2014 Competition Amendment Package
A BETTER NCFA. Enclosed is a detailed description of the league-proposed plan for increasing activity and the level of competition for years to come in the NCFA. This plan was developed and reviewed by all 3 NCFA league officers, as well as 2 additional Athletic Directors. With the return of the 23rd and 24th teams, we saw an increasingly strained waiver wire in 2013. As a result, there were several teams that were unable to compete due to lack of available resources or lack of waiver activity. We also saw some inconsistencies in how games are scored, most importantly a very large imbalance in positional scoring. The following amendments have been drafted to help rectify this problem, and to help create a more competitive NCFA.
2014 NCFA Competition Amendment Package
PROCEDURAL IMPROVEMENTS 1 Week Hold for Signed Players A player that is added must be rostered for one continuous week before being dropped. This will prevent owners from dropping a player immediately when noticing another team’s drop. 48 Hour Dropped Player Waiver Hold A player that is dropped must sit on the waiver wire for 48 hours before being added back. This allows a window of opportunity for everyone to see who has been dropped, and prevent player poaching that occurs from time-to-time. Burnable Redshirts Athletic Directors will now be able to burn redshirts throughout the season (removing the 24 hour drop requirement) to activate a player that is redshirted. Once burned, the redshirt cannot be used again, and active roster space must be made for the player removing their redshirt. Defense & Blocks Team defenses will now get credit for punt blocks, kick blocks, and two point conversions off blocked PATs. They will continue to receive credit for all safeties (now including those from blocked kicks or aborted punts), and also touchdowns occurring from blocked kicks or punts. Team defenses will not receive credit for punt or kick return TDs. Defensive PA Tier Reduction Allowing 13-17 PPG is an average defense, but is being scored as a great one. Reductions in the tiers of the defense level the playing field a bit more. What this looks like: • 0 points allowed: 20 points • • • • • • •
2-6 points allowed: 15 points 7-13 points allowed: 10 points 14-20 points allowed: 5 points 21-27 points allowed: 0 points 28-34 points allowed: -3 points 35-48 points allowed: -5 points 49+ points allowed: -10 points
Introduction of Team Kickers Removal of the ST position, which will be converted to a Team Kicker position. All current ST’s on rosters will be converted. Because of the variability of the kicking position in college football, Team K’s will consist of all kickers on that specific team’s roster. 2
Procedural Improvements Negative Points for QB Sacks Losing 1 point for being sacked will balance out the current dual-threat scoring bias that occurs week to week. These QBs are less apt to throw INTs, so this will even out the scoring a little. Receiving Yardage Scoring Moving the receiving yardage scoring from 1 point per 15 yards to 1 point per 10 yards. This levels the scoring balance between RB and WR positions. The current format does not allow a WR who has a great game to compete with an above average game from a RB (see roster conversion explanation for an illustration, page 6). Returns & Position Players Return TDs will be credited only to the position player scoring them. Returners will also receive a .02 point bonus for each return yard accrued.
2014 NCFA Competition Amendment Package
COMPETITION IMPROVEMENTS The rules outlined in this section are specifically-designed to help create a healthier competitive environment in the league, allowing for more open competition each season. Adjustment of Conference Layout Removing the fourth conference to create 3 conferences of 8 teams each will decrease the dilution of talent within divisions. The divisions will be realigned geographically, with the OWC and GLC remaining, and the ECAC and SMC merging to form a yetto-be-named conference. Adding 2 teams to each division will increase conference games, which will decrease the likelihood of a team winning a conference with a losing record. It also will balance the schedule more in favor of conference play, just like the NCAA schedules. Hypothetical realignment (pending 24th school): New Conference Brooklyn Dennison State Golden Isles Gwynne Kentucky Tech Mount Mercy Sunset Beach Tech
Great Lakes Conference Eastern Montana Holland Irvington College Lansing State New Haven Southern Iowa Saint Mary’s Walker
Ocean West California A&M Central Arizona Coastal California Hawai’i Tech Redmond Rocky Mountain St. UC Long Beach West Texas
Cap of RB & WR Position Skill positions are a premium in the NCFA, and are thus highly coveted. As such, there has been some excessive rostering of talent, preventing several teams from being able to field a competitive roster. Capping the skill positions at 5 (not including redshirts) will force teams to evaluate the position more closely, rather than stockpiling for a rainy day. This is similar to the QB positional cap that was implemented in previous years, again, for competitive reasons. Teams would be required to be cap-compliant at the start of annual recruiting.
4
Competition Improvements Complete Yardage Scoring Scoring will be done in incremental fashion, with .1 points available per yard for skill positions, and .04 points available per passing yard for QBs. This reduces the occurence of ties significantly, and increases scoring overall. This year’s Championship with old scoring rules, followed by new rules: #1 UC LONG BEACH
158
QB
J. Lynch, Northern Illinois
4 TD, 345 PaYd, 123 RuYd,
RB
T. Coleman, Indiana
Did not play.
RB
J. Lawson, San Jose St
1 TD, 98 RuYd, 56 ReYd,
WR
J. Johnson, SMU
2 TD, 70 ReYd,
WR
T. Davis, Central Michigan
2 TD, 7 RuYd, 154 ReYd,
WR
Q. Davis, North Carolina
1 TD, 124 ReYd,
DF
Hurricanes, Miami (FL)
1 Sk, 3 INT, 1 FR, 2 TD, 26 PA,
ST
Cardinals, Louisville
2 PAT, 2 FG,
#1 UC LONG BEACH
49 0 18 16 22 14 31 8
172.0
QB
J. Lynch, Northern Illinois
4 TD, 345 PaYd, 123 RuYd, 1 Sk
RB
T. Coleman, Indiana
Did not play.
RB
J. Lawson, San Jose St
1 TD, 98 RuYd, 56 ReYd,
WR
J. Johnson, SMU
2 TD, 70 ReYd,
WR
T. Davis, Central Michigan
2 TD, 7 RuYd, 154 ReYd,
WR
Q. Davis, North Carolina
1 TD, 124 ReYd,
DF
Hurricanes, Miami (FL)
1 Sk, 3 INT, 1 FR, 2 TD, 26 PA,
ST
Cardinals, Louisville
2 PAT, 2 FG,
49.1 0 21.4 19.0 28.1 18.4 28 8
2014 NCFA Competition Amendment Package
#4 LANSING ST
166
QB
J.O'Korn, Houston
1 TD, 171 PaYd, 11 RuYd,
13
RB
K.Carey, Arizona
4 TD, 206 RuYd, -5 ReYd,
44
RB
J.White, Wisconsin
1 TD, 205 RuYd, 2 ReYd,
26
WR
J.Hardy, East Carolina
1 TD, 83 ReYd,
WR
J.Strong, Arizona St
1 TD, 91 ReYd,
WR
D.Adams, Fresno St
4 TD, 253 ReYd,
DF
Ducks, Oregon
1 Sk, 1 INT, 21 PA,
9
ST
Trojans, USC
1 Sty, 6 PAT, 1 FG,
11
#4 LANSING ST
11 12 40
178.4
QB
J.O'Korn, Houston
1 TD, 171 PaYd, 11 RuYd, 2 Sk
11.94
RB
K.Carey, Arizona
4 TD, 206 RuYd, -5 ReYd,
44.1
RB
J.White, Wisconsin
1 TD, 205 RuYd, 2 ReYd,
26.7
WR
J.Hardy, East Carolina
1 TD, 83 ReYd,
WR
J.Strong, Arizona St
1 TD, 91 ReYd,
WR
D.Adams, Fresno St
4 TD, 253 ReYd,
DF
Ducks, Oregon
1 Sk, 1 INT, 21 PA,
6
ST
Trojans, USC
1 Sty, 6 PAT, 1 FG,
11
14.3 15.1 49.3
Competition Improvements Decreased Roster Size A decrease from 18 to 16 roster spots adds 48 players (or spots that would have otherwise been occupied) back to the talent pool. This will aid owners who are affected by injuries or bye weeks, and reduce the amount of “stashing� that happens with some of the more active and/or successful teams. It also creates a more active waiver wire, forcing teams to make more strategic decisions about personnel. Playoffs Adding a two week playoff for the national title to align with the current events in the NCAA. Bowl games will remain, but the top 4 teams in the NCFA will be selected for the playoffs. Playoff berths will consist of the 3 Conference Champions and 1 wild card team (next best available using tiebreaker methods). Playoffs will be seeded by team rank using the NCFA formula once the participants are selected. Bowls will be seeded after that according to traditional conventions, with 4 or 5 games remaining to be filled (pending team eligibility). Semifinals will occur the first week of the traditional NCFA Bowl Week, and the Championship will occur the second week of Bowl Week. Bowls will remain two week games. What that would have looked like this year (using the old ranking formula): #1 UC Long Beach 86 #4 Lansing State 92 #4 Lansing State 146 #3 California A&M 121 #2 Coastal California 97 #3 California A&M 122
6
Competition Improvements Roster Conversion Convert the 3rd WR position to RB, and leave the old flex position as-is. With the advent of equalized scoring, teams will be given more freedom than ever to build their offense how they’d like to, without sacrificing points because of uneven weighting. This gives teams equal opportunity to start whatever position is a strength on their roster. The starting roster would then consist of: QB, RB, WR, WR, FLEX, FLEX, DEF, ST Here are the top 5 players’ fantasy points per game at RB/WR for 2013 with the old scoring rules, and the new ones: Bishop Sankey: 27.70 Ka’Deem Carey: 26.67 Kapri Bibbs: 26.00 Antonio Andrews: 25.07 Andre Williams: 25.05 Davante Adams: 21.55 Brandin Cooks: 20.42 Chandler Jones: 15.14
Old Scoring Positional Averages
Sammy Watkins: 14.23
RB: 26.11
Antwan Goodley: 14.22
WR: 17.11
Bishop Sankey: 28.62 Ka’Deem Carey: 27.15 Antonio Andrews: 26.40 Davante Adams: 26.32 Kapri Bibbs: 26.14 Brandin Cooks: 25.32 Andre Williams: 25.05 Chandler Jones: 18.90
New Scoring Positional Averages
Sammy Watkins: 18.29
RB: 26.67
Antwan Goodley: 17.93
WR: 21.33
2014 NCFA Competition Amendment Package