SI.com FanNation Fantasy Games

Official Rules

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN

The Stewart Mandel’s College Football Challenge (“Contest”) begins at 12:00:01 AM Eastern Time (“ET”) on 8/24/08 and ends at 11:59:59 PM (ET) on 12/6/08 (Contest Entry Period). This Contest consists of Fifteen (15) Weekly Competition Periods. One (1) weekly winner will be determined per Weekly Competition Period, and at the conclusion of the Contest, one Grand Prize winner will be determined from all scores.

  1. Eligibility: Contest is open to legal residents of the 50 United States and the District of Columbia and Canada (except for residents in the province of Quebec), who are members of FanNation.com and age 18 or older at time of entry. Employees of Sports Illustrated, a Division of Time Inc., (the “Sponsor”), Nissan North America, Inc., FanNation.com, their parent companies, affiliates, subsidiaries, consultants, advertising and Contest agencies, and any other individual or company involved in the development or execution of the Contest, and members of their immediate families (parent, child, sibling and their respective spouses) and same households of each, whether or not related, are not eligible to play or win. All federal, state, local and provincial laws and regulations apply. Void in the province of Quebec and where prohibited by law.
  2. Objective of Contest: The Stewart Mandel’s College Football Challenge is a free skill competition. There is no purchase necessary to participate or win. Each contestant (referred herein as “Contestant” or “you”) will be required to forecast which college football team will win each game identified by Sponsor on the Making Picks roster for the applicable Weekly Competition Period (refer to the “Making Picks” section within these Official Rules for additional details).
  3. How to Enter: To enter, visit www.SI.com/collegechallenge and complete the online registration located in the Stewart Mandel’s College Football Pick’ em Challenge section. Upon registering, you will receive a free User ID. You cannot compete in this Contest without a valid User ID. You may only register once for the Contest. Limit: one (1) entry per person or e-mail address per Weekly Competition Period regardless if a Contestant has more than one email address. If a Contestant submits more than one entry within a given week, the last valid entry received will be used and all other entries from that Contestant will be disqualified. Every Thursday, a new roster of games for the following weekend will be provided during the Contest Entry Period. Once registered, a Contestant will be able to play and submit his/her picks up to 10 minutes prior to the kick-off/start of each game. (Please see the Making Picks Section” for further instructions.)

    4. For purposes of these Official Rules, "receipt" of an entry occurs when FanNation.com’s server records the entry information resulting from Contestant clicking the "Submit Entry" button. Any automated computer receipt (such as one confirming delivery of entry) does not constitute proof of actual receipt by FanNation.com. Any entry that is incomplete, late, or does not include a valid issued User ID will be disqualified. All entries and requests become Sponsor’s property and will not be returned or acknowledged.

  4. Making Picks: Every Thursday during the Contest Entry Period, a new roster of games to be played on the following weekend will be provided at www.SI.com/collegechallenge. To choose a team, Contestant must select a check box next to the college team he or she would like to choose. You must also enter your predictions for the weekly tiebreaker by predicting the home team score and away team score in the designated tiebreaker matchup for the week (typically the last game on the roster). Once the Contestant has selected all his or her picks and made the predictions, the Contestant must click on Save Picks to save the picks. To be eligible to win a Weekly Prize, your Weekly Competition entry must be received during the applicable Weekly Competition Period. You will be able to make or change your picks up to 10 minutes prior to the kick-off/start of each game. After that time, your picks will be locked and cannot be changed.
  5. Scoring: Each Contestant will be awarded 1 point for each correct pick received for a game listed during an applicable Weekly Competition Period of the Contest Entry Period. No points will be awarded for an incorrect pick or if a game is postponed or cancelled (for any reason). The maximum number of points that can be earned for each Weekly Competition Period will depend on the number of games provided for that week.

    6. Prize Level Criterion: One (1) Grand Prize Winner: The eligible registered contestant who earns the most total points during the entire Contest Entry Period will be declared as the Grand Prize winner (subject to verification). In the event of a tie at the Grand prize level, the contestant who earned the highest point total in Week 15 will be declared as the Grand Prize Winner. If still tied, the contestant who earned the highest point total in Week 14 will be declared as the Grand Prize Winner. In case of a further tie, the contestant who earned the highest point total in Week 13 will be declared as the Grand Prize Winner. The tie-breaker will continue in the above fashion until the tie is broken. There will be Fifteen (15) Weekly Prizes: The eligible registered Contestant who earns the most points for the applicable Weekly Period will be declared as the Weekly Prize Winner (subject to verification).  In the event of a “tie” at the Weekly prize level (where more than one contestant has correctly picked all the answers to that week’s games; or if no contestant picked the correct answers; or more than one contestant has the highest number of correct answers picked), the winner will be determined via tie-breaker questions that correspond to the last game within each Weekly Competition Period.  In the event of a tie, the winner (subject to verification), will be determined based on which tied contestant is closest to the home team score. In the event of a further tie, the winner (subject to verification), will be determined based on which tied contestant is closest to the away team score.

    Prizes: A 2 night/3 day trip for winner and guest to a college football game (“Event”) of winner’s choice (Approximate Retail Value (“ARV”): $3,000.00). Actual ARV of Grand Prize may vary based on location of winner’s residence and guest and fares at time of departure. If actual value of prize turns out to be less than the stated ARV, then the difference will not be awarded to winner. Trip includes: round-trip coach-class airfare for winner and guest, double occupancy hotel accommodations (standard room) for 2 nights plus two (2) tickets to attend Event. Seat selections are at the Sponsor’s sole discretion. All costs and expenses associated with the acceptance and use of the Grand Prize not specified herein as being awarded, including, but not limited to, ground transportation, meals, taxes (including but not limited to federal and state, income, sales and provincial), upgrades, gratuities, room service, incidentals and any other expenses are not included and are the Grand Prize Winner’s sole responsibility. Trip must be redeemed by December 15, 2009. Travel dates are subject to availability, excludes major holidays and certain restrictions applies. Travel arrangements must be made through Sponsor’s designated agent on an air or ground carrier of Sponsor’s choice. Grand Prize Winner and guest must travel together on the same itinerary including departure and return dates. If the Grand Prize Winner is unable to travel after all arrangements have been made and paid, then the Sponsors shall have no further obligation to the Grand Prize Winner and/or guest. If, for any reason whatsoever, the Event is cancelled or postponed, no compensation or substitution will be provided for difference in prize value and the Sponsor shall have no further obligation to winner other than to supply a trip to Event location minus the Event portion of prize. Should this be the case, trip must be taken within 12 months from award date. If Grand Prize is forfeited prior to Sponsor finalizing and paying for travel, and there is sufficient time to notify an alternate winner, the prize will be awarded to an alternate winner in a separate random drawing from among all non-winning eligible entries. Winner and guest are responsible for obtaining the proper travel documentation (e.g., photo IDs, passports and/or Visas) prior to travel. Grand Prize Winner’s guest must be of legal age of majority in his/her state of residence (and at least 18) and will be required to execute and return a Liability/Publicity Release prior to travel. Fifteen (15) Weekly Prizes (one prize awarded per Weekly Competition Period): A Nintendo Wii System (MSRP: $300.00 each). Limit: One (1) Weekly Prize per household. Maximum ARV of all prizes: $7,500.00. Winners acknowledges that the Sponsor and all other businesses concerned with this Contest and its agents do not make, nor are in any manner are responsible for any warranty, representations, expressed or implied, in fact or in law, relative the quality, conditions, fitness or merchantability of any aspect of prize except that any merchandise prize shall be subject to manufacturer’s standard warranty.

  6. THE FOLLOWING APPLIES TO ALL OF THE ABOVE: Weekly Competition winners will be determined within 10 days from the end of each Weekly Competition Period and the Potential Grand Prize winner will be determined on or about 1/5/09 under supervision of Sponsor’s agent whose decisions are final and binding. Winners will be notified by mail and at Sponsor’s discretion may be required to complete and return an Affidavit of Eligibility and Liability and a Publicity Release (“Affidavit/Release”) within seven (7) days of date specified on notification, or an alternate winner will be determined. Pre-paid Fed-Ex service will be provided with the Affidavit/Release. The contact information (name, address, telephone number(s), email address) provided by each contestant during the Contest’s entry process shall serve as the contact information of record in respect of all communications with each contestant. If any winner is not reachable at the address and/or phone number provided [on entry] or if a prize or prize notification is returned as undeliverable or any non-compliance with these Official Rules, or if winner cannot accept or receive prize, or if a Weekly Winner wins more than one Weekly Prize, such Winner will be disqualified and the corresponding prize will be awarded to Contestant with the next highest score for that applicable Weekly Competition. If a winner is otherwise eligible under these Official Rules, but is nevertheless deemed a minor in his or her state of primary residence, all required documents must be completed by the winner’s parent or legal guardian. If required documents are not returned within such time period, the prize will be forfeited and the Contestant with the next highest score for that specific prize drawing will be notified. Prize awarded within 30 days after winner verification. Prizes are not redeemable for cash. Prizes are non-assignable or transferable. No substitution by winner is permitted. Sponsor reserves the right to substitute any prize with a prize of equal or greater value in the event offered prize is unavailable. Grand Prize Winner will be responsible for payment of all federal, state, local and income taxes associated with the awarding of his/her prize. Any other incidental expenses on prize not specified herein are the sole responsibility of each winner. All prize details are at Sponsor’s sole discretion. Entry and acceptance of prize constitutes permission (except where prohibited by law) for Sponsor and its designees to use each winner's name, prize won, city and state of residence, photograph and likeness for purposes of advertising, Contest and publicity (including website posting) in any and all media now or hereafter known throughout the world in perpetuity, without additional compensation, notification or permission.

    7. The Sponsor, FanNation, Nissan North America, Inc., their respective parent companies, subsidiaries, affiliates, distributors, advertising and Contest agencies, prize suppliers and any other individual or company involved in the development or execution of the Contest, and all of their respective shareholders, employees, directors, officers, representatives and agents (collectively, the “Released Parties”) are not responsible for lost, damaged, destroyed, stolen, late, mutilated, delayed, undelivered, inaccurate, misdirected or garbled entries, and all such entries shall be ineligible and void. By participating, Contestants agree (a) to be bound by these Official Rules and the decisions of Sponsor’s and judges, which will be binding and final; (b) to Sponsor’s use of information supplied by Contestants for marketing purposes as allowed by law. The Sponsor’s privacy policies can be located at http://www.si.com/privacy, and consent given herein; (c) to indemnify and hold harmless Released Parties from any and all liability, claims, law suits, costs, expenses, fees, injuries (including death), losses, and damages which may be sustained in connection with the receipt, ownership or use of a prize, or while preparing for, participating in, and/or traveling to any prize-related activity and/or from Contestant’s fraudulent or wrongful acts or omissions; (d) not to sue Released Parties for any damages arising from a winner’s acceptance of or use of the prize; and (e) anything related to the Contest. Sponsor shall have the sole right to disqualify any Contestant for violation of these Official Rules or any applicable laws relating to the Contest, and to resolve all disputes in its sole discretion. Released Parties disclaim any implied warranty arising out of any person’s participation in the Contest or the acceptance and use of any prize.

    Released Parties are not responsible for hardware or software failures of any kind, lost or unavailable network connections, failed, incomplete or garbled computer or telephone transmissions, typographical or system errors and failures or faulty transmissions or for any problems or technical malfunction of any telephone network or lines, computer online systems, servers or providers, computer equipment, or entry not received by Sponsor on account of technical problems or traffic congestion on the Internet, or at a Website, or any combination thereof or for any other errors of any kind relating to or in connection with the Contest, whether technical, mechanical, computer, network, printing, typographical, human or otherwise, including, without limitation, errors which may occur in connection with the administration of the Contest, the processing or judging of entries, the announcement of the prizes or in any Contest-related materials. Released Parties further disclaim any responsibility for any injury or damage to contestant's or any other person's computer related to or resulting from entering the Contest or downloading any material for the Contest, or other telecommunications malfunctions which may limit an contestant's ability to participate. Sponsor in its sole discretion may disqualify any contestant from participating in the Contest, refuse to award points or prizes, and require the return of any prizes, if contestant engages in any conduct Sponsor deems to be improper, unfair or otherwise adverse to the operation of the Contest or detrimental to other contestants. Such improper conduct includes, but is not limited to, falsifying personal information required during Contest registration or prize claim, violating any Official Rules stated herein, accumulating points or prizes through methods such as automated computer scripts or other programming techniques, allowing others to use the contestant’s personal information for the purpose of accumulating points or prizes, tampering with Sponsor's administration of this Contest, or intentionally trying to defraud, reverse engineer, disassemble, decompile or otherwise tamper with the computer programs on this web site. Contestant further acknowledges that the forfeiture of a prize and/or return of a prize shall in no way prevent Sponsor from pursuing other avenues of recourse such as criminal or civil proceedings in connection with such conduct. Should any portion of the Contest be, in Sponsor’s sole opinion, compromised by virus, worms, bugs, non-authorized human intervention or other causes which, in the sole opinion of the Sponsor, corrupt or impair the administration, security, fairness or proper play, or submission of entries, Sponsor reserve the right, in its sole discretion, to cancel, terminate, modify or suspend the Contest (or portion thereof) and, if terminated, to award the applicable Prize(s), if applicable, from among all eligible and non-suspect entries received up to time of such action. In the event of a dispute as to entries submitted by multiple users having the same email account, the authorized subscriber of the email account used to enter the Contest at the actual time of registration will be deemed to be the participant and must comply with these Official Rules. Authorized account subscriber is deemed to be the natural person who is assigned an email address by an Internet access provider, online service provider or other organization which is responsible for assigning email addresses for the domain associated with the submitted email address. Potential winner may be required to provide Sponsor with proof that he/she is the authorized account holder of the e-mail address associated with the potential winning entry. CAUTION: ANY ATTEMPT BY A CONTESTANT OR ANY PERSON TO DELIBERATELY DAMAGE THE WEB SITE OR UNDERMINE THE LEGITIMATE OPERATION OF THE CONTEST MAY BE IN VIOLATION OF CRIMINAL AND CIVIL LAWS AND SHOULD SUCH AN ATTEMPT BE MADE, THE SPONSOR RESERVE THE RIGHT TO SEEK REMEDIES AND DAMAGES (INCLUDING ATTORNEYS’ FEES) FROM ANY SUCH CONTESTANT OR PERSON TO THE FULLEST EXTENT OF THE LAW, INCLUDING CRIMINAL PROSECUTION.

    In the event that any legal or regulatory authority challenges the Contest, the Sponsor reserves the right to discontinue or modify the Contest, or to disqualify participants residing in the affected geographic areas. In such event, Sponsor shall have no liability to contestants who are disqualified due to such an action.

  7. The Contest will be governed under the law of the State of New York without regard to principles of conflicts of laws. All claims or actions in connection with this Contest must be brought in a federal or state court in New York County, New York without recourse to class actions suits.
  8. For a winners list (available by February 27, 2009), send a self-addressed, stamped envelope by February 27, 2009 to: Stewart Mandel’s College Football Pick’ em Contest Winners, P.O. Box 9261, Medford, NY 11763-9261.
  9. SPONSOR: Sports Illustrated, a Division of Time Inc., 1271 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020.

© 2008 Ventura Associates, Inc.