It's a new day

Everyone who wants to play must register. Whether this is your first year or your 27th year, you must register so we don't have to go back through our files and dig up your info. Simply paying your entry fee does not complete your registration. If you're not registered with a PM ID, your name will not appear on the Picks page to make picks. Go to the Accounts page to confirm your registration and account balance. The page will be updated periodically through the registration period.

The season we covet is upon us. Registration is open for Pigskin Mania 27.

Every season since 2000, we've had more entries than the season before, so we're expecting another record turnout and another record pot. We had 831 entries last season for a total pot of $49,860. Kyle Skinner took home the first-place prize of $4,125.

We have a few changes to how we’re running the pool, with the most visible change being the use of a Pigskin Mania ID for all players to make tracking entries, accounts and past records more uniform (more information below). We ask everyone to please read through all the content on this page, not only now but throughout the season as we make this transition.

Here are some of the basics of this year’s pool:

• The entry fee is still $60. Anyone can enter. Feel free to invite your friends and family. Here is the link to the Registration page. Please read and follow the directions for sign up and payment of entry fees.

• Accounts will be updated periodically to include winnings in the two ongoing pools, Tour Mania and Cup Mania. Players can elect to use their accounts for payment of entry fees for themselves and others. Here’s the link to the Accounts page.

• The pool returns to a 19-week season and starts with games on Thursday, Aug. 30. (There are only two games on the Saturday before that and will not be included in the pool.) Early point spreads are posted on the Spreads page but are not official until Aug. 30.

• The first Pigskin Special will be Michigan at Notre Dame unless something unforeseen makes it an unattractive or NO LINE game.

• There are no rules changes, but we recommend you give the rules another read as a refresher. Here’s the link to the Rules page.

• This year’s pool runs through the first round of the NFL playoffs and the College Football Playoff championship game on Jan. 7, 2019. The season schedule can be found here.

• And to make sure there are no questions about this, Pigskin Mania and all Mania pools fall under the specific definition of "social gambling." The organizers make no profit and take no cut from any entry fees. All entry fees minus the cost of hosting this web site are paid out to winners or held on account for future pools.

Your PM ID

We are now running five pools for which we are tracking accounts, with many players using their accounts for all the pools, Pigskin Mania, Dirty Dozen Bowl Pool, March Mania, Tour Mania and Cup Mania, our new World Cup pool.

To simplify our accounting, we will now require players to establish a Pigskin Mania ID and use it for entry in all of our pools. Because we link all the pools to a single accounts file, having a single ID for each player will make it easier to keep your accounts accurate and up to date.

When you register for Pigskin Mania or any of our pools, we will ask you for your name, your email address and a phone number (preferably a mobile phone so we can text you if needed) which is how we will track your account, and then you will submit a PM ID.

Your ID may simply be your name, or you may make it an alias. If you already use an alias, please use the same alias for your PM ID so we can match it to your current account. Going forward only the PM ID will be listed on the website or mentioned in any commentary.

We are switching the name format to FirstName followed by LastName instead of LastName, FirstName. Your PM ID should be exactly how you want it to appear on the website (including uppercase and lowercase letters). Standings will be in alphabetical order by ID which in many cases will be first names. There will be a conversion of that in our archives which will take place as time allows. If you don’t want people to Google your name and have Pigskin Mania at the top of the list, now is the time to make a change to an alias.

We thank everyone for their cooperation and understanding on this change.

Stay informed

As mentioned, we encourage everyone to check in on this website for information related to the pool. Once the season begins, we will once again put the PM Twitter feed at the top of this column where everyone can access the information we put out. But we also advise you to follow us on Twitter to get that info right when we post it. Our Twitter account is @pigskin_mania.

We also have a private Facebook group for our players which is active - and usually very amusing - throughout the year, and where we also post pertinent and timely information. Go to the link and ask to be admitted to the group unless you already are part of it.

If you have questions, comments or suggestions, drop us an email at poolmaster@pigskinmania.net.

Let the registration begin. We will update this page as needed heading toward kickoff.