League Rules

College Style League
Commissioner: Llorac
Assistant Commissioner: Bhgray (Red Shirts)
Assistant Commissioner: Bravosmike1 (drafts)


I - League Structure

A) Two Regions (East and West)
B) East Region made up of 12 teams each in the ACC and SEC conferences (24 total)
C) West Region made up of 12 teams each in the PAC12 and Big12 conferences (24 total)
D) The conferences aren't exactly the same as real life but are progressing towards that. As a part of this transition, any existing owner can retain their branding of the current school if they choose, and will be grandfathered in perpetuity. If the owner ever leaves or is booted by a commissioner, the team may be rebranded to reflected the current real-life conference alignments.
E: Owners may have two teams if they are not in the same division. Temporary waivers may be granted at the commissioner's discretion, with the intention that an owner moves or rebrands one of their teams at the next opportunity.

II - Regular Season Basics

A) 3 games series' are played to simulate the weekend series college teams typically play. The CPU sims games every 8 hours during the regular season.
B) 84-game regular season
C) The first 18 games are against non-conference opponents. Using the previous season's standings, teams will be scheduled to play 6 games (3H and 3A) against teams that finished in the same position in the other three conferences. Example: Teams Alpha, Beta, Charlie, and Delta all finished last in their respective conferences. Alpha will have 3 home games and 3 away games with Beta, Charlie, and Delta. This will be the entirety of the non-conference schedule. Any disparity in the strength of your non-conference schedule should balance out over several seasons.
D) The final 66 games will be against the other 11 teams in your own conference, with a home and away series against each.
E) Scholarship signings (free agency adds) ends on Day 40.

III - Playoffs

College World Series

A) The 4 division winners and 12 wildcard teams will qualify for the playoffs
B) The 4 division winners will be seeded 1 thru 4 for the playoffs. The seeding amongst the division winners will be based on the power rankings (unrevised) at the end of the regular season.
C) If there is a tie for a division lead at the end of the regular season, head-to-head records will be the first tie-breaker. Power rankings (unrevised) will be the second tie-breaker. If there is a three-way tie for a division lead, power rankings (unrevised) will be utilized as the first tie-breaker, unless one team has the head-to-head advantage against the other two teams.
D) All wildcard teams will be seeded 5-16, based on Power Rankings at the end of the regular season (unrevised). A wildcard team can never be seeded higher than a division winner.
E) The playoffs will pair teams in the Super Regionals (first round) from high to low i.e. 1 vs. 16, 2 vs. 15. This will be a 3-game series, 1-1-1 format. The 8 winners will then qualify for the Double Elimination Bracket Play for the CWS. This consists of two, four team double elimination brackets (noted by red and blue font in the schedule below).
F) The 8 surviving teams will be reseeded, using the original 16 seeds. Meaning if the #16 seed upsets the #1 seed in the Super Regionals, they can never be higher than the #8 seed. Or conversely, if the top 8 seeds all win in the Super Regionals, they will have the same seeds for the CWS. The #2 seed could never hop the #1 seed. Teams will retain these seeds through the remainder of playoffs.
G) For all CWS bracket games, the home team will go to the better seed, with the exception of the cross-over game between the Winner's bracket and Loser's bracket . The team from the Winner's bracket will be the home team (see Day 94 on the schedule below). Should an extra game be needed due to the double elimination rule, the teams will swap home and away for the next game.
H) The two teams emerging from the double elimination brackets will square off in a 3-game Final Series, in 1-1-1 format. The better seed will be the home team for Games 1 and 3.
I) The schedule will be as follows:

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Four Days off after Regular Season
Days 85-87: CWS Super Regionals (1-1-1) format
Teams reseeded 1 through 8 as described above.

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Four Days off before CWS Bracket games begin
Double elimination Tournament
Day 88: Game 1 (seed 8 @ seed 1) and Game 2 (seed 5 @ seed 4)
Day 89: Game 3 (seed 7 @ seed 2) and Game 4 (seed 6 @ seed 3)
Day 90: Game 5 (Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser) and Game 6 (Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner)
Day 91: Game 7 (Game 3 loser vs. Game 4 loser) and Game 8 (Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 winner)
Day 92: Game 9 (Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 loser)
Day 93: Game 10 (Game 7 winner vs. Game 8 loser)
Day 94: Game 11 (Game 6 winner vs. Game 9 winner) and Game 12 (Game 8 winner vs. Game 10 winner)
Day 95: if necessary repeat Game 11 and/or Game 12 but swap reverse home and away teams. If games are not necessary, this becomes another day off. (These games are necessary if the loser of Day 94 games has only lost once.)

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Four Days off before CWS Finals
Days 96-98: CWS Finals (1-1-1) format

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NIT Tournament

(introduced in 2052)
A) Teams 17-24 in the final, un-revised, Power Rankings will qualify for the NIT tournament.
B) The tournament format and schedule will match that of the CWS Double Elimination Bracket and Finals.
C) The winner of the NIT will be allowed to red-shirt a second player in the following season. (Introduced in 2080)
D) The The teams in the NIT can improve their final PR numbers, and games can help (or hurt) teams for draft positioning. There is nothing that prevents an NIT team from 'jumping' a CWS team for draft positioning (see below for more details on draft order)

Bottom Eight Tournament (B8T)

(introduced in 2080)
A) Teams 41-48 in the final, un-revised, Power Rankings will qualify for the B8T tournament.
B) The tournament format and schedule will match that of the CWS Double Elimination Bracket and Finals.
C) The winner of the B8T will be allowed to change one player to "S" potential.

IV - Player Database

A) League is made up of all fictional players ranging in age from 18-21
B) Players will be retired after progression is applied and they are 22 years old. (Some free agents may retire at any time.)
C) New incoming freshman will be created as 17 year olds after Free Agency closes but typically not until the playoffs are over.
D) The number of new players created by position could vary from year to year depending on scarcity or overabundance, but will generally follow these standards:
SP (100), RP (125), C (50), 1B (50), 2B (50), 3B (50), SS (50), LF (50), CF (50), RF (50), DH (50), IF/IF (10), OF/OF (10), UT/UT (10)
E) Beginning with Season 2062, there will be small modifications to the number of players created for each rookie class, in order to simulate varying depth of draft classes. There will be a 4 year cycle implemented that will see certain positions receive a 10% bump in the number of players available for recruitment.

Rotation:
Year 1 (2084): There will be 5 extra 2B, 1B, CF, and 1 extra UT/UT
Year 2 (2085): There will be 12 extra RP, 5 extra DH, and 5 extra LF
Year 3 (2086): There will be 5 extra catchers, SS, RF, and 1 extra IF/IF.
Year 4 (2083): There will be 10 extra SP, 5 extra 3B, and 1 extra OF/OF

This creates 16 extra players per year, except for Year 4 there will be a total of 22. After year 4, the cycle will restart.

V - Roster Rules

A) Maximum roster size is 29
B) Minor League roster maximum of 6
C) Owners will be removed from the team and possibly the league if their team's roster doesn't meet the minimum requirement of 11 position players and 9 pitchers, by opening day. If the minimum player requirement isn't met, and the owner is dropped, the commish will assign the best 21 yr old free agents (or next oldest player if no 21's available) to the applicable teams, in order to get them to the minimum requirements, and will set a default lineup, until such time that a new owner takes over the team.
D) Owners will be removed from the team and possibly the league after game #9 of the season (3 series into the season), if there are more than 1 NA's in your starting lineups (either vs. RHP or LHP). See the My Team...Lineup link. NA means you don't have a DH or fielding position filled and the computer has chosen someone to put in the batting order for you.
E) Dropping players is not allowed in this league (you've given them a scholarship and can't revoke it)
F) Position changes are not permitted for players. The commissioners may edit FA players on an as needed basis for league balance, but managers cannot request position changes for rostered players.

VI - Off-season Drafts

A) After the completion of each season, a 6 round, one-way (not snake) draft will be conducted. The slow and live drafts will comprise Rounds 1 -3. The order will be reversed for the start of Round 4. Rounds 4-6 will be completed utilizing the Supplemental Draft feature of the website. Teams therefore must pre-rank players to get players during these rounds. There will always be at least 48 hours between Rounds to allow owners to re-rank players. Example, if Round 4 is executed at noon eastern on Monday, Round 5 will not be executed until at least Wednesday at noon eastern, unless the Commissioner gives prior notice for special circumstances.
B) Draft order calls for the World Series winner to pick first, National Runner-Up second, and the remaining draft order determined by the RTPR (Revised Team Power Ranking) process as described below:
1. A team's UTPI (Unrevised Team Power Index) and UTPR (Unrevised Team Power Ranking) will be recorded after the World Series is over (this is a team's power index number and rank as shown on the normal Power Rankings button).
2. All of the UTPR's will be added together for the team's within each conference. The sum of those rankings will be considered each conference's CPR (Conference Power Ranking) number.
3. All of the CPR's added together will always be 1,176 (1+2+3+4+...+44+45+46+47+48).
4. Each conference's CPF (Conference Power Factor) will be calculated with the formula "100% minus (CPR/1176)". This helps give each conference an overall strength rating.
5. Each team's RTPI (Revised Team Power Index) will be calculated by taking their UTPI and multiplying it by their CPF. This turns their original power index into one re-calculated to factor in the relative strength or weakness of their conference.
6. For all teams that were not in the World Series, a RTPR (Revised Team Power Ranking) will be set with numbers 3 thru 48. The 3rd ranked team will be the team with the highest RTPI. The 4th ranked team will be the team with the 2nd highest RTPI. The 48th ranked team will be the team with the lowest RTPI.
7. The draft order is set based on National Champ picking first, National Runner-Up picking 2nd, and all other teams based on the highest RTPR. Prior to Season 20, this one-way draft style in best-to-worst order was the order used for all 5 rounds. Beginning in Season 20, the 1st 3 rounds now operate under this same setup, but the 4th through 6th rounds now operate in reverse order (worst-to-best).
Generally this process will move teams 0 to 3 spots in either direction from what the normal power rankings revealed. If a low-ranked team makes it to the World Series, they would get a top 2 pick instead. If a low-ranked team (not in the top 16) wins a conference and doesn't advance far in the playoffs despite the #4 playoff seed, their draft order does not get a playoff appearance boost.

C) Slow Draft Rules
1. In the past some owners have let the 24 hour clock expire during the first round of the 'Slow Draft'. In order to deter this, owners that let the 24 hour timer expire and allow the system to process an auto draft, may be skipped for all subsequent rounds of the Draft.
2. An owner can remedy this by sending the commissioner a private message in a timely fashion or by showing up in person for the Live Draft (when held). A team will ONLY be skipped if there is continued silence. It will be viewed as one measure of inactivity that can lead to being booted from the league.

D) Live Draft Rules
1. If an owner cannot attend the live draft date/time, they can either:
---Utilize the supplemental draft ranking feature to rank players ahead of time which will be utilized by the Auto-Pick feature in your absence. OR
---Send the commissioner a prioritized list of specific instructions (such as "pick the lowest ERA amongst 18-yr old starting pitchers available").
2. Once the live draft date/time arrives, there is a 2-minute minute time limit per pick (with some grace provided for slow internet connections).
3. In some off-seasons the draft room may open prior to the actual live draft date/time and owners can begin making their selections ahead of time. In these situations, the commish will advise if there is a time limit on picks during this pre-draft stage. The time limit will be at least 12 hours using the pennantchase.com draft timer.
4. The commissioner running the live draft will skip owners who are not in attendance ONLY IF they have not pre-ranked players via the Supplemental Draft feature or provided the commish with draft selection instructions to follow on their behalf. In practical terms, if an owner isn't present and hasn't provided the commish with draft instructions, the Auto-Pick feature will be used. If the draft room tool indicates the pick was made from User List, meaning the owner had ranked players via the Supplemental Draft, the commish will continue to use the Auto-Pick feature for that owner in the next round. If the draft room tool indicates the pick was made via (Auto), meaning no player rankings had been submitted, that team will be skipped in all subsequent rounds. If an owner's pick shows up as User List in one round, but Auto in a future round, they will be skipped in all subsequent rounds.

E) After the draft the regular season will begin approximately 3-4 days later, giving time for owners to fill their roster via free agency, set lineups, etc. Also free agency will be opened the 1-2 days after round 6 of the draft .

VII - Fun Stuff

A) The candidates for MVP, Cy Young, and Freshmen of the Year (aka Rookie of the Year) will be announced and votes collected. Candidates will generally have the top Cy Young & MVP scores at the end of the regular season.
B) You will have until Opening Day to customize your stadium (name, park effects). Let the commish know of desired changes.
C) An extensive set of historical information is maintained on the History Page.

VIII - Red Shirts

A) You can Red Shirt one newly drafted 18 year old before the first game of the season. That player can only be Red Shirted once.
B) You are responsible for not allowing that player to have one At Bat or one Inning Pitched. If they play one game the Red Shirt status is invalidated. Placement of that player on the Minors portion of your roster is recommended.
C) A player you designate as a Red Shirt is set to the age of 17 after the season has ended, and it is validated that they did not play in any game.
D) Bhgray is in charge of the Red Shirts, please direct all requests and questions to him.

IX - New Owner Tips

*** Items A, B, and C have been replaced with an auto sim every 8 hours for the time being. injury lengths have been adjusted and pitcher rest has been set for a 3-man rotation. ***
A) Each 3-game series is played rapidly with little time between games (7 days a week).
B) Right before the next 3-game series is played, 4 off-days are granted. This gives you the ability to utilize the slump buster feature on any of your eligible pitchers.
C) Because of this process, you will basically have a 3-man rotation unless I screw up and forget to grant an off day, which tends to occur once or twice a season. As a result I recommend carrying a fourth starter.
D) Any players injured (for less than 5 days) during one series will be back to full-strength by the time the next series is played.
E) If you are joining a team after the live draft, and filling your team via free agency, don't go overboard and fill your entire roster up to the 35 player-max. Nearly all the top players would have already been taken by that time. Just draft enough to get you through the first season (25 players maybe), looking for potential diamonds in the rough, but put your main focus on learning the ropes in your first season and then drafting top young players via the live draft of the upcoming season.
F) 18-21 yr olds are used as our freshmen through seniors. Each offseason, each player will age one year. The pennantchase website provides an auto-progression process based on each player peaking around age 28. Thus all of our players should get better each season. Thus you will generally see a batters avg, ops, and other stats improve as he ages, and similarly will see a pitchers WHIP and other stats improve as he ages. It has also been observed that players with low AB or IP are MORE affected by the progression. They will progress faster (or more). So guys with high AB or IP won't progress as much. You may want to consider this in your drafting and free agency strategies.

League Settings

Year Range of Stats	1870 - 2070
Roster Size (Majors)	29
Roster Size (Minors)	6
Keepers	(35 keepers)
Change Stats Allowed
Free Agency
Drops
No-Drop List
Player Fatigue
Batter Injuries	(2 games max)
Pitcher Injuries
Use Pitcher's HR Allowed Stats
Allows Max Surprise Bunts
Min Batters Pitcher Must Face	0
Slump Buster	(unlimited days)
On Fire	Classic
User Sims