Frequently Asked Questions
Site Functionality
Q: Why did you add the upset bonus to the scoring?
A: As the number of entries got larger, I kept seeing more and more ties on the leaderboard; so I added the upset bonus in 2002. The upset bonus allows more variation in points and lessens the likelihood of a tie. With more variation in points, I could also expand the number of ways to pay out prizes such as BEST 1st DAY. With only 16 games on the first day, it was just too easy to tie without the upset bonus. In 2016, I increased the points per round so that the upset bonus does not have so much weight.
Q: What is a sub-leaderboard?
A: A sub-leaderboard allows you to build your own custom leaderboard which shows the subset of friends that you want. You can keep it open so anyone can join, or you can lock it so that only you can modify it. You can also make it public so all can see it or private so that only people in the leaderboard can see it.
Q: I am able to save a bracket as "Incomplete" if I want come finish my picks later. What happens if I forget to finish it by the cutoff at first tip-off.
A: Unless you delete it prior to the first tip, the short answer is that you still owe for the bracket. The bracket will still be entered into the overall pool, but the good news is that your empty games will not count as a sure loss. All incomplete games in your incomplete bracket will be automatically populated with the highest seeded team that you picked in the previous game. In the Final Four, it is possible that you have two #1 seeds facing each other. In this case, the computer will pick the top #1 seeds as picked by the selection committee.
Q: Do I have to pay extra for the Sweet-16 bracket?
A: No. Every bracket entered gets to enter the second chance Sweet-16 pool. It has no extra cost. After the first two rounds, many people's brackets are already out of the running. The Sweet-16 pool gives another change to win a prize. Sunday night after the second round ends, the site will let you enter a brand new bracket of the Sweet-16 teams. The Sweet-16 bracket does not effect your original picks in any way. (See: Sweet-16 FAQ)
Q: I sent my payment, but I am still listed as unpaid?
A: I still update the payment status by hand. This is the one thing that I have not been able to automate. I try to update the paid status every night. In 2021, I added the ability to send a Payment Note. Tell me how you are paying or if someone else is paying fo you at the Payment Note page.
Q: What is new on the site this year?
A: This year, I added a Women's Bracket. Every entry will get to create a Women's Bracket. The top three will get a good size prize.
Last year, I rebuilt my site to take advantage of a framework called Bootstrap which would allow my pages to be 'responsive'. This means they would resize and reshape automatically to fit in mobile phones, tablets, and all the way up to large monitors. I also added the ability to send me a private message from the site if you have any issues or questions. The year before, I added more ways to win. If you are at the top of the leaderboard at the end of any round, you are getting a prize.
Q: In the STATS section, why does your NCAA Bracket History and History of Team Appearances only go back to 1985?
A: 1985 was the first year that they expanded to 64 teams. You can view historical brackets from the NCAA HISTORY page. You can view historical team appearances from the TEAM APPEARANCES page. I did finally add history for year before 1985 all the way back to the first NCAA tournament in 1939.
Site History
Q: How long have you been doing a March Madness pool?
A: The pool has been going since 1989. I started while in college and charged only $2/entry.
Q: Have you always done the pool on your web site?
A: No. I started the old fashioned way and scored everything by hand in the beginning. I used to score over 100 paper entries every night while in college so that I could manually post the leaderboard in our fraternity front hall every night. I eventually built an Excel spreadsheet to calculate scores and then later built an Access database. In 1998, I moved to the web.
Q: Have you ever won your own pool?
A: No, but I did get second place once. It was in 1995 when UCLA won it all. I tied for second with my future wife. My future mother-in-law won it all that year. As you can image, participation in the pool was down the following year. In 2005, I tied for 5th place as can be seen on the HISTORICAL LEADERBOARDS page.
Misc.
Q: What technology did you use to build this site?
A: First, I have my domain name hosted by a web hosting company which runs the UNIX web server. To make the pages dynamic, I coded the pages in something called PHP. The pages also use JavaScript to validate your input bracket and create the drop-down menus. I have a MySQL database where I store all the bracket data after you hit SUBMIT. Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) is used to format the site. In 2024, I rebuilt my site to take advantage of a framework called Bootstrap which allows my pages to be 'responsive'. This means they would resize and reshape automatically to fit in mobile phones, tablets, and all the way up to large monitors. Two years ago, I built an integration with technology called JSON to automatically get the winners of each game and automatically update the site. Now the only thing I have yet to automate is taking your input fee. If I move to electronic payments only, I probably can get that one automated someday also.
Q: Do you skim any money for yourself?
A: Absolutely not. One of the prizes is given to charity (Jimmy Valvano's V Foundation). Otherwise, all entry fee money coming in goes out in prizes. That way, I have a clean conscience when claiming income to IRS.
Q: Can I invite my friends to join?
A: I am not trying to maximize the number of entries, so please do not invite everyone you know to join. If I know you personally, you are welcome to invite a few good friends. Everyone that joins needs to reference you when they join. Two degrees of separation is the limit I try to keep.
Q: Why do you dislike Duke so much?
A: I dislike Dook for the same reasons I do not like Notre Dame football. As I got older, I did learn to appreciate Coack K's accomplishments as he started whining less. But, I was still thrilled in 2022 to see UNC knock off Duke in Coack K's final home game and then also beat them again in the Final 4 for Coack K's last game. My brother went grad school at UNC so has heavily influenced me. One big highlight for me was seeing UCLA play in Cameron Indoor Arena in 1998, but sadly UCLA lost. I did get to see UCLA win in Dean Dome in 2000.
Technical Problems
Q: I forgot my password. How can I log in?
A: Each year you create a brand new ID, which is now your email. If you forget your password, you can have a password reset link sent to you from the LOST PASSWORD page.
Q: I am getting an error when trying to input my teams. How can I fix it.
A: You are probably using an old browser or have Javascript turned off. Please try using a modern browser. This should fix your problem. If you cannot fix your problem, please send me an email at scott@scottandlis.com. Please put the word NCAA in the subject line so that your email does not get overlooked in the spam.
Q: I have tried everything, and I still cannot get the site to work? What can I do?
A: Ask your children. They can likely help with your computer skills. If you really have problems, take a picture of your paper bracket and email me the image at scott@scottandlis.com.
Q: My site keeps giving me a warning about cookies? Why?
A: A cookie is a little identifier written to your hard drive that allows my web site to know who you are. This allows you to navigate between your custom pages without needed to log in every time. If your browser does not allow cookies, the site should still work; it will just prompt you for a log on when necessary.
Q: I hit a link and it took me to a "FILE NOT FOUND" page. Why?
A: I may have accidentally left a link to a page that no longer exists. If so, please email me so that I can fix it.