Red River Athletic Conference
Basketball Operating Procedures
June 22, 2026

1. Conference Game Times. Conference basketball games are scheduled for 5:30 p.m. (women) and 7:30 p.m. (men) on Thursdays, except at LSU Alexandria, where the times are 5 p.m. (women) and 7 p.m. (men). Saturday games will be at 1 p.m. (women) and 3 p.m. (men). Any time changes will be approved by both athletic directors from the participating schools for all Conference games. If they cannot agree, the game time will stay the same. Athletic directors must notify the Conference office of any changes.

When conference games are played, 30 minutes should be displayed on the clock as the women’s game ends. The clock should start when the teams leave the floor. The men’s game will begin immediately at the end of that 30-minute intermission.

2. Official Basketball. The ball to be used will be the NAIA-approved Spalding TF 1000 Legacy. A fine will be assessed to any institution that doesn't have the Spalding ball available for home games. Fines will be assessed by the RRAC Commissioner. This will be for Non-Conference and Conference games.

3. Practice Times. The Home Team shall provide the visiting team with a minimum of one hour per team for both men and women on the day before a game.

The visiting team should provide regulation practice balls for warm-ups.

The visiting team must notify the Home team 48 hours before arrival to schedule practice time.

Day of Game: Each team, men and women, will get a one-hour shoot-around. Must be scheduled with the home team. The visiting team must notify the Home team 48 hours before arrival.

During visiting team practice times, the gym must be secure and free of people entering or leaving.

4. Locker Rooms. Locker room facilities must be given to the visiting team. They must be in a safe place and have space for the team to dress and conduct business before and after the game.

5. Game Administrator. All games played in the Conference must have a Game Administrator and a Crowd Control person present at all games. We will follow NAIA procedures and duties.

6. Uniforms. The home team will wear light jerseys and the visiting team will wear dark jerseys. Uniforms must conform to NCAA rules.

7. Passes. There will be no Pass Policy for the visiting team. Exception: Anyone with an NAIA card will be let into all games at no cost.

8. Tie-Breaking Procedures. Tie-breakers for seeding will follow the RRAC Bylaws procedure.

9. Official Rules. We will follow NCAA Basketball Rules for all men's and women's games.

10. Scheduling. Any schedule changes must have the agreement of the athletic directors of the teams involved and be approved by the conference office. Game time changes require only agreement from the athletic directors of the teams involved in those games.

11. Forfeits.

a) All Conference games must be played. If Conference games are not played within the required period, it is a forfeit. Games can be moved due to weather or unusual circumstances to any date within the time frame for a sport season's completion, with approval from the Conference office.

b) Non-Conference games would meet the same criteria according to NAIA policy.

c) A school may appeal a forfeit through the NAIA procedure manual if they feel they want to challenge the forfeit.

d) If both teams are unable to play due to COVID-positive testing, the game will be ruled a "no contest" and could be rescheduled.

e) When a school has multiple games that are postponed, they must be rescheduled in the order of the originally scheduled dates.

12. Conference Tournament. Eight teams will qualify for both the men's and women's tournaments. First-round games will be played at the home courts of the higher-seeded teams, following a 1v8, 2v7, 3v6, and 4v5 format. The semifinals and finals will be hosted by the highest remaining seed.

Teams must complete 75% of their scheduled conference games to be eligible for postseason play.

13. Conference Tournament Timing. When a game is completed, the teams competing in the next game cannot walk onto the court until all players and coaches have cleared it.

14. Tournament Bid Process. If any member institution would like to host the annual RRAC basketball tournament, bids should be submitted to the Commissioner by April 1 for the following year. The bids will be reviewed at the athletic director meeting later that month.

15. Film Exchange. Film exchange will be in effect for each school. RRAC members are required to upload film from all home conference games and their first home non-conference game. All conference games will be uploaded by 12 noon on the day following a game. If there is a legitimate issue (determined by the Commissioner), the conference and the appropriate school must be contacted immediately. At that time, the school will have 24 hours to get a hard copy of that game to the opposing school that was affected.

If not done, the following penalties will apply: The RRAC office will contact the school’s athletic director for institutions that miss one film exchange. If the school misses a second film exchange, the school president will be notified. A third failed film exchange could result in the basketball coach’s suspension for one game. If a school continues to be a habitual violator by failing to comply with the film exchange policy, the team will be subject to suspension from the RRAC Conference Tournament.

Hudl is the official conference film exchange partner. Hudl will provide training for all coaches and support personnel. Our contact is Jarrod Bennett (jarrod.bennett@hudl.com, 816.804.1877).

16. Table Crew. All table crew personnel must be coached and trained before the start of the season. All table crew must follow NCAA guidelines.

17. Crowd Control. The responsibility for crowd control rests with the host Director of Athletics or designated game manager. The Director of Athletics of the competing institutions is expected to communicate with their student-athletes and other fans to encourage enthusiastic support within the confines of good sportsmanship. Host institutions must provide adequate security and ushers for crowd management.

Attention should be given to seating arrangements and to what will alleviate crowd-control problems. Seating arrangements should reserve the first three rows behind the visiting team's bench for the visiting team's fans. If the three rows are not used by the visiting team and there is an overflow crowd, the home team can open those seats to anyone.

18. Ejection Policy. The RRAC policy for players is as follows: fighting/language could result in a 1-2 game suspension, and a player who is ejected must sit out the next game. The RRAC policy for coaches is as follows: An ejection could result in a 2-3 game suspension. If either of these policies is broken, member institutions must notify the Commissioner immediately.

19. Sportsmanship.

• Three rows of seating behind the visiting team's bench should be reserved for visiting fans.
• Two security policemen must be on duty at the game.
• Music played in the gym must not contain foul or offensive language.
• It is recommended that the home team's band not play behind the visiting team's bench.
• All members of the home team's table crew must be qualified for their role.
• A crowd control representative must be present.
• A game administrator must be present.
• All ejections must be reported to the conference office.

Inappropriate acts by Administrators, Coaches, or Players before, during, and after athletic contests shall be handled by the Commissioner in accordance with the following guidelines until the matter is resolved.

a. An informal phone call from the Commissioner shall be made to the coach and administrator requesting correction or attention to the matter.

b. A formal letter from the Commissioner to the coach, administrator, and/or athlete, detailing examples and requesting correction or attention to the matter. This letter will be copied to the offending party’s supervisor and the President of the offending party’s institution.

c. Inappropriate acts by Administrators, Coaches or Players before, during, and following athletic contests that are deemed to be conclusive following a review by the Commissioner, with the approval of the Council of Presidents, will result in an automatic one-game suspension for the next athletic contest for the offending individual.

d. A second inappropriate act by Administrators, Coaches or Players before, during, and following athletic contests after the first offense that is deemed to be conclusive following a review by the Commissioner, with the approval of the Council of Presidents, will result in an automatic two-game suspension for the next two athletic contests for the offending individual.

e. Ineligibility for the remainder of all regular season and postseason participation will result for the offending individual if that Administrator, Coach or Player accumulates a third inappropriate act before, during and following athletic contests in a single season that are deemed to be conclusive following a review by the Commissioner, with the approval of the Council of Presidents.

There is no appeal for an ejection. Suspensions may be appealed. This appeal may be sent to the Commissioner’s Office for review. The appeal will follow the bylaws and the constitutional process.

f. We will follow the Sportsmanship Policy approved by the RRAC.

20. Awards. Basketball award listings and processes are contained in the RRAC Constitution and Bylaws.

a. All-Conference Team. All-Conference teams will be determined through voting by the conference's head coaches. The coaches will submit nominees to the RRAC sports information director, who will create a ballot. Coaches will then vote on the all-conference teams, defensive player of the year, and coach of the year from the ballot. Player of the Year, Freshman of the Year, and Newcomer of the Year will be the highest vote-getters in each category from the all-conference team votes.

b. Players of the Week. Throughout the regular season, the conference will select one men's and one women's student-athlete as RRAC Players of the Week. Nominations can be made by coaches or SIDs through https://naiaawards.prestosports.com/awards. Each team may nominate one player per week, and nominations must be received by 7 p.m. on Sunday. Nominations may include only games from the previous Monday to Sunday. RRAC player of the week selections will be considered for NAIA national awards.

21. Halftime Procedures for Women's Games. Men's teams are not permitted to shoot on the court during halftime of women's games. 

22. NAIA Automatic Qualifiers. The RRAC will receive two automatic berths in the NAIA national tournament each year. The first automatic qualifier will be awarded to the RRAC regular season champion. The second automatic qualifier will be awarded to the RRAC tournament champion. If the same team wins both the RRAC regular season title and the RRAC tournament championship, then the team that finishes as the runner-up in the regular-season conference standings. 

23. Regular Season Champions. The RRAC will award the regular-season championship to the team with the best regular-season conference record. 23. Seeding. Teams will be seeded 1-8 based on regular season conference records. The RRAC will use the tie-breaker system in the RRAC Bylaws if there are ties for postseason play. 24. Required Number of Games. Teams must play 75% of their conference games to be eligible for the postseason. 25. Championship Host Hotels. For 2025-26, when host schools have agreements with hotels and rooms are part of the commitment for RRAC championship events, teams that qualify for those events are required to stay at the hotels designated by the host.

24. Monitor Replays. Monitor Replays may be used by a school in the conference for both men's and women's games. Schools must notify the conference office when they use it.