The Football Pool consists of four obsessed football fans–Bando, GQ, Rob and Woody–who live in Nashville. Coach Bando and Coach Woody developed the pool in 2001 on a whim as a fun way to enjoy the upcoming football season. They had no idea what the pool would become once Coaches GQ and Rob entered the competition the following year. Here are the season standings and the rules by which the competition is conducted each season. May the best coach win!
Football Pool Official Results
| Season | Champion | Hat Bearer |
| 2007 | Coach Woody (LSU) | Coach GQ |
| 2006 | Coach Rob (Florida) | Coach Woody |
| 2005 | Coach Bando (Texas) | Coach Rob |
| 2004 | Coach Woody (USC) | Coach Woody |
| 2003 | None@ | Coach GQ |
| 2002 | Coach Rob (Ohio State) | None* |
| 2001 | Coach Bando (Miami)+ | None+ |
@-No coach selected LSU, the BCS champion, in 2003. No champion was named.
*-Four coaches competed for the first time in 2002. The hat bearer rule became effective for the 2003 season.
+-Coach Bando and Coach Woody competed in the inaugural FP season.
The Football Pool Official Rules of Play
2008 Season
|
The Football Pool Official Rules of Play 2008 Season |
|
STANDARDS OF PLAY |
|
1. Each player shall select six college football teams through the selection draft, including Wild Card team to be chosen with each player’s sixth pick. (See rule #3 below.) |
|
2. No participant shall select the Tennessee Vols under any circumstances. |
|
3. Wild Card teams may not be listed in the ESPN/USA Today poll or the AP poll, may not have appeared in a bowl game the previous season and must have had a losing record during the previous season. They may appear in the “also receiving votes” category of both polls. |
|
4. The champion each season shall be the player who selected the team that wins the BCS Championship. |
|
5. In cases of split polls, the champion shall be the player with the team listed as #1 in the ESPN/USA Today final season poll. If no player selects this team, see rule #22 below. |
|
STANDARDS OF COMPETITION |
|
6. Each player shall agree to submit a championship award amount to be determined by the draft position of the team that wins the national championship (as identified under rules #4 and #5 above). |
|
7. The award amounts shall be as follows for the winning player’s team, as based on the team’s draft position: Player’s first pick: $75 ($25 each from the other participating players) Player’s second pick: $60 ($20 each from the other participating players) Player’s third pick: $45 ($15 each from the other participating players) Player’s fourth pick: $30 ($10 each from the other participating players) Player’s fifth pick: $15 ($5 each from the other participating players) Wild Card pick: Player buys dinner at SATCO for participants. See rule #9. |
|
8. Wild Card pick standings shall be determined in the following order:
1. Final ESPN/USA Today poll rank of each player’s Wild Card pick 2. Overall won-loss record of each player’s Wild Card pick 3. Best combined ESPN/USA Today and AP poll finishes of each player’s Wild Card pick |
|
9. If a player’s Wild Card pick should win the national championship, that player shall buy dinner at SATCO for the other participants and shall not collect any award monies. |
|
10. If the Tennessee Volunteers should win the national championship in a given year, no players shall be required to pay any monies. The Volunteer Cap (see rule #13 below) shall be burned, and participants shall pool funds to purchase a new cap as directed under said rule. May God have mercy on us all. |
|
11. Standings shall be kept on a weekly basis throughout the season and shall be listed in the following order:
1. Overall won-loss record of each player’s #1 draft pick 2. ESPN/USA Today poll ranking of each player’s #1 draft pick 3. Combined won-loss record of each player’s five non-Wild Card teams |
|
12. Last place finish shall be determined in the following order:
1. Combined won-loss record of each player’s five non-Wild Card teams 2. Worst won-loss record among all players’ #1 picks 3. Worst won-loss record among all players’ Wild Card picks |
|
13. The player who finishes in last place shall bear a Tennessee Vols cap to be determined by all participants in advance of the season’s first college football game. This cap shall be worn to the BCS championship game at the end of the season and to the Vanderbilt/UT game the following season. Following the Vanderbilt/UT game or as soon as the standings are no longer in question, whichever is later, the new hat bearer shall receive the hat from the preceding hat bearer. |
|
14. This cap shall not be replaced by another cap, except as determined by rule #10 above or as determined by an agreement among all four participants. |
|
15. Should the cap be lost at any time, the offending player must replace the cap by purchasing an even uglier cap, as agreed upon by all participants. |
|
16. Coach Woody shall keep the standings for the season. His duties shall begin following the selection draft and end following the BCS Championship game. |
|
17. Standings shall be sent via email to all participants once per week. No explanation or trash talk shall be required but shall be enthusiastically encouraged by the other participants. |
|
SELECTION DRAFT STANDARDS |
|
18. The draft shall be conducted in order of each player’s Wild Card team performance during the previous season: The player with the best team shall pick first, the player with the second best team shall pick second, the player with the third best team shall pick third, and the player with the fourth best team shall pick fourth. Selections for Wild Card teams shall be made in reverse order, so that the player finishing with the worst Wild Card team shall have the first Wild Card pick in the next draft. |
|
19. Once selections have been made, all picks shall be considered final. |
|
20. Rule deleted. |
|
21. The “Hope Springs Eternal” Rule: Should the Vanderbilt Commodores ever win the Wild Card competition, all four participants shall locate George Plaster and take him out to dinner at SATCO. |
|
22. In the event that no player has selected the team that wins the BCS Championship, no player shall collect any monies. A progressive jackpot of $5 per Coach per year shall begin to accumulate after the season. This jackpot shall be awarded to the player who selects the team that wins the next BCS Championship. If no player selects the championship team in consecutive years, this jackpot shall continue to be increased until a player selects the BCS Champion. |
|
GOVERNING STANDARDS |
|
23. This game shall hereafter be referred to as “The Football Pool”. At no time shall “Have Fun. Expect to Win” serve as The Football Pool’s motto. |
|
24. New participants shall be approved by all four participants. |
|
25. The rules listed above and below shall not be amended except as approved by all participants. |
