Harsher penalties to deter misconduct fouls are coming to men’s and women’s water polo during the 2016-17 academic year.
The NCAA Playing Rules Oversight Committee, which met via teleconference Thursday, approved a proposal to remove a player from the remainder of a game for misconduct if he or she receives a second penalty for a minor act of misconduct in the same game.
The Men’s and Women’s Water Polo Subcommittee felt the current penalty had little strength as a deterrent for players committing multiple minor acts of misconduct in a match. By increasing the punishment for similar behavior, the subcommittee believes it will serve as a stronger deterrent.
Additionally, the panel approved a new rule to punish any player who is removed from a match for misconduct three times in a season with a one-game suspension. The suspension would also apply to any subsequent times a player is excluded from a game.
The panel also approved two recommendations for schools to follow:
- It recommended that host schools assign a representative to handle game management issues outside of the pool, such as timing issues and spectator behavior.
- It also recommended that the field of play should be uniformly and adequately lighted to preserve the integrity of the game and ensure officials are able to accurately identify players and enforce rules appropriately.