The 2007 NFCA National Convention came to a close Saturday as several pieces of proposed legislation were passed in the closing business meeting.
The membership passed an NFCA by-law change proposal that will now permit each individual group caucus meting to become individual business meetings. The change also includes a softball summit during the opening business meeting that will allow the membership groups to come together and discuss pertinent issues.
The Division II membership voted unanimously to develop a Head Coaches Committee that will meet regularly to discuss issues affecting the membership. Division I voted to pass a proposal to that would provide a national officials evaluation form to use during non-conference games, while all NCAA groups passed a proposal that would recommend to the NCAA Softball Rules Committee that the head coach can submit a report along with an incident report.
During the final business meeting, the membership in attendance also passed a proposal that would send a recommendation to the National Federation of High Schools to move the pitching distance for high school to 43 feet.
The travel ball membership approved a trio of proposals that included a proposal to move to the 43-foot pitching distance for all levels of 16U and 18U softball. The group also agreed to select state representatives that will assist the group representative in building the membership and distributing information.
The gathering also introduced six coaches who will be inducted into the NFCA Hall of Fame at the 2008 convention on Marco Island, Fla. Long-time Cal State Northridge head coach Gary Torgeson will be inducted into the pioneer category, joining a group that features former Oklahoma State head coach Sandy Fischer, Wayne State head coach Gary Bryce, Muskingum College head coach Donna Newberry, Mississippi State head coach Jay Miller and DePaul head coach Eugene Lenti.
The regional and national coaching staffs of the year were also honored Saturday morning before the convention concluded with the adidas roundtable and the final speaker sessions.
