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Thanks to a conference committee spearheaded by TCU head men's coach David Roditi, the Big XII implemented a "decorum policy" this season allowing fans to cheer during points in an effort to involve those more accustomed to the raucous atmosphere of a basketball or football game.

The change recently garnered national attention in the Wall Street Journal and on ESPN.com, prompting strong opinions throughout the tennis world. Here are the key aspects in what has become known as the "Roditi Rule."

• Spectators are to behave under the same principles/guidelines of other sports (no profanity, vulgarity, abusive comments, etc.).
• Non-participating team members must have exemplary sportsmanship. All cheering must be positive and directed at their own team members. They may receive automatic point penalties for comments to or about the opposing team.

The rule was not created to promote heckling. The goal was to allow fans unfamiliar with tennis etiquette to freely cheer and chant without feeling like they may be breaking traditional tennis protocol.

We posed the following questions to our panel of coaches:

Q) What do you think about the Big XII rule? Is it something you would like to see implemented throughout college tennis to increase fan involvement? How would you fine-tune the rule for future seasons?

David Roditi, head coach, TCU Men

There is a perception in tennis that fans have to be quiet and polite at all times, but that's not the case in a college dual match. It can be fun and rowdy, similar to a Davis Cup atmosphere, and that's what we want to foster. The intent of the rule is to increase fun and entertainment - especially for those who may not be traditional tennis fans.

We do not want to have drunk fraternity guys yelling, "Double fault! Miss it!" On the other hand, tennis players don't face nearly the same fan opposition as their colleagues in other sports. If someone wants to poke fun at a player's forehand, a player who is getting tired, or a guy wearing a funny watch, that should be okay.

We have not had one issue this season with a fan taking the rule too far during the serve or as the point is being played, but we know that some schools and their fans have found loopholes. This summer our Big 12 "decorum" subcommittee will look at the rule through different eyes. We need to write it in a way that we can enforce it, eliminating the possibility of someone taking away from the integrity of the game.

This season we saw that fans and players had more fun. The combination of playing the no-ad format, and allowing fans to enjoy looser cheering regulations resulted in people staying for the entire match. I think 90 percent of our fans were staying. It's a huge win for college tennis.

Danielle Steinberg, head coach, Kansas State Women

I support anything that will grow college tennis. As a player, I always loved having a large crowd, whether for or against me. As a coach, one of my main goals is to increase attendance at our matches, and the new rules can be a great way to accomplish that. A lot of people, students in particular, have a misguided perception of what a college tennis match looks like. We need to do whatever we can to teach potential fans that college tennis can be a fun and exciting experience.

Here at K-State, we haven't experienced any hostile environments this past season, and I don't anticipate encountering anything the team can't handle in the future. My players would love seeing more fans at matches, and even though it might take some getting used to, I think ultimately they would embrace the new guidelines.