1. Recruiting will be conducted on the forum in the same manner as the FA bidding is done in the PNFL. Bids start at 1 point or a higher number of points, and a bid that is not out-bid after 24 hours will be the winning bid. Subsequent bids can be posted in increments of a half point after the initial bid of 1 point.
2. Tracking of points and recruiting will be done via the Recruiting File, which will be a spreadsheet similar to the Contract file in the PNFL.
3. The list of recruits will be related soon after training camp each season, for the upcoming season of recruiting. They will be created each season using a fairly consistent template to keep the player talent stable from season to season. The Min-Max for the player ratings will be contained in the Recruiting File. This will be similar to PNFL ratings, with a few small differences on potential ratings and generally lower ratings in everything but SP.
4. All teams must have no fewer than 53 players on the roster before week 1. If a team has no remaining points left during recruiting and has fewer than 53 players, the remaining roster spots can be filled with walk-on players.
5. Walk-on players: These are the players not recruited and signed during recruiting. They can be signed for 0 points, after training camp, on a first come, first served basis, by signing them on the forum.
6. CPU Teams: Will have their rosters re-populated with players nearly identical to those who graduated that will be freshman who have not yet had training camps.
7. No team may ever bid more than their available points when bidding on players, and reserve the right to withdraw bids to conserve points to compete for other recruits they have posted bids for. If a team goes over their points budget in bids, those bids can be canceled or players signed with points spent in excess may be nullified. No bid can be withdrawn unless it is the first bid placed on that player and no other team has bid on the same player.
8. Recruiting process:
Week 1: Human coached teams will bid on 5-star players only. CPU teams will submit ONE bid of 45 points on one 5-star player. If that bid stands for 24 hours, the player signs. If the 45 point bid is bid higher by human coached teams, the bidding process goes forward without further bids by that CPU team.
Week 2: Human coached teams will bid on 4-star players only and any remaining 5-star players..
Week 3: Human coached teams will bid on any remaining recruits. Each team may also, if it choose, bid on one 4 or 5 star player signed to a team to attempt to flip that player. This can ONLY be done the third week, one per human coached team, one player from another team, and the process will mirror bidding on tagged players in the PNFL. The team winning that bid signs the player if the team who recruited that player does not match the bid.
Flip bidding: Open during the first 24 hours of week 3 only, each team may target one player to flip by bidding above the original signed amount in whole-point increments. New target bids and bids on targeted players count as the one flip bid each team can post. A team bidding on a flip target posted by another team cannot also target an additional player to flip. Only one player can be flipped by each team. The flipping process works like bidding on tagged players in the PNFL. Once a bid is won the team that recruited that player can retain them by matching half the winning flip bid. That team has 24 hours to post the match bid, otherwise the player is flipped and signs with the other team. If the original signing team does not match, they will recoup the points originally spent on signing the recruit plus half the difference of the original signing amount and the flipped signing amount.
Only teams that signed at least one 4-star or 5-star player that recruiting season may post flip bids.
As an example, if 5-star recruit Johnny Football has already signed with Pacific University for 10 points, Atlantic University can place a flip bid of 5 points on him. Atlantic University is then precluded from posting a flip bid for any other player. However, Southern University is also interested in Johnny Football, and, within 24 hours places a higher flip bid of 6 points for him. Southern University is now also precluded from placing a flip bid for any other player. Atlantic University may then engage in further bidding for this player, and chooses to increase their flip bid to 9 points. Pacific University does nothing until the high flip bid is locked in. Then, they have 24 hours to match or not. Once Atlantic University has the high flip bid of 9 points locked, Pacific’s options are: sign Johnny Football at an additional cost of 4.5 points (half the flip bid), or let Johnny Football go to Atlantic instead, in exchange for 14.5 points (replacing the original signing amount plus half the flip bid.) In this case, Atlantic would pay 19 points for Johnny Football (the original signing amount plus their winning flip bid.)
Week 4: CPU teams have their freshman classes re-generated and all teams will complete training camp. CPU teams will receive two 4-star players and sufficient 3-star players to replace their graduating seniors and restore their roster to 53 players. CPU teams will prioritize positions of need based on input and suggestions from all PCFL coaches to maintain the competitiveness of their rosters.
E. There is no limit on a team's ability to bid up on posted bids on players except that the value of those posted bids and up-bids can never exceed that team's available points.
9. The progress of recruiting will be maintained on the forum and via the recruiting file as up to date and in real time as possible. At no time can any team post bids that exceed the team's available points. Higher than affordable bids to gain advantage for any player will not be allowed, and there will be no "deficit spending" of recruiting points to attempt to win recruiting battles. Bids that exceed points balances will be removed.
10. When a bid has not been up-bid in 24 hours, that highest bid will be the winning bid, and that player will be signed by the highest bidding team, and the points used will be spent by that team winning the bid.
11. Players not signed in recruiting will be available, as walk-ons, on a first-come, first served basis, after training camp.
12. Teams can carryover a maximum of 30 unused points to the next recruiting year.