Gridiron Dynasty

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Yes, the jobs are limited based on the number of schools. In Division III, there are 228 jobs - once those are full, no new coaches would be able to signup in that world. As coaches are successful and accept jobs in Division II, their old jobs would then be available to be filled by new coaches. The same would be true of a coach which decides not to play in a subsequent season (see "What happens if I don't renew my team?" below) - his job would then be open for a new coach.

If all of the jobs are taken in a World, you will see a note that your name has been automatically added to the wait list. As jobs open up as other coaches accept positions at other schools, the coaches on the wait list will be emailed regarding the job opening. Jobs are filled on a first come, first served basis.

The first half of games begin simulation around 2:30 am EST and the second half around 2:30 pm EST. All game plan and depth chart changes must be made prior to these times to take effect for that portion of the game. Game results are posted as soon as possible and are typically available within a couple hours of the start time. Exhibition games are not played a half at a time and are completely simulated around 2:30 am EST.

A season will last for approximately 5 weeks:

Yes! Coaches who make it to the post-season will receive reward points based upon how well they do and at the D-III, D-II, and D-IAA levels the number of times they have reached the post-season in the current division.

• Redshirting a Player
• Scheduling a non-conference game for next season
• Offering a booster gift (D-II and above)
• Applying for a Job in a world for the next season
• One season must remain in any World from the Renewal Deadline until Recruiting starts

At the end of the regular season, each coach who has not signed up for another season will receive an email reminder. After the conference championship, coaches who still have not signed up for another season will receive a final reminder. At the end of the season, any schools whose coaches have not signed up for the subsequent season will have their teams made available to the general public. Once you lose your school, you can not reclaim that school.

Yes! Although not in Division III or II. But, once you get up to Division I-A and I-AA, the administration and alumni of some schools demand success. If you're in trouble, the administration will certainly let you know. In addition, you'll see your job status change in your office.

Your loyalty grade represents how loyal you've been during your coaching career at the various schools you've coached. Coaches are graded from A+ (best) to F (worst). For each season you remain at the same school, your loyalty will improve. Every time you make a lateral move (moving to a program that is not a significant upgrade from where you currently are), your loyalty takes a hit. If you take a job at a higher level (moving from DIII to DII), your loyalty is not penalized. Although if you're out applying for other jobs, that will impact your loyalty rating.

NOTE: All new coaches begin with a loyalty rating of B-.

You may apply to another school at any point during the season. However, schools will not make any coaching moves until after the season has ended. Once the season has ended, schools will make decisions at their own pace during the job application period prior to the new season starting.

The number of open scholarships will vary by school. When you initially accept the job, you will see the number of scholarships available. As you progress through subsequent seasons at that school, you'll have various numbers of scholarships to fill as kids graduate, transfer, quit, leave early for the NFL, etc. Your total roster size is 50 players and all players are on scholarship.

Yes, the more success your program enjoys, the easier it will become to land recruits in the future. Conversely, if your program tanks for a couple of seasons or falls under WCAA investigation (just as examples), you may find getting kids to come to your school very challenging.

Some kids will stiff you if they don't think enough of you and/or your program to remember the meeting. You've still had to make the trip so you don't get your money back. The moral of the story is to not spend your high cost recruiting items on recruits unless you're confident they have a high level of interest.

Recruits look at not only the amount of attention they are given but also the school and coach that's doing the wooing. More successful schools have an easier time of recruiting than do schools that have a losing tradition and/or have been on probation. Recruits also need to decide which school is a better fit for them - who's offering starting spots, etc. Additionally, the recruit factors in the success, experience, reputation, and loyalty of the coach who is recruiting him.

• Experience
• Success
• Reputation
• Loyalty

Players who are injured (health below 100%), but not listed as out (return date), can be played in games. It is a risk to play players who are injured as they are subject to further injury. Depending upon the severity of the injury, they may not be able to play the entire game.

The game plan section is broken into 4 parts: main, general, offense, and defense. Each of the offense and defense sections is further broken down into 1st down, 2nd down, 3rd down, and 4th down settings.

Main
The main game plan page lists the game plans that are available to the team. The list contains any custom game plans that have been created by the coach along with default game plans available to everyone. When a game plan is selected from the available game plans list, a description of the plan is displayed along with options to view, edit, or delete the selected plan. The only option available for the default plans is view, while custom plans have both edit and delete options. A custom game plan can only be removed if it is not currently set in any of the 5 active game plan settings. If no game plan is selected in the list, a brief summary of the next opponent on the schedule is shown to aid in game planning for the upcoming game.
The active settings section is where up to 5 game plans can be set to be used in the next game. The main game plan is used when the game situation does not match the criteria to use any of the other 4 game plan options. The winning game plan and the losing game plan settings are always active and cannot be disabled. The two optional game plan settings can be set for either winning or losing situations and can be deactivated by not checking the active checkbox. The score and time criteria for using each game plan are used in both the 2nd and 4th quarters.
The special teams section is where the maximum field goal distance for a field goal attempt is set (remember to add 17 yards to the line of scrimmage to account for the placement and the end zone) along with the return man for both punts and kickoffs.

General
The general section is used to give a name and description to the game plan as well as set the base offense and base defense. The base offense settings are used to determine the starting offensive lineup and basic offensive style and tendency. If the down specific offense (offense section) is not set, then the base offense will always be run. The base defense settings work the same way -- it determines the starting defensive lineup, basic defensive style and tendency, and will always be used if no other defensive settings (defense section) have been saved.

Offense
The offensive down sections are used to specify the offense in every down and distance situation - i.e. on the 1st tab the offense for 1st and long, 1st and medium, and 1st and short situations are set. The 2nd tab is for second down situations, 3rd tab for third down situations, and 4th tab for fourth down situations. The distances for long and medium can be set for what the team considers each situation to be and the short distance is automatically set to be 1 yard up to the medium setting. Under each down and distance situation, there are 3 "play" options consisting of set, tendency, style, normal, red zone, and inactive settings. The set is the offensive formation. The tendency is the run/pass balance used for play calling:

Defense
Just like the offense section, the defense section is used to specify the defensive set, tendency, and style when facing every offensive formation in long, medium, and short yardage situations broken up by down. Additionally, it allows for the defense to change in the same situations when defending in the red zone. The distances for long and medium can be set for what the team considers each situation to be and the short distance is automatically set to be 1 yard up to the medium setting. The set is the defensive formation. The tendency is what the defense is looking for or leaning towards -- pass or run. For example, if a heavy run tendency is chosen, then the defensive players are pulled up closer to the line of scrimmage to try and stop the run but potentially leaves the defense open to a big passing play. The style is the overall style of play for the defense -- the more aggressive this setting is, the more often the defense will blitz, jump passing routes for interceptions, etc. An aggressive defense could lead to a lot of turnovers, but it may also give up some big plays to the offense. The red zone settings work the same way, but are used when defending inside the 20.

No, there are not any roster restrictions. As the coach, it is entirely up to you to decide how many quarterbacks or kickers to have on your team. However, it is advisable to have at least one backup at every position in case you have a player get injured, suspended, etc. To this end, your assistant coach will look to add depth to your team if he has to fill scholarships that you fail to fill during the recruiting period.

Yes, you can redshirt a maximum of three (3) players per season. In order to redshirt, a player cannot have played in any games this season and cannot have had a previous redshirt season. Players can have a redshirt season at any point during their college career. Redshirts can be applied up until the seventh (7) game of the season ends and can be removed at any point during the season. Only coaches who have remaining seasons with their team are allowed to hand out redshirts.

No, not all players who have a 5th year of eligibility will return. Every player that has a chance to return will make this decision based upon many factors, not the least of which is playing time the past season and perceived playing time for the upcoming season.

Players are eligible if they have participated in less than 20% of the scheduled season and the illness or injury occurs in the first half of the season. The illness or injury must result in an incapacity to compete for the remainder of the season. Players who have already had a redshirt season or a prior waiver are not eligible.

Yes. Once the season is over and before the next season begins, you will have a chance to evaluate your team and decide whether or not a player deserves to keep his scholarship. Rescinding scholarships can have an effect on your reputation as a coach and make it harder for you to recruit. You must have seasons remaining on your account in order to rescind a scholarship. When the option is available to you, there will be a 'Rescind Scholarship' link next to players' names in your office roster listing. All rescinded scholarships are then available to be filled during the next recruiting period (the appropriate amount of money is added to your recruiting budget).

Yes. To change a player's position, open his profile by clicking on his name in your office and then clicking the "Change Position" tab. Then you can select a new position for the player. All positions cannot be changed to all other positions:

It is recommended that the depth chart be completely filled in, though not required. All position slots that would be used in a game based upon the formations you use should have a player listed. Depending upon the position, the number one player may be the only one to get into the game, but his backups should be set in case of injury. Additionally, the basic depth chart determines who your starters are for the game.

It depends upon the position. For QB, K, and P, the number one player will most likely be the only player to get any playing time. For the other positions, it depends upon the formation being used. For example, if your team is in a 4-4 formation on defense for a play, then the top four defensive linemen, top four linebackers, and top three defensive backs will be in the game for that play. The player listed first will be placed in the most critical position. This means that the first running back will get most of the carries and the first defensive back will cover the other team's number one receiver, etc. Of course, injuries and game fatique will cause some adjustments. You can have more control over this aspect of the game by using the advanced depth charts.

These settings offer a way in which to control the offensive players that are in the game for each offensive formation. Each formation has its own depth chart and they can all be different. Additionally, each depth slot has an effective and a distribution setting.

The effective setting is used to set when the player should be taken out of the game and a backup inserted into the lineup because of fatigue. The setting tries to quantify the player's effectiveness in the game relative to when he is completely rested and healthy. For example, setting a player's effectiveness to 60% (the default setting) means that he will be subbed out of the game when he is playing at 60% of his overall effectiveness.

The distribution setting is used to set how often a running back or quarterback should get carries in the running game and wide receivers and tight ends should be the first option on passing plays. The distribution must be set to a number within the range 0 - 100 for the player. The distribution is relative to the other players currently in the game. For example, on the I-Formation depth chart setting QB1's distribution to 10, RB1's to 60, RB2's to 30, and RB3's to 10 means that when a running play is called and QB1, RB1, and RB2 are in the game for the play, QB1 will carry the ball 10% of the time, RB1 60% of the time, and RB2 30% of the time. Using the same settings, if QB1, RB1, and RB3 are in the game for the play, QB1 will carry the ball 12.5% of the time, RB1 75% of the time, and RB3 12.5% of the time. The distribution is slightly different for passing plays -- it does not necessarily determine who the ball is thrown to by the quartberack. It sets who the quarterback will look to first (first progression in his reads), but he may have to move on to another receiver if he is covered or he has pressure from the defense.

These settings offer a way in which to control the defensive players that are in the game for each defensive formation. Each formation has its own depth chart and they can all be different. Additionally, each depth slot has an effective setting that is used to set when the player should be taken out of the game and a backup inserted into the lineup. The setting tries to quantify the player's effectiveness in the game relative to when he is completely rested and healthy. For example, setting a player's effectiveness to 60% (the default setting) means that he will be subbed out of the game when he is playing at 60% of his overall effectiveness.

Yes. The amount of money earned is split amongst all conference teams and is based upon the bowl.

Yes. The amount of money earned is split amongst all conference teams and is based upon how far the team progresses in the playoffs as well as the division.

While in general, a player with a high work ethic will tend to improve at a slightly faster pace than an equivalent player with a low work ethic, there are always exceptions. A player may not like the playing time he's receiving and not work as hard in practice - players may not work as hard if the team is struggling, etc. Also, some players have already reached their full potential while in high school and will not improve much during their college playind days.

Practicing certain areas of a player's game will help him improve his skills. See the following table for a general (not position specific) list of how each area may impact a player's game:

Generally, happy players (getting starts/playing time) will work harder during practice (work ethic improvements). With regards to the offenses and defenses, the more practice and playing time a player receives under each set, the better the offense will function in terms of efficiency.

You may challenge any team you wish regardless of their division, excluding teams that are already on your regular season schedule. When a challenge is extended to a sim AI controlled team, that team will accept your challenge as long as they are not already scheduled for 3 exhibition games. When a user coached team is challenged, that coach will receive an invitation and then have the option of either accepting or rejecting your challenge.

Some players will not have a problem with being given a redshirt for the season, but others will not like it. A player's work ethic could drop or he may even decide that he wants to transfer out of the program. Typically, the younger the player is (Fr. as compared to a Sr.), the less he will be effected by the redshirt status.

If a player was negatively effected by his redshirt status, then some of these effects could be reversed, but not all. When the reshirt is removed (number of games into the season) plays a large role in how the player will respond. As a general rule, players don't like to use a year of eligibility to play in 1 or 2 games.

Players are rated in 12 different categories, each are based from 1 - 100 with 1 being the worst and 100 being the best. The table below gives a hint of what to look for in your players, but it is not a complete cheat sheet.

There is no game to game fatigue – meaning everyone starts every game at 100% (assuming they are 100% healthy). The stamina rating refers to their in-game conditioning. Durability refers to their likelihood of injury and if they do get injured, how long they would be out.

Yes, when you practice a certain area, a player's ratings improve - if you don't practice an area enough, a player's ratings can go down. For example, if you spend 0 time practicing tackling, players on your team would tackle much worse by the end of the season than they did at the beginning of the season.