Ultimate Pyramid Fantasy Football Leagues

(UPFFL) est. 2010

 

I. Overview

The UPFFL consists of six, twelve team leagues all competing in a tiered 'Pyramid' system for the Ultimate Championship. This is a league where hard work and dedication pays off, sprinkle in a little bit of luck and you have the recipe for success inside the UPFFL.

 

II. History

The Ultimate Pyramid Fantasy Football Leagues were created in 2010.  The UPFFL originates from the League of Champions (LOC), 2002-2009, and The Put Up or Shut Up Fantasy Football League (PUSUFFL), 2000-2001.  The LOC was created in 2002 and consisted of four total points qualifier leagues and a main LOC league.  The qualifier and various Internet league champions received invites to participate in the following season's main LOC league.  The LOC spawned from The Put Up or Shut Up Fantasy Football League better known as PUSUFFL. The PUSUFFL was created in 2000 after a series of Mock Drafts on the AOL fantasy football message board, known as Mock Qualifier Leagues. There was a lot of trash talking going on about who had the best draft and after a series of subjective mock rankings by AOL board members, the first twelve were chosen to participate in the first ever PUSUFFL.

 

III. Founders

The UPFFL was founded by David Torreano and Mark Edgar. 

Dave’s Bio: “I first started playing fantasy football in 1995 after purchasing a Fantasy Football Index magazine.  I ran a local league consisting of ten butterbar lieutenants attending the Officer Basic Course at Fort Bliss, TX.  The league was called the Ultimate Fantasy Football League or UFFL.  Scores were done by hand using the sports page from USA Today and weekly newsletters were published.  I continued the league at Fort Bragg, NC for a couple of years.  In 1998 the UFFL went online, expanding to three leagues and then to four leagues in 1999.  For many years I managed my own league sites, spending countless hours writing HTML and uploading reports from fantasy football software.  All the UFFL leagues moved over to MFL.com in 2005.  The UFFL now consists of eight leagues, all unique (redraft, keeper, dynasty. and draftmaters/survivor) with owners from all over the world.  I also helped create the LOC leagues and have been running them with Mark since 2002.  I’m currently participating in nine leagues and going on 18 years in the Army.”

Mark’s Bio: “I have been playing fantasy football for 16 years, playing in about 25 leagues annually. I have served as the Commissioner for the League of Champions Commissioner the past five years. I have also played in the UFFL for over 11 years, serving as an assistant commissioner for Dave for most of those years. I founded the Vikings Fantasy Football League 11 years ago and still serve as Commissioner. I'm also the Commissioner of the long-running MMISCL league.”

 

IV. Operation

The UPFFL uses MyFantasyLeague.com (MFL.com) as the league management/website service. The UPFFL is a MyFantasyLeague.com Showcase League.  All of the leagues are hosted by MFL.com at no cost.  Thus, the payout for the money leagues is 100%.

 

About MFL.com - MFL.com is easy to navigate and highly customizable.  MFL.com provides each owner with the ability to run their own team from the site. Submission of lineups, trades, and free agent requests are made by you at the site. Each owner has their own password, preventing anybody from coming in and changing your line-ups or rosters. The best feature they provide is live scoring. This feature is constantly updated as the games are in progress. The site shows "you -vs- your opponent" for that week on one screen with an up to the minute tabulation of how you're doing.


V. Tiered System

The UPFFL consists of three tiers: College, Pro, and Champions Tier.  The goal is to do well enough in your leagues and move up the pyramid. 

 

   Champions (A)

           / \

      Pro (B, C)

          / \

 College (D, E, F)

 

1. College Tier:

Three leagues of 12 owners each - Leagues D, E, and F.

The top three teams (by points) of each league move up to the Pro Tier the following season.  The bottom 27 teams (by points) stay in the College Tier.

 

LEAGUE NAME

LEAGUE TYPE

ENTRY FEE

DRAFT DATE

DRAFT TYPE

Bear Bryant (F)

Total Points

Free

08/15/2012

Slow style

Knute Rockne (E)

Head to Head

$20

08/21/2012

Live draft

Bo Schembechler (D)

Victory Points

$20

08/19/2012

Live draft

         

Bryant League (F) Commissioner: Mark Edgar (Karch222@aol.com)

Rockne League (E) Commissioner: Charlie McConnell (lcmacy2k@msn.com)

Schembechler League (D) Commissioner: David Torreano (Torreano@aol.com)

 

2. Pro Tier:

Two leagues of 12 owners each - Leagues B and C.

The top 3 teams (by points) of each league move up to the Champions Tier the following season.  The next best 12 teams (by points) stay in the Pro Tier. The bottom 6 teams (by points) fall to the College tier.

 

LEAGUE NAME

LEAGUE TYPE

ENTRY FEE

DRAFT DATE

DRAFT TYPE

Tom Landry (B)

Total Points

$40

08/23/2012

Live draft

Don Shula (C)

Head to Head

$40

08/17/2012

Slow style

 

Landry League (B) Commissioner: David Torreano (Torreano@aol.com)

Shula League (C) Commissioner: Alex Hardin (ahardin84@gmail.com)

 

3. Champions Tier:

One league of 12 owners each - League A.

The 6 playoff teams stay in the Champions Tier the following season.  The next best 3 teams (by points) fall to the Pro Tier. And the bottom 3 teams (by points) fall to the College tier.

 

LEAGUE NAME

LEAGUE TYPE

ENTRY FEE

DRAFT DATE

DRAFT TYPE

Vince Lombardi (A)

Head to Head

$60

08/15/2012

Slow auction

 

Champions League Commissioner: Mark Edgar (Karch222@aol.com)

 

VI. The Ultimate Pyramid

Here is a diagram depicting how teams move up and down each year:

 

 

VII. Types of Leagues

There are three basic types of leagues: Victory Points League, Total Points League and Head to Head Leagues. Here's a brief description of each:

 

1. Victory Points League (Schembechler) - In a Victory Points League, teams play a head to head matchup weekly thru week 13. Standings are determined by victory points. Each week teams receive 2 pts for a win, 1 pt for a tie, 0 pts for a loss in addition to 2 pts for a top 4 scoring team for the week, 1 pt for a middle 4 scoring team, and 0 pts for bottom 4. The three division winners and next three non-division winning teams that have the most victory points make the playoffs. Semifinals occur in week 15 with the Championship Game in week 16.  There are weekly waivers and teams can make trades. 

 

2. Total Points Leagues (Bryant & Landry) - In a total points league, owners set their starting lineups and play another team each week but for bragging rights only.  The standings are determined by total points scored.  The three division winners and next two non-division winning teams (three for Landry) that scored the most points make the playoffs. Semifinals occur in week 15 with the Championship Game in week 16.  There are weekly waivers and teams can make trades. 

 

3. Head to Head Leagues (Rockne, Shula, & Lombardi) - In a head to head league, teams play another team through week 13 of the NFL season. Playoffs occur in weeks 14-16 with the Championship Game played in week 16. There are three divisions with four teams each.  Standings and playoff seedings are determined by best record, H2H record, and total points scored.  The three division winners and the three wildcard teams qualify for the playoffs. The three division winners will be awarded the top three seeds and the three wildcard teams will fill the # 4 - # 6 spots. The # 1 and # 2 seeds will receive byes the first round of the playoffs (week 14). The # 3 seed will play the # 6 seed and the # 4 seed will play the #5 seed.  After week 14’s games are completed, the seeding’s will be recalculated, so that the # 1 seed will play # 4 and # 2 -vs- # 3. In the event of any ties, each team’s “TOTAL POINTS” after 13 weeks of play, will be used to break any ties.

 

VIII. Types of Drafts

There are two basic types of draft methods owners use to build their rosters: standard draft and auction.

 

1. Standard Draft – The drafts will be conducted in a “3rd Round Reverse Serpentine" draft (1-N, N-1, N-1, 1-N, N-1, etc.) style.  The draft order will be determined by the league commissioner no later than two weeks prior to the draft.  The league owners will be notified prior to the determination of the draft order, no later than 48 hours.  Draft order may be determined by rolling dice in a chat room, using the site’s draft order generation feature, or using some other draft order generation site.

There are two types of standard drafts: live draft and slow e-mail style draft.

Live Draft – These drafts will be conducted using MFL.com’s live draft room.  Live drafts are completed in one evening, usually 2-2.5 hours long.  Owners have 90 seconds (1.5 minutes) to make a pick. 

Slow Draft – Slow drafts or e-mail style drafts take several weeks to complete.  The draft timer is set at 12 hours for the first 9 rounds (10 rounds for Draftmasters League) and 8 hours for the remaining rounds.  The draft timer is suspended between midnight and 6 AM ET.  Once a pick is made, an e-mail is sent to all owners with the selection(s) and the team that is now on the clock.  Owners are encouraged to use the site’s pre-draft feature to keep the draft running in a timely manner.

Draft picks can be traded for either style of draft but must be made prior to the start of the draft.

 

2. Auction Draft – Owners in the Vince Lombardi League (A) in the Champions tier build their roster through an auction. The auction is conducted on the league’s home page and takes several weeks to complete.  Each owner is allotted $200 as a salary cap for building their team. Owners nominate two players each day.  Bidding is “open bidding” but owners do not necessarily see the highest bid.  The player is then awarded to the team with the highest bid after no higher bids have been made on that player after 18 hours have elapsed.

 

IX. Rosters

Each team will consist of a roster of 18 players. Team owners can draft any combination of players from the following categories: Quarterback, Running Back, Wide Receiver, Tight End, Kicker, and Team Defense / Special Teams.

 

X. Starting Lineups

College Tier Leagues - A weekly starting lineup will consist of: 1 QB, 1 RBs, 2 WRs, 1 TE, 2 Flex (RB/WR/TE), 1 PK, and 1 DT/ST.

Pro Tier Leagues - A weekly starting lineup will consist of: 1 QB, 2 RBs, 2 WRs, 1 TE, 1 Flex (RB/WR/TE) 1 PK, and 1 DT/ST.

Champions Tier League - A weekly starting lineup will consist of: 1 QB, 2 RBs, 3 WRs, 1 TE, 1 PK, and 1 DT/ST.

Lineups are adjustable until the kickoff of each player’s game.

 

XI. Scoring System

The scoring system is a PPR format. Points are allocated as follows:

 

Scoring for QB/RB/WR/TE

Passing TDs                              4 points each

Passing Yards                           0.05 points each

Pass Interceptions                     -1 point each

Passing 2 Pointers                    2 points each

Rushing TDs                              6 points each

Rushing Yards                           0.1 points each

Rushing 2 Pointers                    2 points each

Receiving TDs                            6 points each

Receiving Yards                        0.1 points each

Receptions (RB)                        0.4 points each

Receptions (WR                        0.7 points each

Receptions (TE)                        1 point each

Receiving 2 Pointers                   2 points each

Fumbles Lost                            -1 point each

 

Scoring for PK

Field Goal 1-40 yds                    3 points each

Field Goal 41+Yds                     0.1 points per yard

Extra Points                             1 point each

 

Scoring by Team Defense / Special Teams

Punt Return TDs                                                6 points each

Number of Kickoff Return TDs                             6 points each

Number of Defensive Fumble Recovery TDs          6 points each

Fumble Recoveries (from Opponent)                   2 points each

Number of Interception Return TDs                     6 points each

Interceptions Caught                                        2 points each

Number of Blocked Field Goal TDs                     6 points each

Number of Missed Field Goal Return TD               6 points each

Number of Blocked Punt TDs                              6 points each

Sacked a QB                                                    1 point each

Safeties                                                          2 points each

Total Points Allowed 0-0                                    8 points

Total Points Allowed 1-6                                    5 points

Total Points Allowed 7-12                                    3 points

< 225 total yards allowed                                    5 points

226-275 yards allowed                                        3 points

 

Note: Any stat changes issued by the NFL following completion of the games will be applied automatically by MFL.com.  Stats changes are usually available by the following Thursday.

 

XII. Waivers/Free Agency

Waivers will start the week following the drafts and continue until Kickoff of Week 15 (Thu Dec 13 8:20:00 p.m. ET 2012).  Each league will have three rounds of waivers.  The waiver wire criteria for the total points league is Total Points Scored.  The waiver wire criteria for the H2H leagues is Overall Winning Percentage and then Total Points Scored.  Each round of waivers is the reverse order of the previous round.  The waiver system for the Champions (Lombardi) League is blind bidding.  There is also a first come first serve period following the awarding of free agents according to the league calendar.  Owners can pickup a maximum of three players each week.

 

XIII. Trades

Owners can trade players and/or draft picks.  Trades require approval from the Commissioner before they can be processed.  The trade deadline is the Friday after Week 11 (Fri Nov 21 10:00:00 p.m. ET 2012). 

 

XIV. Playoff Homefield Advantage

In quarterfinal/wildcard games and semifinal games, the higher seeded team will receive an additional 3-6 points according to the league's bylaws.  The Commissioner will add the additional points to each team’s score using the Franchise Score Adjuster in the Setup.

 

XV. Other League Rules

Other league rules not covered here can be found by going to Reports >> Rules >> League Bylaws.

 

XVI. Owner Responsibilities

Owners are expected to do everything within their power to run that team to the best of their ability. Any owner who can't do that, will be removed from the league. I know that may seem harsh, but I refuse to allow any owner to jeopardize the overall integrity of one of these leagues.

    Owner Expectations

    1) Be ready to draft when the draft starts. For the league with slow drafts, it is expected that
each owner will make their picks as quickly as is humanly possible. Try to be considerate to your fellow owners by using the pre-draft feature if you’re going to be away from the computer.

    2) Set starting lineups each week according to the rules. Any owner who does not set a lineup for two consecutive weeks, without prior notice to the Commissioner, will be removed from the league and a replacement owner will be found. Said owner will also NOT receive a refund of his or her league fee, if applicable.

    3) Be respectful to your fellow owners. Respond to trade offers in a timely manner. Avoid using any foul language on the league message board, chat room, or e-mail. While a certain level of smack talk is allowed and encouraged, insults, personal attacks, and inflammatory or taunting acts will not be tolerated. The Commissioner will have total authority in drawing the line between trash talking and the above mentioned acts. This will be strictly enforced.

XVIII. UPFFL Commissioners

The Commissioners are sworn to act at all times in the Best Interest of the League.  Some of the Commissioners’ responsibilities are to ensure the league is setup properly to include the league bylaws, additional rules, scoring system, league calendar of events, recruit and invite owners, preside over the draft, approve trades, and oversee the free agency process. 

 

XVIII. Executive Committee

There will be an Executive Committee (EC) consisting of the four (4) UPFFL Commissioners. The EC will serve several functions: 1. To serve as an appeal board for an owner who feels that the Commissioner has decided an issue unfairly. Each owner will have the opportunity to appeal one (1) Commissioner's decision to the EC. The Commissioner who runs the league which contains the appealing owner will not be involved in any decision.  2. To serve as a steering committee for the league. Decisions affecting the league will often begin with the EC.

 

XIX. Committee of the Whole

The league owners will function as the Committee of the Whole (CW) which is made up of all league members, each with an equal vote. The CW reserves the right to veto any decision made by the Executive Committee with a 2/3 majority vote (with at least 2/3 of all current owners casting a vote). Each member of the CW will be charged with the responsibility of acting in the Best Interests of the League.

 

XX. League Finances:

League fee collections will be handled by David Torreano, the UPFFL League Treasurer.

Full yearly league fees for the upcoming NFL/fantasy year must be RECEIVED by the League Treasurer on August 6th of each year. Owners may request an extension but no longer than one week. If fees are not received from a team by the deadline or extension, the Commissioner will officially begin to search for a new owner.

Payments can be sent via check/cash or via PayPal but if an online payment generates fees, the payment amount must cover both the full payment of the league fees PLUS any fees charged by the online payment service. Other payment arrangements may be possible, but must be coordinated with the league treasurer.

 

Mail checks to:



David Torreano
13300 Atlantic Blvd
Apt 1414
Jacksonville, FL 32225

 

XXI. Payout Structure:

Again, the payout is 100% for the money leagues.  Prize money will be sent no later than two weeks after the conclusion of the NFL regular season.  League payouts for the 2012 season are the following for each tier:

 

Champions Tier League:

  • League Champion = 40% = $255
  • League Runner-up = 23% = $147
  • 3rd place = 13% = $83
  • Division Winner = 7% = $78 ($26 per division winner)
  • Regular Season Champion = 3% = $50
  • Toilet Bowl Winner = 3% = $25
  • League Champion = Ultimate Trophy ($70 value)

 

Pro Tier Leagues:

  • League Champion = 40% = $188
  • League Runner-up = 23% = $110
  • 3rd place = 13% = $60
  • Division Winner = 7% = $60 ($20 per division winner)
  • Regular Season Champion = 3% = $30
  • Toilet Bowl Winner = 3% = $20

 

College Tier Leagues:

  • League Champion = 40% = $94
  • League Runner-up = 23% = $55
  • 3rd place = 13% = $30
  • Division Winner = 7% = $30 ($10 per division winner)
  • Regular Season Champion = 3% = $15
  • Toilet Bowl Winner = 3% = $10

 

Dave "Commish" Torreano

UPFFL Commissioner

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