Penalty enforcement

[Rulesman]

Delaware was seeded 13th in the East Region THIS YEAR!

Like I said, it was a guess. Those 13 seeds can easily get buried in a bracket. I gave Alaska a second thought as not having a D-1 school, but was even less confident with them than Maine and Delaware.

[Ralph Damren]

In attempt to re-rail the topic, why I take exception to exceptions : We were told several years ago, so it probably has changed a bit, that the NCAA had in excess of 60 exceptions to their penalty enforcement code while we had 14.    Exceptions tend to add confusion and our job is to keep the game as simple and fair as possible. If exceptions were made for every situation that seldom would occur (such as this OP) ,our code would be filled with complicated enforcement exceptions that would often be misapplied. Are college officials better then high school ones?? IMHO, from working as ECO at a D-III school  ,D-III officials : (1) their "game focus" is stronger is they are required to be at site 3 hours prior to game time for pregame; (2) They are chasing the dream of D-1 and are pushing themselves to get there; (3) Many NCAA chapters have physical fitness requirements; many NFHS chapters do not. D-1 requires officials to arrive a day early to review game video and prep their "game focus". I'm sure at NFL level, game prep is continuous throughout the season. I'm proud of my fellow chapter members as they work hard at being a good high school official; do college officials work harder??? Yes... but so do college players and coaches. I've been able to enjoy and have fun at being a high school official...I hope you do , too.

[Ralph Damren]

And to take this thread further off the rails, Maine has a very high quality college baseball team usually, which I find strange.  The spring season can't be very long that far north.

U-Maine is on a continuous road trip from mid-Feb thru April (their home opener is scheduled for this Saturday but the 4 foot snowbanks say no). High school baseball runs from mid-April thru mid-June and there are some very cold games early on. The temp may be the same, but as a base umpire, one always feels much colder than a back judge!

[Atlanta Blue]

High school baseball runs from mid-April thru mid-June

Our LAST regular season game is April 25.

When I worked for Ga Tech baseball, we were hosting Notre Dame for a game around the first of April.  They had yet to have a home game, and weren't even scheduled for one until the 3rd or 4th week of April.

This is the reason the Northern schools want regional playoffs in the NCAA.  Without them, all of the teams going to Omaha are going to come from the South and the West Coast.

[bbeagle]

A's ball, 4th and 10 from it's own 1 yard line.  4 seconds left in 4th quarter.  A is up 20-17.  A12 intentionally grounds pass in it's own endzone with 1 second left on the clock.  Question: Is Team B forced to accept the results of the play or the enforcement of the penalty?    Why can't Team B have the ball, 1st/10 at A's 1 yard line with 1 second left?

Your thoughts....

What if Coach B argued that 'There was a man in the area! It wasn't intentional grounding'. And convinced us to pick up the flag?

Now it's Team B's ball 1st and Goal at the 1 with :01 seconds left. It would be a very smart and influential Coach B.

[bossman72]

Our LAST regular season game is April 25.

When I worked for Ga Tech baseball, we were hosting Notre Dame for a game around the first of April.  They had yet to have a home game, and weren't even scheduled for one until the 3rd or 4th week of April.

This is the reason the Northern schools want regional playoffs in the NCAA.  Without them, all of the teams going to Omaha are going to come from the South and the West Coast.

I always chuckle at the umpires up here because basically March is cancelled.  When they do play, it's 30 and miserable.  I don't even know why they schedule games in March...

Iowa has the right idea.  High school season starts in May.  We could never do that in PA because that would totally kill Legion baseball

[Ralph Damren]

Our LAST regular season game is April 25.

When I worked for Ga Tech baseball, we were hosting Notre Dame for a game around the first of April.  They had yet to have a home game, and weren't even scheduled for one until the 3rd or 4th week of April.

This is the reason the Northern schools want regional playoffs in the NCAA.  Without them, all of the teams going to Omaha are going to come from the South and the West Coast.

U-Maine went to the CWS several times back in the '70s & 80s when it was a true Northeast Regional. Their 3 opponents would usually be : (1) the Ivy League champs - usually came for the lobster feed ; (2) Navy - in great shape, but not baseball-wize ..also came for the lobster ; (3) Ryder College - I thought they were a truck rental co. ..also for the lobster. Maine's trip to the World Series was usually 2 & done. On one of their last journeys, the West Regional sported Arizona , Arizona State , USC & UCLA - 4 of the top 10 teams in the country. The following year the NCAA developed evenly-paired regionals, similar to March Madness..The boys from Harvard & Yale no longer get their lobster feed & Maine no longer gets the honor of making the CWS.

[VALJ]

In attempt to re-rail the topic, why I take exception to exceptions : We were told several years ago, so it probably has changed a bit, that the NCAA had in excess of 60 exceptions to their penalty enforcement code while we had 14.    Exceptions tend to add confusion and our job is to keep the game as simple and fair as possible. If exceptions were made for every situation that seldom would occur (such as this OP) ,our code would be filled with complicated enforcement exceptions that would often be misapplied. Are college officials better then high school ones?? IMHO, from working as ECO at a D-III school  ,D-III officials : (1) their "game focus" is stronger is they are required to be at site 3 hours prior to game time for pregame; (2) They are chasing the dream of D-1 and are pushing themselves to get there; (3) Many NCAA chapters have physical fitness requirements; many NFHS chapters do not. D-1 requires officials to arrive a day early to review game video and prep their "game focus". I'm sure at NFL level, game prep is continuous throughout the season. I'm proud of my fellow chapter members as they work hard at being a good high school official; do college officials work harder??? Yes... but so do college players and coaches. I've been able to enjoy and have fun at being a high school official...I hope you do , too.

I've been trying to get into college ball for the last couple of years, and haven't been successful yet (still working on meeting the "eye test" to try and help that - I'm down 30 over the last couple years, but still have some more to go).  That said, if college isn't in the cards for me, there's no shame in "only" being a high school official and being the best I can be.

At least, that's what I've told myself after not getting the call the last couple years, anyway.   

[Curious]

What if Coach B argued that 'There was a man in the area! It wasn't intentional grounding'. And convinced us to pick up the flag?

Now it's Team B's ball 1st and Goal at the 1 with :01 seconds left. It would be a very smart and influential Coach B

Hopefully, the call will be "obvious"; but, if the wing man knows or can be convinced to take his argument to the R, we must give "kudos" to any coach smart enough to challenge the call with this argument (AB'S the only one I know). Then if the R is willing to eat the flag (which could be a challenge in itself), the scenario changes with it being B's ball at the 1 with .01 on the clock.  This can only be the R's decision since he is in the best position to rule on the QB's "intent".

Get ready to have an different discussion on the other side of the field....   

[AlUpstateNY]

Get ready to have an different discussion on the other side of the field....

Th ultimate decision regarding an illegal FP will be the Referee's to make.  He should consider any and all information relating to that call before making his judgment.  Whatever HIS decision, when there is a question there will likely be an explanation necessary, for one side of the field or the other. The objective, remains the same, to get the call right, whichever way circumstances point.

That goes with the territory, and a Referee' job description includes being able to thoroughly explain his call, to whichever sideline may be negatively affected.  Although entitled to respectfully contest a decision, part of the coach's job description is to accept a thorough explanation.

[Rulesman]

Although entitled to respectfully contest a decision, part of the coach's job description is to accept a thorough explanation.

See Roy Williams last weekend (as opposed to Jim Boeheim a few weeks ago).

[Curious]

See Roy Williams last weekend (as opposed to Jim Boeheim a few weeks ago).

Boeheim didn't even wait for an explanation!