Pacing in the NCAA leagues

[Kodos]

It seems like the pace of these leagues has slowed to a crawl over the past year. Last season, the Ladder Week 1 through Bowl Season ran from 5/28 to 11/23. The American ran from 5/22 to 11/16. We took just under 6 months to get through the season--longer than it takes real-life football. One game a week seems like a reasonable standard to me, yet we almost never get through a game week that quickly anymore. We had a game week that lasted about a month no so long ago. I realize that my introduction of multiple leagues was part of the problem, as people became spread too thin. And obviously, work and other real-life events can cause major issues with scheduling, especially for human vs. human games. I was hoping that the elimination of the Pyramid would help the remaining two leagues move along better, but that doesn't seem to be the case. We've run through 4 weeks since December 19th in the Ladder.

I'm open to suggestions for what we can do. Honestly, the slow pace is draining a lot of my enjoyment out of these leagues. I've tried to remain patient, but patience has never been my strong suit. I understand when real-life makes human vs. human games hard to schedule once in a while. I try to be accommodating when those situations arise. Is there something we can do to move things along better? Is it a matter of people communicating better? In the Ladder, I checked in a week after the deadline had passed, and it seemed like neither party had made much of an effort to schedule their game. I love these leagues and don't want to run anyone off, but is there a way we can do better than we've been doing? Can people make an effort to check in on this subforum once a day or every couple of days?

I'm willing to work with people, but you guys need to work with me and with others too. Try to schedule your game early on rather than waiting for the deadline to pass and for me to come knocking. It's easier to wait when you know guys are trying to get their game in. Communicate in the threads so people know you are working on it. It is aggravating to see the deadline pass, give guys extra time to work their game in, and then find out a week after the deadline that they haven't made a real effort to get together.

[CU Tiger]

I'm not on these forums at all much these days.

Check in once or twice a week. I really enjoy the leagues and likewise struggle to stay engaged when it drags out, even if I am the cause (at least 50% in this case) of the drag out.

For that reason I think everyone I've played against has my cell number. To facilitate match making.

I personally feel like soft deadlines will never work. As much as it may suck, I think you are going to have to be a hard ass to make it flow. I think we need hard and structured deadlines. Games are simmed on Day X. And if you dont get your game in its simmed. Perhaps allow each owner 1 timeout or extension per season. I know summertime vacations and things of this nature happen and the games really crawl then.

Just spit balling out loud here. The season is 16 weeks plus some pre-season stuff.(maybe a couple extra weeks) If you set hard 5 day deadlines and allowed every owner (1) 5 day extension per season with 6 owners that would be say 18 stages, plus 6 extensions * 5 a MAX of right at 17 weeks. That shortens the season a full two months. Its still plausible to have some weeks faster than 5 days.We had back to back 4 day weeks recently.

I know for me when its 3 weeks between game si struggle to remember who I am recruiting or what my strategy is.

I think we need to all have a rule of X timeline, if not in you are skipped. You could extend it that if you are skipped 3 times in a season you are out if you want, though not sure if simming hurts the league if deadlines are set in stone etc.

Thoughts?

[Kodos]

I think guys will punch out mentally if they lose simmed games that keep them from contending for a championship.

When I set the deadline, I always make sure at least 1 weekend day is involved. Usually I give a week + a day or two, depending on how things fall and known issues (like Super Bowl weekend or holidays). I could be a hard ass and just sim when the deadline passes, but like I said above, I think that will get people disinterested. I know that most guys are invested in their teams, particularly in the Ladder. I don't want to do things that harm that. But waiting weeks for things to move forward kills interest too.

Occasional business trips out of town are one thing, but can we get guys to commit to finding time once a week for one game if they are home and have access to their console? I often have to get up early on the weekend to get my game(s) in. That's a price I am willing to pay for the sake of live human competition. I'd like to see that same commitment from others. If your schedule regularly has you away from your console for multiple weeks at a time, then maybe that is when we bring autopilot or simming games into play for the sake of keeping things moving.

[Grammaticus]

I would like to see the pace pick up too. I will commit to making the weekly cycle.

[Julio Riddols]

Next season, lets move everyone to separate conferences to ensure we are not playing each other constantly. With the American, I think it would be reasonable to move one of each of us to either the Big Ten, Pac 12, or SEC.

This eliminates the problem, but still allows us to battle it out in bowl games should we happen to meet.

Maybe not the most competitive way to do it, but it would certainly help expedite things.

[Kodos]

Just so you guys know, I'm not ignoring suggestions. Just seeing if things move more smoothly now that the leagues are down to 3 players in the American and 4 in the Ladder. I lean towards keeping league formats intact until it is obvious things aren't working.