Bylaw: Article I, Section H, Item 4
“A maximum of two contests against teams from foreign countries (excluding Canada and Mexico) played in the United States and/or Canada/Mexico will be permitted without counting against the frequency of play limits. Contests held in a foreign country (except Canada and Mexico) will not apply to the limitation. Conditions set forth in Article II, Section E of the NAIA Bylaws must be met.”
Interpretation
American territories are not considered “foreign countries” for the purposes of Article I, Section H, Item 4. American territories are not exempt from counting towards a team’s frequency of play limits. American territories such as Puerto Rico, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, United States Virgin Islands, and American Samoa are considered U.S. soil and would not be considered competing internationally.
Example
An NAIA baseball team that wishes to compete against a Puerto Rican baseball team will not meet the international competition exception as listed in Article I, Section H, Item 4. The location of the event does not define it as an international competition’ therefore, the contest would have to be counted towards the team’s frequency of play limits as listed in Article I, Section H, Item 1.
Related Bylaws
Article I, Section H, Item 1
Article I, Section H, Item 5
Article II, Section E
Related Interpretations
Two NAIA Teams Compete Internationally
NEC Interp – Creation date August 2015
