ways to keep interest...

[free]

looking for ways to encourage the lower ranked teams to stay involved in the league for the entire season…it's a free league

[oleredb]

One that works for me in h2h leagues is to reverse the draft order of the teams not making the playoffs in the draft next season. In a 12 team league with 6 teams making the playoffs the draft order for next season based upon final standings would be 7,8,9,10,11,12,6,5,4,3,2,1

It gives an incentive for the last place team to keep the roster current during the season to be ready for the consolation bracket where every win and loss means something for the start of the next season.

[bigmck]

In a free online league it is almost impossible to keep interest for the losing teams. If you know the guys that is one thing, but strangers in a free league. It is very hard.

[corefour]

One that works for me in h2h leagues is to reverse the draft order of the teams not making the playoffs in the draft next season. In a 12 team league with 6 teams making the playoffs the draft order for next season based upon final standings would be 7,8,9,10,11,12,6,5,4,3,2,1

It gives an incentive for the last place team to keep the roster current during the season to be ready for the consolation bracket where every win and loss means something for the start of the next season.

Yup. Do this in my league and it works well. Also, as commish you should make it a rule that everyone stays active for the whole season - at the very least, check theirs team, benches injured players, put their pitchers in when they have starts, etc. If they completely bail, just don't have them back the next year. That being said, no matter what you do, you will probably always have one or two guys that go AWOL - even in money keeper leagues with consolation playoffs that count for something. Just comes with the territory with fantasy leagues, but there are definitely ways to minimize it. Good luck!

[free]

One that works for me in h2h leagues is to reverse the draft order of the teams not making the playoffs in the draft next season. In a 12 team league with 6 teams making the playoffs the draft order for next season based upon final standings would be 7,8,9,10,11,12,6,5,4,3,2,1

It gives an incentive for the last place team to keep the roster current during the season to be ready for the consolation bracket where every win and loss means something for the start of the next season.

like this

what about anything w/ keepers?

[jonboycubs]

Another way I am thinking of helping keep interest in my 16 team League is by running a side pool in league messages. What I would do is post a messeage saying how the game would be played, something like this...

I am going to post 10 good matchups per week, say every sunday night or so, everyone who would like to play post your pick for the winner of each game below. Each correct pick will earn you one point, so if you pick 8 right you get 8 points, easy enough. The next week post 10 more matchups and if you get say 5 picks right that week your point total now would be 13. So on and so on. When the matchups for the week are done I will post each teams results with how many points they have total. The team with the most points at the end of the year wins a trophy for Master Picker or something along those lines.

You just keep running this in the same thread under league messages. I think this is a great way to keep the league members coming to the front page and creates more competition within the league. Fairly simple and fun. Anyway I hope I have written this in a way that you understand what I am saying. Hope you have a great season

[MorseOverTaveras]

Demand for their numbers and address at the beginning of the season and continually hound them at the slightest hint of inactivity...works every time.