2010 Bracket Challenge Rules

The Registration Process
Each participant must complete the registration process to become eligible to play. The registration is a simple process that involves filling out your contact information, team name creation, and password selection. Once you create a member ID (your email address), choose a password, and select your team name, you will then be given the opportunity to start making your bracket selections.

Tournament Information
The Men's College Basketball Tournament runs from Thursday March 14^th, 2010 through Monday April 5^th, 2010. On Sunday March 14^th, 2010, the Selection Committee will announce the bracket pairings for the first round games. There will be one "play-in" game on Tuesday March 16^th. The winner of this game qualifies for the final spot in the 2010 Men's College Basketball Tournament. However, for this contest, the winner of the “play-in” game will be named the “Play-in Winner”. By Sunday evening on March 14^th, Dell Sports will have the complete bracket pairings available for all players. At this time, each player will be allowed to login and make their selections for their chance to win the contest.

Making Your Selections
Players can make their selections by clicking on the icon located at the top left of the home page or by selecting “Make Picks” on the navigation bar. This will lead you to a page displaying the bracket for the 2010 Division 1 Men’s College Tournament. From this screen, players will make their selections. To make your team selections, simply click the team name to advance them to the next round. If you make a mistake, you can select the opposite team in the previous round or you can also choose the "clear picks" button and start over again. It's that easy. After you have completed the bracket, you must click the “Submit” button to confirm and store your bracket. Once you click the “Submit” button, your picks will display as stored. From the member home page, you can view your $10,000 Bracket Challenge bracket, view an updated bracket (with the actual winners), and compare that bracket to others playing in your station game using the navigation bar.

Selecting Teams Close To The Deadline
Any player attempting to make team selections close to the deadline risks the chance of not getting in his/her changes on time. We are not responsible for late entries, server congestion, faulty Internet connections, etc., which may cause the changes to your picks to not be made.

Winning the Game
The grand prize winner will be any player who selects a valid perfect bracket prior to the start of the tournament. Players are ranked according to their cumulative point score. The player with the most points at the end of the game wins. The player with the highest number of cumulative points at the end of the season wins the grand prize. In the event of a tie between two (2) or more entries, the winning entry will be determined by the following tiebreakers, in order of listing:

Tiebreaker #1 - Most Correct Picks
Tiebreaker #2 - Riskiest Upset Picks
Tiebreaker #3 - Random drawing

Tiebreaker #2 calculation: Each bracket is evaluated using the exclusive risk assessor, which computes the risk of each chosen upset versus historical tournament results. The bracket that is deemed riskiest by this methodology wins this tiebreaker.

Any further ties are left as ties in the standings. The tie-breaking system below represents the default tiebreaking system. Each media partner can choose their own scoring and tie-breaking system. If they select their own tie-breaking system and/or scoring it will be added into the rules and clearly stated.

In all cases, an entry that does not win a tiebreaker is eliminated from consideration. Anyone who makes a confirmed perfect (all picks correct) bracket in advance of the tournament matching all of the actual tournament winners will receive $10,000 or a split portion of that amount if multiple people win. Odds of winning prizes depend on the total number of eligible entries received and the relative College Hoops knowledge of all entrants

Round Tiebreakers

Players are ranked according to their cumulative round score also. The player with the most points at the end of the round wins that particular round. In the event of a tie between two (2) or more entries, the winning entry will be determined by the following tiebreakers, in order of listing:

Tiebreaker #1 - Most Correct Picks
Tiebreaker #2 - Riskiest Upset Picks
Tiebreaker #3 - Random drawing

Tiebreaker #2 calculation: Each bracket is evaluated using the exclusive risk assessor, which computes the risk of each chosen upset versus historical tournament results. The bracket that is deemed riskiest by this methodology wins this tiebreaker.

In all cases, an entry that does not win a tiebreaker is eliminated from consideration.

Pick In Advance Scoring
The Pick In Advance Challenge is scored (by default) using the scoring chart below. Each media partner can choose their own scoring and tie-breaking system. If they select their own scoring it will be added into the rules and clearly stated.

Players are ranked on Local Leaders and Standings page under the Results tab. The winner of the Pick In Advance Challenge for each media partner is determined by the highest point total after the completion of the final game of the tournament. The $10,000 is only awarded to participants with PERFECT brackets, that is 63/63 correct picks for the tournament.

Scoring Disputes
Dell Sports Inc. will post the scores shortly after every day’s games for each round, unless unforeseen complications arise. If you have a scoring dispute, please click on the support link in the blue navigation bar, and submit a request 24 hours prior to start of each round. Any disputes arriving after this time will not be addressed. All scores are final following the start of the next round. Dell Sports Inc. reserves the right to deny any scoring inaccuracies at any time due to circumstances beyond our control. See our Terms & Conditions page. It is each player's responsibility to confirm their own selections. Players should verify their selections on the "My Picks" page located on the blue navigation bar at the top of the home page.

Special Reserved Rights
Any player caught or suspected of system tampering, game interference or breaking our terms and conditions, may be removed without refund from our site at any time and without notice. We also reserve the right to pursue legal and criminal action upon those member(s).

Winning Strategy
There is a great deal of strategy that goes into the bracket challenge game. Some players wish to select their favorite teams. Some players will want to pick the highest ranked teams to meet in the finals. There are many different strategies that have won. College Hoops is a great sport, so whatever your strategy, remember to have fun and enjoy the game.

Important Winner Information
All prize winners may be required to submit valid identification including their photo, social security number, and legal identification to Dell Sports, Inc. and to execute an affidavit of eligibility and a liability/publicity release within thirty (30) days following first attempted notification. They will also be required complete tax Form 1099-M in order to comply with Federal and State tax laws. Failure to comply within this time period may result in disqualification and awarding of the prize to the entrant with the next highest score. Contestants agree to Dell Sports, Inc.'s use of their names and likeness for advertising and publicity purposes, without additional compensation, unless prohibited by law. All federal, state and local laws and regulations apply. Taxes are the sole responsibility of the winners. Prizes are not transferable and must be accepted as awarded, no cash equivalents, no substitutes.

It is the responsibility of the Entrant to keep all mailing and e-mail information up-to-date and accurate. Winners should allow up to 6-8 weeks after they return their signed, notarized affidavit to receive their prize. Prize is not transferable. No prize substitution except at Sponsor's sole discretion due to prize unavailability for any reason and only then for prize of comparable value. Sponsor reserves the right to award the actual cash equivalent of any prize in lieu of the prize itself. Prize returned as undeliverable or otherwise not claimed within fourteen (14) days after being sent will be forfeited and awarded to an alternate winner. All entries will be declared made by the registered user of the e-mail address.

By accepting a prize, the winner grants permission to Sponsor and Promoter (which permission shall be confirmed in writing upon the request of Sponsor and/or Promoter) to use their names, photographs, likeness, voices, prize information and/or biographical information for publicity, advertising, trade and promotional purposes at any time or times, worldwide and on the World Wide Web without further compensation, or notice, review or approval, unless prohibited by law. If a winner is disqualified, an alternate winner will be selected. Sponsor is only obligated to contact a single alternate. In all instances in which Sponsor notifies, or seeks to deliver a prize to or otherwise attempts to contact an alternate winner, if such alternate winner is unavailable or disqualified or if the prize is returned as undeliverable, within the time frames otherwise allotted for the initially selected winner, then Sponsor may choose either not to award the prize or to donate it to another person or entity, in its sole discretion.

Entrants acknowledge that sponsor, promoter and their respective agencies have neither made nor are in any manner responsible for any warranty, representation or guarantee, express or implied, in fact or in law, relative to any prize, including but not limited to its quality. Except for a standard limited warranty that the prize manufacturer may include with the prize. The prize is awarded "as is" and without warranty of any kind, express or implied, (including, without limitation, any implied warranty of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose). For an additional copy of the official rules, please click on the terms and conditions link at the bottom of our web site. This may be printed and read at your convenience.

Notification
Winners will be notified by e-mail or regular mail within 30 (30) days after the date the winners are determined and may be required to sign and return an affidavit of eligibility and acceptance of these legal restrictions and a publicity/liability release (unless prohibited by law) within fifteen (15) days following attempted notification. Failure to comply with this requirement may result in disqualification and selection of an alternate winner. Any prize notification returned as undeliverable may result in disqualification and selection of an alternate winner.

This Game may not be used in connection with any form of gambling. The Game is strictly for entertainment purposes only.

Dell Sports Inc. is not responsible for lost, late or misdirected online entries or transactions, for incorrect, inaccurate or incomplete entry information whether caused by a contestant, equipment, or technical malfunction or for any human error, technical error or malfunctions. Dell Sports, Inc. reserves the right to halt or modify the contest at any time during the contest period if events beyond their control compromise the contest's fairness or integrity. In the event that a scheduled game is canceled or preempted for any reason, no points will be awarded for that day on the affected basketball teams.

Dell Sports, Inc. is not responsible for typographical or other human or technical errors in the offer or administration of this contest, including but not limited to errors in advertising, the Official Rules, the selection and announcement of the winner or the distribution of the prizes.

Dell Sports, Inc., in its sole discretion, may disqualify any entrant from participating in the contest, refuse to award points or prizes, and require the return of any prizes, if entrant engages in any conduct Dell Sports, Inc. deems to be improper, unfair or otherwise adverse to the operation of the contest or detrimental to other entrants. Such improper conduct includes, but is not limited to, falsifying personal information required during contest registration or prize claim, violating any term or condition stated herein, accumulating points or prizes through methods such as automated computer scripts or other programming techniques, allowing others to use the entrant's personal information for the purpose of accumulating points or prizes, tampering with Dell Sports, Inc.'s administration of this promotion, or intentionally trying to defraud, reverse engineer, disassemble, recompile or otherwise tamper with the computer programs on this Web site. Entrant further acknowledges that the forfeiture of prize(s) and/or return of any prize(s) shall in no way prevent Dell Sports, Inc. from pursuing other avenues of recourse such as criminal or civil proceedings in connection with such conduct.

Dell Sports, Inc. reserves the right to modify these rules for clarification purposes without materially affecting the terms and conditions of the contest. This contest is not affiliated with or endorsed by the NCAA or any NCAA basketball team. This is a skill contest designed to increase consumer awareness of and interest in Dell Sports contests and college basketball. This contest may not be used for any form of gambling.

Internet Problems
If for any reason the Internet portion of the program is not capable of running as planned, including infection by computer virus, bugs, tampering, terrorism, work stoppage, unauthorized intervention, fraud, technical failures, or any other causes beyond the control of Dell Sports, Inc. which corrupt or affect the administration, security, fairness, integrity, or proper conduct of this contest, Dell Sports, Inc. reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to disqualify any individual who tampers with the entry process, and to cancel, terminate, modify or suspend the contest. In such event, Dell Sports, Inc. further reserves the right to award prizes to the players with the most points as of the termination date.

Technology Problems
Dell Sports, Inc. assumes no responsibility for any error, omission, interruption, deletion, defect, delay in operation or transmission, communications line failure, theft or destruction or unauthorized access to, or alteration of, entries or transactions. Dell Sports, Inc. is not responsible for any problems or technical malfunction of any telephone network or lines, computer on-line systems, servers, or providers, computer equipment, software, failure of any e-mail entry or transaction to be received on account of technical problems or traffic congestion on the Internet or at any Web site, or any combination thereof, including any injury or damage to participant's or any other person's computer related to or resulting from participation or downloading any materials in this contest.

Caution: Any attempt by a contestant to deliberately damage any web site or undermine the legitimate operation of the game is a violation of criminal and civil laws and should such an attempt be made, Dell Sports reserves the right to seek damages from any such contestant to the fullest extent permitted by law.

In the event of a dispute, entries made by Internet will be declared made by the authorized account holder of the e-mail address submitted at time of entry. "Authorized account holder" is defined as the natural person who is assigned to an e-mail address by an Internet access provider, on-line service provider or other organization (e.g., business, educational institution, etc.) that is responsible for assigning e-mail addresses for the domain associated with the submitted e-mail address.

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

Additional Information
Prizes (if applicable) will only be awarded to entries whose accounts are deemed eligible. Winners of prizes valuing $600 or more during a calendar year must furnish a Social Security Number before payment is issued. Any entry that is incomplete, late, or does not include a validly issued User ID will be disqualified. You must be 13 years or older to participate and 18 years of age or older to win the game and/or receive any prizes.

Dell Sports Inc. reserves the right to use all entrants' names for publicity. Winners automatically grant to Dell Sports Inc., and their affiliated businesses and sponsors, the right to use their name and likeness in advertising and promotion of this event without further permission or compensation. Residents of Missouri are not required to comply with the terms of this paragraph.

Email Change Of Address Policy
It is the sole responsibility of the Entrant to notify the Sponsor if his or her email address changes. Failure to maintain a valid email address on file with Dell Sports may disqualify any individual from winning the contest and/or receiving any prizes.

Disclaimer
Dell Sports Inc., and this Web site, are in no way connected with, affiliated with or endorsed by Dell Computers, Dell Publishing, the NCAA, or any of its affiliated teams, players, or players union. All references to any basketball name or term is purely nominative and not intended to imply any connection, affiliation, or endorsement.