The Cash Zone includes all players in the top 100 in the standings.

Mania Rises From
Humble Beginnings

25 years.

Its beginning was so inconspicuous – 16 friends looking for something to make the football season a tad more interesting.

Twenty in Year 2.

Land lines for making picks. Fax machines to report results.

Who knew?

A quarter of a century later, Pigskin Mania is a hysteria that binds friends from all corners of the U.S. and even internationally.

It evokes fits of rage and dances of joy. It grabs. It holds. It doesn’t let go.

We step into our 25th season with no signs of slowing down. There were 665 players in 2015. If the trending increase from the last several years holds, the 2016 field could reach 800.

Who knew?

Registration is underway for the upcoming season. As always, the pool is open to anyone who puts up the entry fee and wants to play. All entry fees, minus the cost of hosting this website, are paid out in prize money.

 Click here to get to the Registration page. Payment instructions are on the page

The Accounts Page is updated. If you have funds on account, your payment will automatically be deducted. If you don't have enough on account to cover the entry fee, just send the difference. Entries fees are due by the time you make your picks the first week of the season.

Get ready for some football

Here are a few things to know as we get set for Year 25:

• The entry fee is increasing for the first time since 1995. The fee is now $60. The increase was suggested and unanimously approved by the Founding Fathers with the idea to increase payouts and pay more players.

• The $10 increase in the entry fee comes with an accompanying increase in weekly prizes: $60 for a 6.0; $30 for a perfect week of 5.5 or 5.0;

• Season payouts will go deeper into the field. Presuming we approach the projected field of 800 players, 100 players will at least win back their entry fee. Previous seasons required players to finish in the top 10 percent to cash in on the season pot.

• There is a wider gap between the percentage share for first place and second place giving the champion a higher reward for defeating a larger field.

• The season starts with an all-NCAA schedule over Labor Day weekend. The first game of the season kicks off on Thursday, Sept. 1 at 4 p.m. MST (7 p.m. EDT). The NFL comes into play in Week 2.

• The season goes 19 weeks through the second weekend of NFL playoffs and the College Football Playoff championship.

The pool has its first female defending champion with Kylie Crosland, who won the pool by a half-point in her rookie year. She collected $4,468.50 for the win.

Presuming 800 entries, a similar pace for weekly prizes, and changes in the prize structure, the 2016 first-place prize is projected to be more than $5,000.

This is also the year where PM’s version of Joe DiMaggio’s 56-game hit streak comes into play. Veteran Pigskin Maniac Mike Feder can break the all-time record of streaks without a perfect week. He enters the season with a streak of 181 weeks, chasing the record of 190 held by the late Rita Fisher. Feder’s last perfect week was in Week 5 of the 2006 season.