I started working full-time at RotoWire almost two years ago. On my first day in the office, Peter Schoenke interrupted my training to ask if I wanted to join the staff College Fantasy Football league. How cool is that? I had never been in a CFF league before. To be honest, I didn't know that CFF existed. I obviously wasn't prepared for it, but how could I say "no" in that situation? RotoWire's President and Co-founder was inviting me to be in my first staff league on my first day, and he needed me to stop what I was doing so that I could sign up for a Fantrax account!
That's where my passion for college fantasy football started. Of course, I was already a huge college football fan. When you have lived in the BEST college sports town in America (Madison, Wisconsin) for several years, it goes without saying that you're going to become a huge fan if you weren't already. I certainly wanted to show that I belonged in the league, so I did my research before the draft and was very active on the waiver wire throughout the season. I didn't win the championship, but I did cash in my first season of our 20-team staff league. I cashed again in my second season, only getting eliminated when LSU decided to run up the score against Georgia State. (Yes, I was playing against Jayden Daniels, and I am still bitter that he played the entire game in a blowout, racking up 8 total TDs.)
But that's what makes college fantasy football so exciting! You can be way behind your opponent, and then your QB/WR stack puts up over 100 points to give you the lead. In 2022, I had Houston's Clayton Tune and Tank Dell in my lineup. I'll never forget the day Tune threw for 527 yards and 7 TDs and ran for another 111 yards and 1 TD, while Dell had 13 catches for 180 yards and 2 TDs. Those are some mind-boggling stats, but what made that Saturday in November even more memorable is that Houston lost that game, as Tune got outdueled by SMU QB Tanner Mordecai. Mordecai threw for 379 yards and 9 TDs and ran for 54 yards and 1 TD!
On August 10, 2024, I'll add a new college fantasy football-related core memory: my first CFF King's Classic at the Fantasy Football Expo in Canton, Ohio.
This will be the fourth annual CFF King's Classic, which brings together the top players in the industry to compete for the championship belt. Justin Heisey of Insider CFF won in 2021, followed by Shane Hallam of Draft Sharks in 2022. Our leader -- the man who organizes this league each year -- John Laub is the reigning champion. You can find his work on Fantrax, PlayerProfiler and the Rookie Big Board, just to name a few.
Due to popular demand, the league expanded to 14 teams this year after having 12 teams in the first three years.
Meet the 2024 participants:
CFF King's Classic League: Who are the 14 CFF Experts?
- Live Draft: Saturday, August 10 at the @ProFootballHOF
— John Laub 🇺🇸 (@GridironSchol91) July 29, 2024
- 4th annual draft at the @theffexpo
- Meet the CFF Experts in Canton, OH #PlayCFF #CollegeFootball #CollegeFantasyFootball #CFF pic.twitter.com/wWi2rSbBKq
The draft order is set, and I have the unenviable position of the last pick. That will mean that if I want to ensure that I get "my guys" I may have to reach because after my two consecutive picks, I'll have a very long wait until the next round.
In preparation, I'll have my positional rankings sorted into tiers based on RotoWire projections and intel that I've been acquiring from other sources throughout the offseason.
Each team will draft 19 players. We'll start two QBs, two RBs, three WRs, one TE and two flex. We'll each have a $250 waiver claim budget to use throughout the season.
Each week, each team will play two other teams for a total of 22 regular-season matchups. Six teams will advance to the playoffs, with the top two seeds earning a first-round bye. The Champion will be decided in Week 14.
You can view all of the draft action as it is live-streamed from the Pro Football Hall of Fame on the Rookie Big Board YouTube Channel on Saturday, August 10th, starting at 10:00 am ET. And if you're attending the Expo and the various events over the weekend, be sure to stop by and introduce yourself if you see me!
In addition to playing for an awesome championship belt and the ultimate bragging rights, we are committed to using the platform that this event presents to help raise money for a great cause. If you are able, please consider contributing to our fundraiser for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. After raising a total of nearly $3,000 in the past two years combined, we've set a goal of $3,000 in 2024.
