The Constitution of the Ironman Fantasy Football League
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1 The League
1.1 The league shall be named Ironman in honor of the founding Commissioner from which the league was conceived, Jarrod Brigham.
2 Positions of Leadership and Committees
2.1 Commissioner
2.1.1 Qualifications, Election, Term of Service, and Removal
2.1.1.1 A candidate to be the Commissioner must be an owner considered to be in good standing with the league (not delinquent). The Commissioner may exercise their voting right as an owner while they execute the office of Commissioner (even in the case of a vote of No Confidence).
2.1.1.2 In case of a vacancy in the position of Commissioner, the Rules Committee will request nominations for the position from the owners. Owners may self nominate. Upon receiving nominations, the Rules Committee will put forth a new Commissioner for confirmation from the owners. A simple majority is required for confirmation.
2.1.1.3 The term of service for the Commissioner is a life time appointment. It lasts until the Commissioner resigns or is removed from office via a Vote of No Confidence.
2.1.1.4 A vote of No Confidence may be initiated at anytime by the submission of a letter (paper or electronic) to the Rules Committee. The letter must be signed by 4 or more owners. Once the letter has been submitted, the Rules Committee will conduct the vote of the ownership within 1 week. A 2/3 majority vote must be obtained to remove the Commissioner. The removal is effective immediately after the affirmative 2/3 vote. A vote of No Confidence has no bearing on the person being removed from the league as an owner, only from the position of Commissioner.
2.1.2 Powers and Responsibilities
2.1.2.1 League Manager
2.1.2.1.1 The Commissioner is in charge of conducting the league business and ensuring things are updated and prepared. This includes ensuring that preparation for the events in the League Schedule have been accomplished so those events can run smoothly. The Commissioner may recruit help to accomplish tasks as needed.
2.1.2.2 ESPN League Web Page
2.1.2.2.1 The Commissioner has the cosmetic authority over the league page. This includes the ability to control the content and look of the page. This also includes the use of the ESPN Trophy system as it is not considered to be part of the actual fantasy football game play. The Commissioner may designate others to assist as needed.
2.1.2.3 Inactivity Rule
2.1.2.3.1 The Commissioner has the authority in extenuating circumstances where an owner is out of communication (defined as not managing their team via the ESPN site) with the league for a significant amount of time (minimum of two consecutive weeks or three weeks total of inactivity), to ask the Rules Committee for a vote to remove the owner. Upon a majority vote in favor of removal, the Commissioner may then remove the owner and distribute the team to a new owner. Significant attempts to notify the owner of the pending forfeiture of their team must be attempted prior to the committee vote. This type of removal can only happen during the actual league season and playoffs and is designed to remove an owner who leaves his team unmanned in the middle of the season.
2.1.2.4 Appointments and Committees
2.1.2.4.1 The Commissioner may create exploratory committees to review any issues that he deems necessary. These committees may submit recommendations to the Commissioner or policy through the Policy Change process.
2.1.2.4.2 The Commissioner will appoint all Leadership Positions and Committee members. Appointees should agree to serve in the capacity they have been assigned.
2.1.2.5 The Schedule
2.1.2.5.1 One of the primary jobs of the Commissioner is to ensure the regular season schedule is created and loaded to the ESPN site. The Commissioner may recruit whatever assistance he needs to accomplish this task. The schedule should be created under the guidelines set forth in that section.
2.2 Treasurer
2.2.1 The Treasurer should be an owner in good standing with the league (not delinquent) of the highest ethical character as to dispel any notion of dishonesty regarding league funds. The Treasurer works for and reports to the Commissioner. The Commissioner may also hold the title Treasurer and conduct both roles.
2.2.2 The Treasurer is in charge of helping to keep account of the money for the league to include having physical possession of the funds. They are also responsible for the quick payment of the awards.
2.2.3 If money was spent on anything other than award payouts, a simple report of expenses and the existing balance of the league fund should be submitted to the league via the ESPN site at the beginning of the next off season, approximately July 1st.
2.2.4 The position of the Treasurer serves at the pleasure of the Commissioner. An owner may be promoted or removed from the position at anytime by the Commissioner.
2.3 Stat Historian
2.3.1 The Stat Historian should be an owner in good standing with the league (not delinquent) who respects the fact that knowledge is power. The Stat Historian works for and reports to the Commissioner. The Commissioner may also hold the title of Stat Historian and conduct both roles.
2.3.2 The two main responsibilities for the Stat Historian is the charge to keep safe all data related to the league and to ensure the equal accessibility of this data by all owners.
2.3.3 The secondary responsibilities for the Stat Historian is to arrange the data into useable formats, update the data as new information becomes available, and as time and resources permits produce statistical reports that can be used to navigate the development and progress of the league.
2.3.4 The position of the Stat Historian serves at the pleasure of the Commissioner. An owner may be promoted or removed from the position at anytime by the Commissioner.
2.4 Rules Committee
2.4.1 Qualifications, Appointment, Term of Service, and Removal
2.4.1.1 The Rules Committee consists of three members. To become a member, an owner must be considered to be in good standing with the league (not delinquent). They may exercise their voting right as an owner while they execute their duties on the committee (even in the case of a vote of No Confidence).
2.4.1.2 In case of a vacancy on the Rules Committee the Commissioner will appoint a new member. The Commissioner may not serve on the Rules Committee.
2.4.1.3 The term of service for a member of the Rules Committee is a life time appointment. It lasts until the member resigns or is removed from office via a Vote of No Confidence.
2.4.1.4 A vote of No Confidence may be initiated at anytime by the submission of a letter (paper or electronic) to the Commissioner. The letter must be signed by 4 or more owners. Once the letter has been submitted the Commissioner will conduct the vote of the ownership within 1 week. A 2/3 majority vote must be obtained to remove the Commissioner. The removal is effective immediately after the affirmative 2/3 vote. A vote of No Confidence has no bearing on the person being removed from the league as an owner, only from the position of Commissioner.
2.4.2 Powers and Responsibilities
2.4.2.1 The Rules Committee will make rulings about policy issues that seem to be vague, in dispute, or that are not specifically covered in the Constitution at the formal request of an owner.
2.4.2.1.1 If the Rules Committee is required to make a ruling regarding policy during the year, the committee is required to submit a formal policy draft during the next Policy Consideration Period to clarify the situation that had required a ruling in order to prevent further issues from occurring.
2.4.2.2 The Rules Committee is charged with the task of filling the vacancy of the Commissioner when it arises, per the established guidelines. A member of the Rules Committee may be nominated for the position of Commissioner but would be required to resign their spot on the committee should they be confirmed as the Commissioner.
2.4.2.3 The Rules Committee is required to handle the proceedings for a Vote of No Confidence initiated against the Commissioner, per the established guidelines.
2.4.2.4 During the vacancy of the Commissioner, the Rules Committee is required to keep the league moving forward covering the duties of the Commissioner until a new Commissioner is confirmed by the league. The deadline for replacing a Commissioner is either 1 month prior to the start of the new league year or within four weeks after the vacancy began whichever comes last.
2.4.2.5 If a member of the Rules Committee needs to recues themselves from a decision, the Commissioner has the authority to cast a tie breaking vote.
2.5 Owner
2.5.1 Team owners should conduct themselves in a manner that is befitting the league, striving to do their best to manage the team they have been entrusted, always realizing that somewhere there are little fantasy people in small fantasy towns that pay real fantasy dollars to watch their team perform. Make them proud!
2.5.2 An owner of a team can exercise the rights and privileges to vote in all policy changes, leadership position appointments, serve on a committee or hold a league position of leadership.
2.5.3 Ownership is currently only allowed to be held by one person. At this time the league does not recognize committee ownership.
2.5.4 Team ownership is conferred upon a person once they have paid their first ever league fees. Ownership may be voluntarily terminated at anytime by submitting a letter to the Commissioner in writing or electronic format. Ownership may also be forfeited in compliance with the Delinquency Day policy (as noted below), the Owner Initiated Removal policy, and the Emergency Removal policy.
2.5.5 Ownership rights include everything available to the team owner through the ESPN site which includes the freedom to name their team (Team names should be in good taste) and change the name anytime they see fit.
3 Fees
3.1 League Fee
3.1.1 Every team owner must pay the league fee which is set at $10. The fees are collected every year and are due to the Treasurer by midnight on July 1st. Fees that arrive to the Treasurer after the deadline, no matter what the reason, are considered late. There are no acceptable excuses.
3.2 Late Fees
3.2.1 Any league fee payment that arrives after the deadline is considered to be late. A late fee will be assessed and due immediately to the Treasurer. The late fee is $5. A new owner that is added to the league after the July 1st deadline will not be charged the late fee.
3.3 Refunds
3.3.1 League Fees may be refunded by decision of the Commissioner in extenuating circumstances that involve a player who needs to be removed or who requests to have himself removed from the league prior to the start of the season. No fees paid may be refunded after the current draft for that year has begun.
3.4 Delinquent
3.4.1 An owner who at any time owes money to the league is considered to be “Delinquent.” A Delinquent owner may not submit any policy changes for review during the Policy Consideration Period. Additionally, a Delinquent owner may not vote on any policy changes during the Policy Adoption Period. An owner, who is Delinquent at midnight of Draft Pick Selection Day, will have the ownership of their team forfeited and turned over to the Commissioner for distribution to a new owner. The Commissioner may grant a 48 hour emergency extension as they deem fit.
4 Playoff Seeding
4.1 The top 8 teams will win spots in the playoffs. The playoffs are set up by the following seeding:
4.1.1 Seeds 1-3 are given to each division winner
4.1.2 Seeds 4-8 are given in order to the teams with the best regular season record
4.1.3 Ties are handled as follows:
4.1.3.1 Divisional Record
4.1.3.2 Head-to-Head
4.1.3.3 Most Points Scored for the Season
4.1.3.4 Most Points Scored Against for the Season
5 End of Season Payout
5.1 Payouts are based on how an owner finished the season and will be paid by the Treasurer in a timely manner after the final games are completed by ESPN.
5.2 The top 4 positions are paid the follow amounts
League Champion - $60
2nd place - $30
3rd place – $20
4th place $10
6 Divisions
6.1 The Ironman League consist of 3 divisions; North, Central, and South.
6.2 The team make up of each division is changed every year through a selection process that is organized by the Commissioner on Division Determination Day.
6.3 The three most recent league championship owners (it must include 3 different owners) will be separated into the three different divisions by the Commissioner. Each owner, starting with the most recent champion, will rotate (In snake draft format) selecting 1 team at a time to be in their division until every team has been selected. A team must have an owner to be selected.
6.4 If there are teams that currently do not have owners, they will be added to the divisions, ensuring they have an equal number of teams in each, by the choice of the Commissioner as they become filled.
7 Schedules and Dates
7.1 League Schedule
7.1.1 League Fees Due: July 1st
7.1.2 Policy Consideration Period: July 15th – July 31st
7.1.3 Policy Review Period: August 1st – August 10th
7.1.4 Policy Adoption Period: August 11th –August 12th
7.1.5 Division Determination Day: Any day selected by the Commissioner that comes after the Policy Adoption Period but before the Draft Pick Selection Day.
7.1.6 Draft Pick Selection Day: 1 week prior to Draft Day
7.1.7 Draft Day: The Saturday prior to the first regular season game. The draft is to start at 7pm EST.
7.1.8 Regular Season and Playoffs: Run per the ESPN rules
7.2 Regular Season Schedule
7.2.1 The regular season will consist of 14 games. In the first 11 games a team will play every other team in the league, including their own division. The last 3 games of the season a team will play each member of their division for a second time. A special attempt should be made by the Commissioner to put historic rivalries together in the first 2 weeks if possible. All of this would be subject to change as the number of teams in the league change.
7.2.2 The regular season schedule should be loaded to the ESPN site prior to the draft.
8 Draft Order
8.1 Draft Pick Selection Process
8.1.1 The draft pick selection process is conducted by the Commissioner. The Commissioner will send out a request for each owners draft pick selection at least 1 week prior to the Draft Pick Selection Day. Owners may respond in a method the Commissioner deems viable, to include a simple phone call.
8.1.2 An owner failing to submit their draft pick selection ranking will be given what is left over at the end of the selection process. If more than 1 owner fails to submit their pick the Commissioner can assign the draft position to the owners based on what is still available.
8.2 Draft Pick Position Determination
8.2.1 Draft pick position selection for the current draft is determined by the final placement of the team during the previous post season play. The method that has been used is meant to increase competition of game play in matches that will not receive a financial prize.
8.2.1.1 1st Choice - 5th Place
2nd Choice - 6th Place
3rd Choice - 7th Place
4th Choice - 8th Place
5th Choice - 9th Place
6th Choice - 10th Place
7th Choice - 11th Place
8th Choice - 12th Place
9th Choice - 4th Place
10th Choice - 3rd Place
11th Choice - 2nd Place
12th Choice - 1st Place
8.2.2 In a case where a new owner is brought into the league, the new owner will be given the last draft choice position.
9 ESPN Rules
9.1 All rules for the league that are currently set-up through the ESPN site (player scoring, team make ups, playoff seeds, tie breakers, etc.) are considered valid unless the Constitution addresses them specifically. To change any setting on the ESPN site that directly affects the game play or outcome of the league, it must go through the Policy Change Process. Cosmetic changes (polls, front page notes, etc.) are a power held by the Commissioner.
10 Policy Change Process
10.1 All changes to the league policy must follow the following process and schedule.
10.2 During the Policy Consideration Period an owner in good standings may submit a change of policy to the Commissioner. Policy should be specific and address one rule or issue. For the policy to be considered the submitting owner must have one additional owner send their endorsement of the policy to the Commissioner. This can be verbal or written.
10.3 The Commissioner will gather all policies that were submitted and received the proper endorsement and place them on the ESPN site by the beginning of the Policy Review Period. This will be done so the proposed policies may be reviewed and discussed by all owners. The name of the proposing owner and endorsing owner should be posted with the policy.
10.4 On the first day of the Policy Adoption Period the Commissioner will conduct a vote of the owners for each policy that was proposed. This can be done by email or electronic voting systems (i.e. Survey Monkey), or appropriate manner deemed by the Commissioner. The results of each vote should be posted on the ESPN site.
10.5 Upon a successful vote, the policy is added to the rules/constitution of the league, or adjusted via the ESPN site.
11 Voting
11.1 A minimum of 50% of the owners must vote in any situation for there to be quorum.
11.2 All voting percentages used to calculate the success or failure of any vote are based on the percentage of total voting owners, not the total owners in the league.
11.3 All votes are open record and never secret ballot.
11.4 Unless otherwise stated, 51% or more is required to approve a measure.
12 Monetary Policy
12.1 All additional funds that are on the leagues balance sheet will roll over to the next year automatically.
12.2 The Commissioner may approve small expenditures, less than $50 at anytime in the year as long as it will not affect the ability of the league to payout the end-of-season winnings.
12.3 Large expenses (over $50) must be approved by a vote of the owners. This vote shall be conducted by the Commissioner and must allow for ample time for owners to respond.
12.4 The Ironman League is and shall always be debt free. A balanced budget must always be maintained. The Commissioner does not have the authority to issue fantasy bonds in the name of the league and/or establish a fantasy central bank to monitor the funding policy of the league which will then eventually start buying said fantasy bonds from the league jacking up the fantasy currency rate.
Ratified
by the Commissioner and the Rules Committee on
Friday,
August 16th, Two Thousand and Thirteen
