal, Hawai'i), plus other administrators, as necessary; each regional pod must be represented by two individuals.  The conference office selects the individuals on the Tournament Seeding Committee.  The conference Sports Communications Director serves as an ex-officio member of the committee and is responsible for the updated statistics necessary for review. (Updated October 2022)
 
3.3.3.6   The committee (working with the conference office) shall publicly release its recommended qualification and/or seeding orders on a weekly basis leading up to final selection.  (The specific weekly release dates will be similar to the timing used for NCAA RAC and National Committee process.)
 
3.3.3.7  The committee shall review the criteria below, placing more weight on the criteria noted at the top of the list.

3.3.3.7.1       Head to head records

3.3.3.7.2       Results versus common NCAA DII opponents¹

3.3.3.7.3       Win-loss record versus NCAA DII opponents

3.3.3.7.4       Opponents' winning percentage²

3.3.3.7.5       Win-loss record versus PacWest opponents³

3.3.3.7.6       Opponents' winning percentage versus PacWest opponents

3.3.3.7.7        Scores of matches against NCAA DII common opponents^4
 
1The committee may take into consideration disparities in the number of matches between specific opponents.
²ⁱThe average regional winning percentage of each opponent.
³Regional opponents are opponents from the West Region and contiguous states, i.e. PacWest, RMAC, or other DII schools, if any located in the West Region and Rocky Mountain Region (see NCAA Regionalization model.)
⁴This criteria may only be used in cases where teams have zero wins against NCAA DII teams.

3.4 The recommended seeding will be distributed to the participating schools by the Saturday evening prior to the start of the Tournament. Coaches who have issues with the recommended seeding order have 24 hours to challenge the seeding order in writing. The written challenge (which may cite late season performance, records against common opponents, availability of players, strength of schedule, and other issues) shall be sent to the Commissioner who will distribute to the schools affected by the challenge and to the Tournament Championships Committee. Those schools affected by the challenge have the right to submit a counter opinion within the same 24 hour time period and that information will also be distributed to the Tournament Committee.

3.5 In a timely manner, the Tournament Championships Committee shall review all challenges to seeding order.

3.6 The final seeding order shall be determined no later than the Sunday prior to the conference tournament. The final seeding order determined by the Tournament Championships Committee is final, and may not be appealed.

3.7 A Tournament Championships Committee is made up of the following individuals: (Updated October 2022)

• Athletic Director (or designated administrator from the host school)
• Conference Commissioner (or conference office designee)
• Tennis Committee Administrator 
• Conference Administrator (if necessary)
• The head referee (if necessary)

The responsibilities of the Tournament Championships Committee shall be to settle all disputes not settled by the head referee, plus seeding review, line-up review, and other administrative responsibilities.

3.8 At least one certified referee per match is necessary for the first days of the PacWest Championships tournament.  At least rhree officials shall be used for the championship match. (Updated October 2022)

3.9 Host School administrator must be on site for duration of championship tournament.

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)

SECTION 5.0 OFFICIALS

5.1 One certified referee (having passed the ITA Collegiate Referee's exam) shall be present at all matches. Three certified referees shall be used for the Conference Championship match.

5.1.1 The conference office shall be responsible for securing a qualified tennis official assignor to provide officials for the conference championships. The conference office shall pay all officiating fees for the conference championships. (Updated October 2018)

5.1.2 One USTA certified referee must be present at all non-conference matches between conference opponents. Home school is responsible for providing and payment of officials. (Updated January 2014)

SECTION 6.0 AMPLIFIERS, NOISEMAKERS AND OTHER SOUND GENERATING DEVICES

6.1 Artificial noisemakers, air horns or electronic amplifiers shall not be permitted, and such instruments shall be removed from the playing and spectator areas. 

SECTION 7.0 SPORTS INFORMATION REQUIREMENTS

SECTION 8.0 SPORTS MEDICINE REQUIREMENTS

8.1 At least one certified athletic trainer (provided by the host school or the conference office, as necessary) will be on site for all championship tournament matches. (Updated October 2018)

SECTION 9.0 AWARDS

9.1 All-conference award selection will be determined by a system established by the Assistant Commissioner - Strategic Positioning and/or Sports Communications Director, based on input from the coaches, sports information directors, and the ITA regional rankings. The top six individual players and top three doubles teams in the rankings will be named all-conference, and all other ranked players not named will be accorded honorable mention all-conference honors.

9.2 The Conference Commissioner (or conference office designee) shall be responsible for handing out appropriate team and individual award plaques at the conclusion of the championship tournament. A plaque for the championship team, the tournament's most valuable player, and tournament's individual sportsmanship winner will be awarded after the championship match. Coaches will nominate and vote on the most valuable player and the sportsmanship award.

9.3 The Conference Commissioner will work with the conference office (and/or the host school, if necessary) to determine the site, time, and place of a recommended pre-tournament banquet. When necessary, Host schools may ask competing schools to help pay the costs of the banquet based on a pre-determined price.

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.