Policy: NAC Policy Section XXV, Item 12
“For games to be considered countable (i.e. included in statistics, won-loss records, and coaching records), all of the following must be true:
a. The institution must be accredited by one of the six recognized regional accrediting bodies in the U.S., or hold membership in the NAIA, Universities Canada, Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association, Canadian U Sports or the National Christian College Athletic Association.
b. The institution must be a four-year (or upper-level two-year) degree-granting institution; and
c. The team must be a varsity program.”
Interpretation
In the instance where an open meet (for sports such as swimming, wrestling, track, etc.) includes both countable opponents and non-countable opponents, as long as at least one of the other schools in the competition (in addition to the NAIA school) is a countable opponent, then all competitions within the meet will be considered countable.
Background & Intent
The NAC policy determining which opponents are countable for purposes of records and statistics applies seamlessly in a standard team sport where an NAIA team has only one opponent. However, when an NAIA team is involved in a multi-opponent event, it is less clear-cut if the outcome of the event counts towards the NAIA team’s record and stats if only some of the other opponents are countable.
Example
For example, a swim meet has two four-year schools (one of which is an NAIA school) and 10 junior colleges participating. As long as the second four-year school meets the countable opponent criteria, the event is countable and all times count towards records, statistics and postseason qualification for the NAIA team.
Related Bylaws
Article I, Section H, Item 1: Frequency of Play
Article I, Section H, Item 5: 24-Week Season
NAC Interp – Creation date unknown. Current as of: November, 2018
