ACBL BASEBALL
American Collegiate Baseball League
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A. Player Eligibility

  1. Players must be enrolled at school's undergrad or graduate school. All players must be registered and listed on Team Roster on www.acblbaseball.com by captain.

B. Rosters

  1. Rosters will be submitted by Captains via website and submitted to the League prior to the first game. Print a copy for each game and provide it to the head umpire.
  2. There is no roster limit, however, game day roster should not exceed 25 players. Players may be added assuming they are eligible based on rules 1, 2 & 5 until April 26, 2026. Rosters will be locked after this date.
  3. No player may be currently listed on a varsity baseball roster. If any such instance is identified, that player will be suspended from future ACBL activities and that team will be penalized with a forfeit for all games such player participated. If there is any doubt on a former varsity player's eligibility, get league approval.

C. Waivers

  1. ALL players must complete, sign, and return the waiver form to the League via captain before participating in any league-sanctioned or assigned event. One waiver form per player. If it has not been signed, and the player is not confirmed by the league to be eligible, they may not participate. Each player is responsible for signing and submitting their own waiver. All players take full personal responsibility for completing said waiver and not participating in any ACBL events until such time.

D. Equipment

  1. Each team will be responsible for having a stock of four dozen per season. In any game, whether it is a regular season game or a playoff game, the home team is responsible for providing baseballs. Away teams should bring balls to all games as well.
  2. The home team should have any equipment necessary to ready the field for game play, including rakes and shovels in the event of rain.

E. Rules

  1. NCAA rules shall be used for game play except where otherwise noted below.
  2. All clubs should keep a copy of the NCAA rule book on hand at games.
  3. A team may have any enrolled student on their roster including graduate students. There will be no limits on roster size.
  4. A club may play any game with eight players. Any less than eight players will constitute a forfeit. If a club is playing with eight players, an out will be recorded for the ninth spot in the batting order. If a ninth player shows up to a game in progress, that player may immediately enter the game in the field and in the ninth batting spot.
  5. Teams must indicate their coaching representatives to the umpires at the ground rules meeting before the start of the game.
  6. All games are seven innings in length. Under no circumstances should clubs make an agreement to substitute one nine inning game for a scheduled doubleheader. In any such instance, the score after seven complete innings for the game played shall be the final score with the second scheduled game deemed postponed or forfeited depending on the circumstances.
  7. In any regular season game, a visiting team that has a lead of twelve runs or more after four innings of play or ten runs or more after five innings of play, or a home team that has a lead of twelve runs or more after three and a half innings of play or ten runs or more after four and a half innings of play shall be declared the winner of the game.
  8. A team may use one designated hitter per game for any defensive player. If the designated hitter is brought into the field, the player that goes to the bench is out of the game and the fielder that was not hitting is now inserted into the lineup in that player's place.
  9. Teams are permitted to add an unlimited number of extra hitters to their lineup. If a team elects to bat ten or more players in their lineup with no other players on their bench, and a player is injured and cannot continue, the lineup will be condensed to skip that spot in the order without penalty. The injured player will not be able to return for the rest of the game.
  10. A courtesy runner is permitted for a catcher or pitcher that is on base with two outs. The courtesy runner can be either the last batter retired or a player not in the lineup.
  11. A team may re-enter once per game a starter who was pulled for a substitute. The re-entered player must return in the same spot in the lineup.
  12. Portable pitchers' mounds are allowed and do not need approval of the visiting team.
  13. A balk shall be called when a pitcher fakes a throw to third and then throws to first.
  14. A player or coach who is ejected from a game will not be subjected to suspension from any subsequent game unless the umpire that issued the ejection makes a special recommendation to the league and the league approves.
  15. There will be no limit on team conferences that do not involve the coaching representative unless the umpire deems them to be excessive. Mound visits involving the coaching representative will be limited to two per inning or four per pitcher, at which point the pitcher must be replaced.
  16. If a batter is judged to intentionally make a movement to be hit by a pitch or allows himself to be intentionally hit by a pitch, a strike will not be called unless the umpire judges the pitch to be in the strike zone.
  17. If a game is tied after seven innings, a ghost runner will be placed on second base to start the eighth inning and every subsequent inning for both teams. If the game is still tied after nine innings, the teams have the option of continuing or calling the game a tie without penalty.
  18. A protested game that is upheld at a time when there are no remaining dates in which both teams are available to continue will be declared a draw.

F. Umpires

  1. The league will be responsible for providing two patched umpires for each regular season home game.
  2. The fee for umpires will be set by the league and it will remit payment to umpires to be reimbursed by clubs by end of season.
  3. Umpires have final discretion on the field and during the game. Their authority begins at the time of their arrival and ends at the time of their departure. They are to be treated with the utmost respect and professionalism before, during and after play. Any verbal or physical abuse of any kind from a player, coach or other spectator will not be tolerated and be strictly dealt with by the league in an appropriate manner.

G. Game Schedule

  1. Regular Season
    • Each club will submit to the commissioner no later than the date of the preseason meeting of each year a listing of dates for which they may not be available to play at home or travel to play on the road. All clubs will be expected to be available to play either home or on the road on any Saturday or Sunday starting with the weekend after March 1 through April 30 that was not requested as a blackout date as of March 1 and may be subject to forfeit if they fail to field a team to play a scheduled game or makeup with reasonable notice.
  2. The league will compose the regular season schedule considering the availability submitted by the teams.
  3. The regular season shall consist of six games. There is no limit to number of home and away games.

H. Forfeits

  1. A forfeit shall be defined as an occurrence in which a club fails to attend a scheduled game with at least eight players ready to complete an official game unless inclement weather is a major contributing factor and the result of the forfeit will be marked as a result of 3-0. League reserves the right to invite a team that earned a better record for games actually played over that of a team with forfeit wins. It is in the BEST interest of each team AND league that all games be actually played and/or rescheduled if needed. The league does not want a team to simply accept a forfeit win and refuse to reschedule.
  2. Any club that forfeits a single regular season game(s) will be fined for all costs incurred by the league for setting up the forfeited game(s). The total fine amount will be payable within 30 days of the forfeit date. The club may also be disqualified from the playoffs pending a league review.
  3. Any club that forfeits multiple games during the season will be fined $100 for each game forfeited plus costs incurred by the league for setting up each forfeited game. The total fine amount will be payable within 30 days of the forfeit date. The club may also be disqualified from the playoffs pending a league review.
  4. After April 6th, any club that unilaterally cancels/forfeits a game scheduled to take place between 4/16-5/3 may also be subject to a fine of $100 per game. This is to prevent any team ineligible for playoffs and/or has known about a game for the whole season from cancelling and negatively affecting a team's playoff chances, the integrity of the league or a Senior Day. Any game adjustments for the last 2 weeks+playoffs from teams needs to be made by April 6th.

I. Playoffs

  1. The playoffs will consist of 6 clubs. Single elimination. The top club in each division will earn a playoff berth, with the next best three wildcards from any division. If a qualified playoff team is subsequently disqualified due to a forfeit in season, or simply cannot make playoffs, the next best team will be invited in their stead. No team ranked lower than 10th overall will be guaranteed an invite to the playoffs. No team ranked 3rd in their division can win their division by default, but may still qualify as a wildcard. Playoffs will take place May 3 weekend at TBD location.
  2. Bracket format will be the following: QFs with teams 3v6, 4v5. Teams ranked 1-2 will receive byes. Highest ranked seed will play lowest remaining ranked seed, with other two remaining teams in the Semis, followed by a Championship game.
  3. In the event that less than 6 teams participate in playoffs, the league reserves the right to adjust playoff bracket accordingly.
  4. In the event of a tie in the standings, head to head results between the tied teams shall be used as a tiebreaker. If that does not resolve the tie, an index will be used, in which each club will be awarded points for each regular season game won amounting to the final winning percentage of the opponent. If that does not resolve the tie, the total runs allowed during the regular season (with the official score of a forfeited game as 3-0) will be used.
  5. If a division winner is disqualified or cannot make the playoffs, only the second best team is eligible for the division title. Subsequently, the division's spot will go to the next best team not already qualified, regardless of division.
  6. Any team that owes amounts for dues, umpire fees or baseballs, and has not made a reasonable effort to communicate a plan for payment shall be disqualified from the playoffs and the next seeded team will take their spot.
  7. All postseason games will be seven innings in length unless otherwise needed to be six due to time constraints or weather.
  8. There will be no protests at playoff games. All matters will be determined by umpires working game and in the event of a rule interpretation, by the league.

J. EMTs

  1. EMT presence is strongly encouraged, however it is not required. If a school requires them, it is the home team's responsibility to guarantee their presence for a game. Any game being postponed last minute as a result of lack of EMTs will require full payment for costs incurred and may lead to a forfeit if rescheduling is not an option.

K. Game Reports

  1. Captains are required to submit game reports with scores, stats and ref evaluation at the conclusion of each game and within 24 hours or potentially risk point penalty for continued delay. The league would appreciate not chasing teams after each game.

L. Player IDs

  1. All players must bring either a physical or digital copy of student ID to games and be prepared to show umpires in pre-game meetings if deemed necessary.

M. League Statement

  1. Final discretion on ALL league matters that may arise and not covered by league rules listed here will ultimately lie solely with the league and will be made in the best interests of the league.
  2. The league is not liable for any injuries sustained in regular season, post season or league affiliated tournaments. Refunds will not be permitted.
  3. Any previous mention of any rule is overruled by this rule page updated as of March 6, 2026.