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NEW IN 2016: The
entry fee is $60, which pays for the entire season. There
are no weekly entry fees. The entry fee must be paid before
the player's first selected game begins in Week 1. If the entry
fee is not paid by that time, the picks in Week 1 will not
count.
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Each week, players will attempt
to pick the winners of five football games picking against
the point spreads posted on
the Pigskin Mania website. Choices of games are limited to
those listed in the point spreads. NCAA games which involve
an FCS team (formerly known as Division 1-AA) are not
included in the point spreads. Both teams in a game have to
be FBS teams (formerly known as Division 1-A) for the game
to be eligible to be played.
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A pick is declared a win only if the
team selected BEATS the point spread. A tie or "push" counts
as a loss for both teams.
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Each week, players must pick two
NCAA games and two NFL games. For the fifth game, players
have the option of picking either an NCAA or NFL game.
This rule is in effect from Week 2 through Week 12. In Week
1 there are no NFL games scheduled so all five picks are
from the NCAA schedule. From
Week 13 through the end of the season, players may pick any
combination of games, up to five NCAA games or five NFL
games.
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The weekly pool is on a Thursday
through Monday schedule. Monday night games are part of the
previous weekend's schedule. Games played Tuesday and Wednesday
during the regular season are not part of the schedule and
are not eligible to be selected. They will not appear in the
Official Point Spreads. In Weeks 17 and 18, the pool will be on a Tuesday through Monday
schedule to allow for all the bowl games to be eligible to be
picked. Official point spreads for Weeks 17 and 18 will be
posted by 10 a.m. MST on Tuesday those weeks. Games in Week 19
are all played between Saturday and Monday of that week, so
the schedule will revert to the previous schedule and point
spreads will be posted on Thursday.
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The season will start with games the
weekend of Thursday, Sept. 1 through Monday, Sept. 5, 2016. Week 1 is an
all-NCAA schedule. The season continues for 19 weeks
through the NFL Wild Card playoff games and the College
Football Playoff championship game from Jan. 7 through Jan.
9, 2017.
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The deadline to submit picks each
week is prior to the start of any one of the player's five
games selected. If a game has already started, a player may no
longer pick that game, but can pick any other game that has
not begun.
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The required mode of
reporting picks is the Picks Page at
http://www.pigskinmania.net/fbpicks.php.
If that is not available to you or if the Picks Page is
not working, you can send picks by
e-mail to
poolmaster@pigskinmania.net. If you are really in
a pinch, you may text or phone in your picks to The
Poolmaster's cell phone at (520) 444-3883.
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Once players make their five picks, they can change any
or all of those picks up until any one of their five
selected games has started. At the time any one of the five selected games has begun,
a player's picks are locked and no further changes can be made to
any of the picks with
the exception of a cancelled game. (See Rule #16 regarding cancellation of games.)
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Players must make all five of their
picks at once. Players are not allowed to pick
NCAA games, and then make NFL picks at a later time. Once
a player's NCAA games have started, the player may not
add NFL games to the picks.
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Scheduled game times are listed with the point spreads.
It remains the responsibility of
the player to know the ACTUAL start time. In the
event a game time changes, the actual time a game starts
will determine whether it is eligible to be picked
regardless of the time listed with the point spreads. Be
advised there have been instances where weather or other
considerations have caused game times to change to an
earlier start, even as much as a day earlier. Likewise, if a
game starts later than the time posted with the point
spreads, it is eligible to be played up until the game
actually begins. We will attempt to keep the listed game
times current, but will not guarantee that the listed times
are correct.
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NEW IN 2016: If
there is an error in the point spreads that is detected
at least two hours before the first scheduled game in the
point spreads, it may be
corrected and will become the official spread. If the
incorrect point spread is not detected at least two hours
before the first scheduled game, it will remain as the official
spread. If there is a correction in the points spreads, it
will be noted on the page without indicating which game was
involved. There will be no indication of errors
that remain in the point spreads.
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It is the sole responsibility of
players to remember to report picks. Players will not
receive reminders. Players who do not report picks will
receive zero points for the week and will have five
disqualified picks, making the player ineligible for
last-place prize money.
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If a player forgets or is unable to
submit picks until there are fewer than five remaining
eligible picks, the player may submit as many picks as are
available. For instance, if during the NCAA regular season
a player doesn't make picks until after all NCAA games have
been played, the player may submit 3 NFL picks and a Lock to
try to score some points. When submitting
fewer than five picks, choose No Pick in the drop-down menu
where you cannot make a valid pick. No Pick is the last
selection in the menus.
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When making picks, NCAA teams are designated by the
name of their school. NFL teams are designated by their
mascots. For example, when you select Arizona you have
selected the Arizona Wildcats and not the Arizona
Cardinals. The other NCAA teams with matching NFL teams
are Buffalo (Bills), Cincinnati (Bengals), Houston (Texans),
Miami (Dolphins), Minnesota (Vikings), Pittsburgh
(Steelers), Tennessee (Titans) and Washington (Redskins).
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A
game that has NO LINE or NL in the posted point spreads is
not eligible to be picked. If a game with NO LINE is
selected, a player can change that pick until the start of
the player's first scheduled game as described in Rule #9.
If the game is not changed before any one of the player's
other games starts, it counts as a loss and a disqualified
pick.
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A point
spread of zero will be designated as PK (pick 'em) on the
point spreads which means the winner of the game covers the
point spread.
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If
a player picks both teams in the same game, the favorite in
the game becomes the pick. If the game is a PK (pick 'em),
the home team becomes the pick. The other pick is declared a
disqualified pick under Rule #29.
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If
a player duplicates a pick, only one of those picks will
count. The other pick is
declared a disqualified pick under Rule #29 and is a loss.
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In the unlikely
event that a game chosen by a player is cancelled, the
player can replace that pick with a game that has not
yet begun. If an NCAA game is cancelled and a player
is not aware of the cancellation until after all NCAA games have been
completed, the player may choose an NFL game even if it
results in failure to meet the requirement of 2 NCAA
+ 2 NFL + option. If a player does not replace the
cancelled game
before all the weekend games are completed, the pick
becomes a loss and a disqualified pick. To submit a replacement pick, go to
the Picks Page and select your replacement in one of the
drop down menus. For the remaining selections select "No
Pick" which is the last choice in each of the menus. If the
Picks Page is unavailable to you, you may submit the
replacement pick by email at
poolmaster@pigskinmania.net, text or phone message at
(520) 444-3883.
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Lock of the Week (The Jon
Wilner Rule)
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Each week, players have the
option of
declaring one of their picks a "LOCK."
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The Lock of the Week
must be one of the five games in your picks.
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If you pick a
Lock that is not one of those five games, the Lock is
omitted from your picks.
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Players are awarded an additional
0.5 points for picking their Lock of the Week correctly, and
are penalized 0.5 points for an incorrect pick.
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The Pigskin Special
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Each week, The Poolmaster will designate one
game as the Pigskin Special. The designation will go to the
one game each week - either NCAA or NFL - that appears to
be the game that is generating the most attention from the fans,
media and sports talk shows. The Poolmaster will accept
input from players, but reserves the right to evaluate the
entire weekend's schedule and make the final selection.
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Anyone who selects the Pigskin Special among their five
games assumes the same risk as if they played a Lock of
the Week. Choosing the game correctly results in an
additional
0.5 points. A loss results in minus 0.5 points.
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Players do
not have the option of removing the premium point value on
the Pigskin Special. If you play the Pigskin Special,
whether or not you are aware it is the Pigskin Special, you
risk the additional points.
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The Pigskin Special is in addition
to the Lock of the Week, which creates the potential for a
maximum high score of 6.0 points for a perfect week with the
Lock and Special and a possible low of -1.0
point for someone who plays both and loses all their games.
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The Pigskin Special will be selected and posted on the website
with the weekly update. If there is no line on the game on
Thursday, there will be no Pigskin Special that week. In the
event a Pigskin Special in a given week has no line early in
the week, the
game can be changed by midnight Wednesday. If it is not
changed, the Founding Fathers
have the authority to schedule two Pigskin Specials at a
future date.
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Season standings are based on total wins plus points for
the Lock of the Week and the Pigskin Special.
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All prize money, including weekly
prizes, will be paid out at the end of the season. 100% of
entry fees are paid out to players minus the direct cost
associated with the hosting of the PM website by an
independent provider.
The Poolmaster earns no financial benefit for the operation
of the pool.
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NEW FOR 2016: Weekly Prizes - A
player must pick all five games correctly to win a weekly
prize. Picking all five games correctly, including the Lock
of the Week AND the Pigskin Special for a score of 6.0 is
worth $60. Picking all five games correctly which results in
a score of 5.5 or 5.0 pays $30. A score of 5.0 where the
player picks four of five games correctly does not pay a
prize.
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In an
effort to include the College Football Playoff championship
game as part of the pool, the season extends to that weekend
with the following adjustment: There will be only five games
to pick from in Week 19, four NFL wildcard games and the CFB
Championship. This creates the possibility of an inordinate
number of perfect weeks. If the number of perfect weeks in
Week 19 is equal to or less than the highest number of
perfect weeks in any of the first 18 weeks, then perfect
weeks will pay the same as the rest of the season with $60
for a score of 6.0 and $30 for all other perfect weeks. If
the number of perfect weeks in Week 19 is more than the
highest number of perfect weeks in any of the first 18
weeks, then ALL perfect weeks will pay $30.
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NEW FOR 2016: Season Prizes:
Season prize money will be awarded to the top 100 players in
the standings. Prize money for the Top 25 finishers will be
determined by percentage of the pot remaining after weekly
prizes, prizes to 26th through 100th place, last-place
prize, and expenses. (The projected dollar amounts in the
chart below are based on 800 entries and the same ratio of
weekly prize money per player as in the 2015 season.)
Place |
Share |
Projected |
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Place |
Share |
Projected |
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Place |
Share |
Projected |
1st |
25.00% |
$5,402.50 |
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11th |
2.40% |
$518.64 |
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21st |
1.40% |
$302.54 |
2nd |
10.50% |
$2,269.05 |
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12th |
2.30% |
$497.03 |
|
22nd |
1.30% |
$280.93 |
3rd |
9.00% |
$1,944.90 |
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13th |
2.20% |
$475.42 |
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23rd |
1.20% |
$259.32 |
4th |
7.50% |
$1,620.75 |
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14th |
2.10% |
$453.81 |
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24th |
1.10% |
$237.71 |
5th |
6.00% |
$1,296.60 |
|
15th |
2.00% |
$432.20 |
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25th |
1.00% |
$216.10 |
6th |
4.00% |
$864.40 |
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16th |
1.90% |
$410.59 |
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26th - 50th (each) |
$120.00 |
7th |
3.75% |
$810.38 |
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17th |
1.80% |
$388.98 |
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51st to 100th (each) |
$60.00 |
8th |
3.25% |
$702.33 |
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18th |
1.70% |
$367.37 |
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Last place |
$60.00 |
9th |
3.00% |
$648.30 |
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19th |
1.60% |
$345.76 |
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10th |
2.50% |
$540.25 |
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20th |
1.50% |
$324.15 |
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There will be no tiebreakers
for final standings. If there is a tie, players involved
in the tie will split prize money. Example: If there is
a two-way tie for third, prize money for third and
fourth place will be combined and divided evenly among
those two players.
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A
player is no longer eligible for the last-place prize if the
player accumulates three (3) or more disqualified picks. A
pick is disqualified for any one of the following reasons:
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The game involving the pick has
already started
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The game with the pick has no line
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The pick is a duplicate
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The pick is not playing
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A player picks both teams in the
same game
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A player makes less than five
picks in a week (Example: if a player makes only three
picks, the two missing picks are disqualified picks)
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The PM Rules Committee is made up of the
8 active
Founding Fathers, The Founding Fathers will rule upon any unusual
circumstances which arise and require formation or
interpretation of a rule. The list of Founding Fathers
can be found on the Founding Fathers Page. All rulings will be made in the best
interests of the game. Any Founding Father who is
involved in the circumstance in question will not
participate in the ruling.
Updated: June 23, 2016
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