Tournament Rules

1. Opponents must contact each other via e-mail or IM and alert the league when their game is scheduled to be played
2. In case of scheduling conflict please alert the league, so we can get a proxy coach(s).
3. All game files must be e-mailed to the league (marc@bgatour.tv) upon completion of every game.

Game Rules

1. There is to be a 30 second play clock set for every game.  If the clock has not been set it must be turned on immediately after one player notices that it has not been turned on.  There is no penalty assessed.
2. Sportsmanship is required.  Congratulate your opponent on a good game and wish them luck before the game.  Do not whine about how the game engine has robbed you of victory.  The game engine, no matter how flawed it is, does not discriminate against either team.  As the song say, "you take the good, you take the bad and there you have...the facts of life".  Deal with it and move on !
3. All games are played with HOME FIELD ADVANTAGE.

4th Down Rules

1. You can NOT go for it on 4th down if you are on your side of the field unless:

1. There is 10 minutes or less left in the game
2. Your team is down by 21 or more points at any time during the game
3. You have the ball on your opponents side of the field (50 yard line on in).

Failure to follow the 4th down rule results in the following:

• Voiding the 4th down play
• Closing the game and RESUMING from the previous play, which wipes out the 4th down play
• If the START / RESUME feature does not work a immediate PUNT to your opponent must be done.
• If a 4th down violation occurs during the game and goes un-noticed the games results will not count.  It is incumbent on both players to recognize the rule and respect it.  This rule has been instituted to preserve the integrity of game play, because we acknowledge that the game engine does not accurately handle 4th down situations.  Anyone who does not agree with this rule, need not participate in this tournament.  Plenty of other leagues will allow you to exploit this hole in the software.  We DO NOT.

Trick Play Rules

1. You are allowed to use 4 trick plays per game (maximum).
2. QB Kneel, Take Safety and Over the top are NOT considered Trick Plays and can be used an unlimited amount of times.

Failure to follow the Trick Play Rule results in the same penalties as violating the 4th down rule.

Minimum of 2 Active QB's Rule

1. Every team will start each game with 2 healthy quarterbacks..
2. If a team has only one healthy quarterback, the injured quarterback with the shortest remaining time left will be un-injured and marked not available.
3. This player can only be used if all other remaining quarterbacks are injured during a game.
4. In that case, the inactive quarterback can be activated and used in that game.
5. This rule prevents teams from not having any QB's available for use because of injury.

Hurry Up Offense Rule

Abuse of the Hurry Up PACE will not be tolerated.  Hurry up can be used in the following scenarios:

1. If your team is down by 21 or more points at any point in the game you can use Hurry Up without any penalty even if you bring the score under 21.
2. The last 5 minutes of the 1st half
3. The last 10 minutes of the 4th quarter
4. You can go to hurry up at anytime provided you NOTIFY your opponent (via IM and he responds) prior to choosing this PACE option.  This is done to maximize clock but not to deceive your opponent.  By alerting your opponent you give him the opportunity to choose a formation that he is comfortable with..

Game Clock, Display & Home Field

1. Game clock MUST be on at all times and set to 30 seconds
2. Display MUST be set to show player ratings at all times.
3. Home field advantage is used for each round except the Super Bowl, which is played at a neutral site (Ford Field in Detroit).

Bracket Re-adjusment

1. The bracket is not continuous
2. Brackets are re-seeded each round.  This means that the lowest seed will always play the highest seed, which follows standard NFL conventions.