Post by larrywalden on Dec 11, 2015 3:53:51 GMT -5
Hey all! I have some good* news!
~hyenafur, who is the GM (and original creator) of the Abilene Lancers, has elected to step down from his position as GM, effective 12/11/2015. I wish him the best in his future endeavors, and he is always more than welcome to come back in another coaching capacity or throw a few characters into the draft circuit. For the remaining three weeks of the 2015 season, I will be taking over as Interim GM of the Lancers. As they will not be making the playoffs, this shouldn't be a problem with anyone.
Why is this important, other than that someone is moving on from the group? ~hyenafur was one of the six GMs who created their own team for the league two years ago, so the franchise (in theory) belongs to him - and he's going to take the franchise with him. Canonically, the Abilene Lancers will be forced to move to a new location after this season due to a lack of sponsorship and financial burdens (they've only won 7 games over 2 years).
So! For the 2016 UFFL Season, we will introduce a brand new franchise into the Continental Conference that will inherit the players in Abilene and migrate to a new location. This is the "good* news" part - someone will have an opportunity to make a new team!
Here's what makes this tricky, though, thus the asterisk next to "good" - we are a big group, many of us manage teams that were created for us, and I'm sure some of those contributors would like to start fresh with a personally-designed franchise. It's also a bit early to start talking about the 2016 UFFL season, I know, when we haven't even done the whole playoffs thing.
So I'm creating this thread to open the conversation now, and at some point post-season, I will open up a submission form for franchise ideas. Please do not spend a lot of time right now creating an idea for a new team - I would hate to see you spend a bunch of time on something and see it go to waste if we choose someone else's team idea. This is with the intention of being democratic, but if this creates too many issues among us, I will be creating the new franchise myself (none of the teams in this league were actually created by me, by the way ).
Stuff to think about when developing a new team/franchise:
- A default team logo (minimum 500 x 500 pixels) - You may redesign the logo at will. Acceptance of the design is under discretion by the Commissioner (or both Chairmen). No profane material allowed.
- A default team color scheme - usually three colors - with matchable Hexidecimal codes.
- A team name - no multiples allowed (there cannot be two teams with the same name). In addition, no mascot or team name may be borrowed from the FBA or FHL and used in the UFFL. Keep the name realistic (i.e. "Dragons" or "Warhawks" are common names and will likely be accepted; something like the "Homer Simpsons" is going to be denied. Let's be real here.)
- A home city - I'd like to limit (at this time) to Canada and United States locations in 2015 and beyond. When reassigning the city, only one team per city is allowed. A change in home city must be approved by the Commissioner, VP, and the chairman of the respective conference. Cities with larger populations are encouraged.
- A stadium name and type - You have the freedom to create a stadium for your team (again, no profane material). Types available are Grass or Turf. Beyond that, feel free to be creative with what your stadium looks like and plays like!
- The names and species of the GM (you), and the 4 coaches - Head Coach, Offensive Coordinator, Defensive Coordinator, and Special Teams Coordinator - The names and species you assign to these characters can be changed at any time, as long as it realistically fits into UFFL canon. Any applicable FBA rules apply. Changes must be approved by the Commissioner (or your chairman).
~hyenafur never specified names for any of the coaches in Abilene (or even the GM! - he was the only one who hadn't), so you will get to create the coaching and GM characters from scratch. Additionally, I designed the logo for Abilene, and I have no qualms with this logo being retired after this season. It is assumed that the creator of the new team will become the manager of that creation.
So there we are. To recap: the Abilene Lancers will be no more after 2015, and the players on that team will move to a new city, and that franchise will (hopefully) be created by one of you!
Thanks for your time, and the best of luck for the remainder of your 2015 season!
-Larry (Commish)