Cowchip Constitution

Introduction:

The Cowchip Auction League is Dave Kreklau and Brian Kreklau's new league for 2005. We are taking elements of old leagues that we have run and combining them into an exciting new league for the future. The Cowchip Auction league is a 12 team non-keeper league that is performance based and uses a decimal scoring system. There are three 4-team divisions in the Cowchip League. Teams will be randomly drawn for their division assignments. The cost of the league is $200 per year per team. All money minus $100 for league expenses is paid back each year. 9 out of the 12 teams each year will win prize money. The Cowchip Auction league utilizes an auction draft each year to draft it's players. This format gives every team in the league the opportunity to acquire the players that they want. Each team has a 16 player roster and plays a 14 week regular season. At the end of the regular the top 8 teams in the league compete the Cowchip Playoffs. The 4 teams that don't make the playoffs compete in the Cowchip Toilet Bowl. Teams in the Cowchip Auction league use a flexible roster for RB's/WR's. The entire league is very flexible in terms of the players that have and the type of team that you want to build. It is up to you to figure out how to build the best team in the league. Will you have what it takes to become the "King Cowchip"?

Rosters:

Each Cowchip franchise is allowed a roster limit of 16 players. Each team can have any combination of positions included on their roster. There is no injured reserve in the Cowchip Auction Football League.

Team Names:

Each team will make up a team name to be used to distinguish itself from the other teams in the league. The Cowchip League encourages it's owner's to place a photo of them on the league website to facilitate getting to know everyone better.

Schedule:

The commissioner will post and email a league schedule before the start of the regular season. Each team will play it's division opponents twice and every other member of the league. There is a 14 week regular season in the Cowchip Football League and a 3 week playoff schedule. The playoff format is a simple 8-team seeded tournament where Team #1 plays Team #8, etc. There is no reseeding in the playoffs. The Toilet Bowl is a simple 4 team tournament held in Week's 15 and 16.

The Auction:

The draft will be held on the FantasyAuctioneer.com website. Each team has $100 available to them to auction a total of 16 players. Each franchise must auction all 16 spots on their team, no exceptions. The default value for players called out in the auction is $1 and bidding must be done in $1 increments. The auctioneer site's decision on bids is final. The first year of the league the first team to call out a player will be determined by a random draw.  There is no trading of players during the auction and no trading of auction dollars. There are no waivers during the auction.

Starting Lineups:

Each team must turn in a starting lineup of the following positions:

(1) QB, Flexible RB/WR's (Possible Combinations are 1 RB/4 WR's, 2 RB's/3 WR's, or 3 RB's/2 WR's, (1) TE, (1) K, (1) DEF/ST

Teams must have their starting lineup in place by game-time of each player's game.

Scoring:

Players score points as follows:

Passing Touchdown: 4 points
Each 25 yards passing: 1 points
Any Touchdown Scored: 6 points
Receptions: 0.5 points
Each 10 yards rushing or receiving: 1 point
Yardage Bonus:  100 yards rushing, 100 yards receiving, 300 yards passing:  5 points
Each 2-point run, pass, or catch: 2 points
Interceptions: Minus 2 points
Fumbles Lost: Minus 2 points
PAT: 1 point
Missed PAT:  -1 point
Field Goal (0-39 yards:  3 points), (40-49 yards:  4 points), (50+ yards:  5 points)
Missed Field Goals (0-39 yards: -3 points), (40-49 yards: -2 points), (50+ yards: -1 point)
Defensive scores (fumble/interception return for a TD: 4 points
Blocked Punt not returned for a TD:  4 points
Blocked FG not returned for a TD:  3 points
Blocked PAT:  1 point
Special teams scores (kick return/block kick return): 6 points
Safety: 5 points
Two points for each turnover caused by a defense or special teams.
One point per sack recorded by a defense
Offensive Points Allowed:
   0-5 points allowed:  10 points
   6-10 points allowed:  7 points
   11-15 points allowed:  5 points
   16-20 points allowed:  3 points
   21-25 points allowed:  1 point
   26-30 points allowed:  -1 point
   31-35 points allowed:  -3 points
   36-40 points allowed:  -5 points
   41-45 points allowed:  -7 points
   46+ points allowed:  -10 points

Trades:

A team can make any trade with any other team in the league. Trades are allowed to be accepted by owners between Tuesday 9AM Eastern time until Friday Midnight Eastern time of each week of the regular season.  No trades are allowed into the playoffs.  The league website will put each trade up for a league wide poll.  The poll will be active for 24 hours from when the trade was accepted by the owners.  6 reject votes will automatically veto the trade. If after 24 hours, there are not 6 reject votes the trade will be accepted and processed by the league software.

Free Agents:

Teams can pick up as many free agents as they want each week. Bids for free agents are put in up to Wednesday at Midnight EDT. Each team has "100 Cowchip" to use to bid for free agents during the season. These "Cowchips" cannot be traded and have no other value other than bidding on players. On Wednesday at 9:00 PM Eastern time the league software will award the free agent bids for the week. After this free agent draft is run, free agents can be picked up on a first come, first serve basis the rest of the week. Waivers run all year long including the playoffs. Teams that have been eliminated from either the regular or Toilet Bowl playoffs are ineligible from bidding on free agents.

Playoffs:

After the season is over the top 8 teams in the league are eligible for the Cowchip Playoffs. The three division winners are automatically the top 3 seeded teams in the league. The remaining 5 teams are all wild card teams and can be from any division. Standings are determined by this:

#1: Winning %
#2: Total Points
#3: Head to Head Record
#4: Division Record
#5: Total points scored the last 3 weeks

The playoffs are a simple 8 team tournament as shown:

Team 1 vs Team 8
Team 4 vs Team 5

Team 2 vs Team 7
Team 3 vs Team 6

The winners then advance. The Toilet Bowl playoffs is a simple 4 team tournament.

Fees:

The fee to compete in the Cowchip Auction League is $200. 100% of the money is paid back to the league in prizes. All fees must be paid to the commissioner before a team is allowed to compete. There are no transaction or any other fees required for the Cowchip Football League. The prize structure is shown below:

Prizes:

The prizes are paid out as follows:

King Cowchip Winner: $500
King Cowchip Runner-Up: $250
Toilet Bowl Winner: $50

Playoff Seeds:

#1: $400
#2: $350
#3: $250
#4: $200
#5: $100
#6: $100
#7: $50
#8: $50

League Expenses for Software/PayPal Fees, etc: $100


The prizes are mailed out immediately following the playoffs. Some members of the league have opted to apply their league winnings to future seasons. This is acceptable.

Final Comments:

The commissioner reserves the right to alter or change any rules in the best interests of the league. This league requires a commitment and participation from each owner. The Commissioner's work very hard to make this one of the best fantasy football leagues on the internet, make sure to turn your lineups in according to the rules, and have fun. Any owner that violates the league rules is subject to expulsion from the league without a refund of league fees. Any owner that is deemed inappropriate to the enjoyment of the league by the commissioner's will be subject to expulsion from the league without a refund of league fees.

League Amendments and Revisions:

1/19/07:  1 Roster Spot Added to Each Team
1/19/07:  Trade Veto System Adopted
1/19/07:  Defensive Scoring Rules Adjusted